Synopses & Reviews
In 1933, John W. Hill opened the New York office of what would become the most important public relations agency in history: Hill and Knowlton, Inc. By 1959, the combined sales of its clientswhich included Procter and Gamble, Texaco, Gillette, and Avco Manufacturing as well as the steel, tobacco, and aviation industries' trade associationsamounted to 10 percent of the gross national product.
The Voice of Business chronicles Hill and Knowlton's influence on American public discourse in the years following World War II.
Guided by its founder's conservative ideals, Hill and Knowlton developed a twofold mission: to influence public discussion about issues important to its clients and to educate Americans about big business. Karen Miller shows how the agency tried to manipulate public opinion, political debate, and news media content about such issues as postwar military aircraft procurement, the deregulation of margarine production, President Truman's seizure of steel mills in 1952, and the cigarette health scare of 1953-54. Though its campaigns did not change many opinions, she says, Hill and Knowlton affected the public indirectly by reinforcing the ideas of its clients and other conservatives.
Review
A model of historiography.
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly
Review
One of the few studies of PR firms and surely the best.
Choice
Review
Miller's in-depth look at one firm's campaigns succeeds in creating a more balanced picture of a public relations firm's operation.
History of Education Quarterly
Synopsis
The story of Hill and Knowlton, the influential public relations agency. Miller shows how the agency tried to manipulate public opinion about such issues as Truman's 1952 seizure of steel mills and the cigarette health scare of 1953-54.
Synopsis
Fluent and persuasive.
American Historical Review The book makes a valuable contribution by explaining the public side of business.
Journal of American History Miller•s in-depth look at one firm•s campaigns succeeds in creating a more balanced picture of a public relations firm•s operation.
History of Education Quarterly A model of historiography.
Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly One of the few studies of PR firms and surely the best.
Choice
About the Author
Karen S. Miller is assistant professor at the University of Georgia in Athens, where she teaches public relations and media history.
Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
Part I. Policies and Practices
Chapter 1. Forged in Steel: Founding Hill and Knowlton
Chapter 2. Air Power Is Peace Power: Postwar Trade Association Public Relations
Chapter 3. Client as Consumer: Selling Hill and Knowlton
Part II. Influencing Discourse
Chapter 4. The Great Margarine Controversy: Public Relations and Politics
Chapter 5. The Mills Are Seized: Public Relations and Public Discourse
Chapter 6. Smoke and Mirrors: Public Relations and the News Media
Part III. Changes at Hill and Knowlton
Chapter 7. A Voice with an Accent: Hill and Knowlton Abroad
Chapter 8. Hill and Knowlton since 1955
Chapter 9. Hill and Knowlton and Postwar America
Appendix. Client Lists
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
John Wiley Hill in the 1940s
Tour of the Crosley Talking Kitchen, arranged by H&K
John Hill with Douglas PR executive A. M. "Rocky" Rochlen
John Hill in 1956
John Mapes