Unseen Engineers

In Stuart Ewens PR!, “ Unseen Engineers: Biography of an Idea,” one can see while dealing with “a fundamentally illogical public” you must learn to recognize and master those methods of communication to have a lasting impact on the publics attitudes and opinions. One of Americas most esteemed theorist and advocator of public opinion management, Walter Lippmann argues that the average person was incapable of seeing the world clearly and has no understanding of it.

In order to detain the public’s opinion you must have understanding of modern social and psychological sciences to examine and register the forces working behind the simulation of public opinion. Studying of dreams, fantasy and rationalism all come into play, during this time journalism was one of the most resourceful fluid of influencing the masses. Americans proved that in order to sway the public’s opinion and consciousness you had to use facts images through the media. Lippmann argues that human beings were,” incapable of responding rationally to their world.” He argues that the public must be guided by easily recognizable signs that they can follow in order to guide their minds.

“No technique was more effective for unifying public thinking and derailing independent thought, Lippmann argued, than the informed employment of symbols as instruments of persuasion. The symbol, he wrote, is “like a strategic railroad center where many roads converge regardless of their ultimate origin or their ultimate destination.” (Stuart Ewen PR!, “ Unseen Engineers: Biography of an Idea, ”
(p.155). -EF

The Mind Of The Public

Shortly after the First World War the big businessmen of America learned a lot about the public mind after puttting together an experiment based on mass persuasion to gain knowledge of the psychology of the public mind. As quoted in Stuart Ewens book P.R.! chapter 7 by Roger Babson a business analyst " The war taught us the power of propaganda"... " Now when we have anything to sell the American people, we know how to sell it." ( Ewen PR! p. 131) However is it really that easy to persuade Americans in such a way? Well I guess, because it dates back to the Freudian era as mentioned by Ivy Lee. He explains his new found attraction to psychoanalysis on mass persuasion. " We must remember that people are guided more by sentiment than mind." ( p.132)

"You must study human emotions and all the factors that move people, that
persuade men in any line of human activity. Psychology, mob psychology, is
one of the important factors that underlay this while business."

Furthermore it is interesting to see the science that goes into the advertising industry. You really need to be a
psychologists to understand the meaning behind mass persuasion because it is key to mastering consumers
needs.

Part of the Herd

Wilfred Trotter, who was involved in public relations in the early 20th century, had a theory on the over whelming impact of “herd instinct”. Herd instinct is the need of people to gain approval and camaraderie from a social group. I believe in its power and agree with Trotters theory that states:
“It can inhibit or stimulate his thought and conduct. It is the source of his moral codes, of the sanctions of his ethics and philosophy. It can endow him with energy, courage, and endurance, and can easily take these away” (Ewen, PR! 137).

All herds have leaders; the rest of the herd is more willing to go with what the leader says then to think for him or herself. The heard has trust in their leaders and rarely goes against the leaders thoughts.

Whether the leader is the government, a magazine governing fashion or thought, or the popular kid in high school, the herd listens and follows as long as their leader is trusted. This explains a lot, why we buy certain cloths, drink certain drinks, or drive certain cars. We do what the majority does; rarely stopping to question what we are told or to decide what might be best for ones individual self.

When it comes to public relations, if the leader of the herd can be controlled then the mass of people can be controlled. I would have to agree with Trotter’s theories that the human being “is more sensitive to the voice of the herd than to any other influence.

Reading the chapter the "Biography of an Idea" has given me an opportunity to think about the role of public opinion in our society. Stuart Ewen, mentions the role Walter Lippman had in analyzing public opinion. He talked about how the society was being transformed by the new technologies and networks by using sound images. Most of the time these tools are used to persuade people to believe in things that perhaps are ‘ meaningless in themselves ‘. A perfect example in our contemporary society is perhaps the use of images by television network. These images sometimes are used to tell people of the things that are happening in the United States. However, sometimes there is considerable bias and a clear intention to manipulate people. They often try to convince the society that something is true even if it is a total lie. Lipman mentions that possibility:

“the number of human problems on which reason is prepared to dictate is small .'Public opinion therefore, was an essentially irrational force. "'

I think these quote explains why a lot of people are dominated by others, because for the most part people do not think rationally or think for themselves. If public opinion is irrational then I honestly cannot understand why the media convinces people to do certain things for society. For instance, during election time, the majority of the time the media plays an important role in persuading the people to vote either for a Republican or a Democrat. But there is little objective information to help you understand the difference. Sometimes I get a little confused about the terms myself !!!

Mark Twain

The Unconscious Crowd Mind: The Only Truly Aware State of Mind

In Stuart Ewen's book, PR! : A Social History of Spin, Ewen notes the belief of Gustave Le Bon, author of The Crowd: A Study of The Popular Mind; that the unconscious life of the mind is that which controls most of the behavioral outcomes and actions in an individual's life, (pg. 133). Furthermore, it could be assumed that persuasion in the unconscious form, certainly has the significant ability to appeal to the minds of the "crowd" or masses, especially when in comparison with the use of reason. According to Le Bon, " (the part) played by reason is very small," whereas "(that) played by the unconscious in all our acts is immense.

In PR!, Ewen highlights Le Bon's expression of the "rise of the crowd mind" or "the return of the repressed," (pg. 134) points out that the crowd was being awakened and driven, in a monopolistic way, towards the "favor of unconscious activites." Because of this awakening, Le Bon goes on to state what the consequences are and shall be (pg. 134):

"Civilisation is now without stability, and at the mercy of every chance. The populace is sovereign, and the tide of barbarism mounts. The civilisation may still seem brilliant because it possesses an outward front, the work of a long past, but is in reality an edifice crumbling to ruin, which nothing supports, and destined to fall in at the first storm."

In terms of persuasion, and the all-knowing and all-guiding unconscious mind, Le Bon does come to very valid conclusion about the powers of it, particularly in numbers; a civilization will become "hegemonic" and "universal," (pg. 134) which is truly a dangerous possibility. True "Public opinion" will disappear in the midst of massive media outlets feeding the crowd multiple messages, which are usually subliminal and unknowingly invading their subconscious mind. Thereafter, that message will be taken in on an unconscious level is reiterated and finally, those same ideas that the crowd had already consumed, believed and conceived as "facts," were never even thought of as being part of a propaganda-process...It is only the verbally-silent subconcious mind that ever saw a symbol, "catchword" or pitfall, that led the conscious mind to believe.

Advertsing and labor

"The mistaken idea has gone around that because a chap works in a foundry, he isn't good enough to be played up in an advertisement......Give labor cause to be proud of its own share in progress and it will stay put."

W. Livingston Larned, in his article "Advertsing That Is helping to Adjust the Labor Situation" suggests that if advertisers paid tribute to the American worker that the negative industrial conditions that are discussed in the media: working conditions, labor unrest, strikes could be seen in a more positive light.

Emphasize the positive in order to negate the negative. "The American workman lives better, works in better factories under more favorable conditions, is better paid and is really more contented, take him by and large, than any other workman in the world. This being true, why not tell him about it."

The psychological effects of talking up the American laborer would have
him thinking in a more positive way about his job and the company he works for, therefore he would be less inclined to examine the negative aspects of his job.

Democratic Realist of the 1920's

"The democratic realists of the twenties focused thier criticism of democracy on two of its essential beliefs: the belief in the capacity of all men for rational political action and the belief in the practicality and desirability of maximizing the participation of all citizens in public life. Finding ordinary men and women irrational and participatory democracy impossible and unwise under modern conditios, they argued that it was best to strictly limit government by the people and to redefine democracy as, by and large, government for the people by enlightened responsible elites." (Robert B. Westbrook)

I think what the democratic realists were trying to say is that many average citizens of America aren't qualified enough to make political decisions for their communities. Many people don't read the paper, let alone pay attention to the issues effecting thier communities. What these critics of democracy were scared of is these people who could care less about having a say, actually having a say.

It was this fear that brought about the ideas of Lippmann, and others, who believed that psychology could be used in Public Relations to help manipulate opinions of a mass who were considered to be "irrational".

AMERICANIZING IMMIGRANTS

ROBERT E. PARK

The period between 1890 and 1920 witnessed a huge migration of immigrants to American, primarily from Eastern Europe and the southern tier of Italy. Upon arrival, they were widely employed as a cheap work force for American industries. The impact of this migration upon the social fabric of the United States was enormous. The face of America was changing, by 1920 over half the people in the U.S. were either immigrants, or the children of immigrants.
Among white, middle-class, native-born Americans, the shifting demographic sands stirred up the considerable alarm. There was a sense that, unless transformed, these newcomers; "educated by unfamiliar and baneful social, political and/or religious outlooks," would undermine traditional American values.





American has always been seen as the land of promise, giving many individuals hope and aspiration to have a complete future, offering nothing but good. This good is seen in many types of media, i.e. television, newspapers, and even celebrities. Being a child from a immigrant parent, I see the struggle my father poses to be Americanize. He takes all the dead-end jobs most Americans wouldn't dare do and for least money at times. He constantly watches political on television and reads them in newspapers, just to keep up socially on the gossip that lurks around construction sites. He constantly expresses to me the discrimination that he sees in his peers eyes when another immigrant is hired over a middle-class white American or low-class African American to which most of those jobs are given to.



http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/immigration-in-new-york-city-taking-the-long-view/

Joseph Berger, a metropolitan reporter and education columnist for The Times and author of a new book, “The World in a City: Traveling the Globe Through the Neighborhoods of the New New York,” moderated the panel. Mr. Berger was born in the Soviet Union and lived in displaced persons camps until age 5, when his family immigrated to New York. He recalled walking around the city with his younger brother and a friend. In that era, the 1950s, he said, “New York was fairly bland.”
He added:

"Most of the faces we saw were slightly different shades of European beige. The
rest of the world was barely represented, except for what was then a tourist
oddity like Chinatown. Today, the city’s reputation for ethnic variety is
finally true, stunningly so."

Sixty percent of New York City residents are immigrants or children of immigrants, Mr. Berger said, and neighborhoods are being remade as older immigrant groups, like the Irish and Italians, continue a decades-long immigration to the suburbs. Mr. Berger cited the Chinese and Koreans in Flushing, the Dominicans in Washington Heights and the West Bronx, the Guyanese in Richmond Hill, the Caribbeans in East Flatbush, the South Asians in Jackson Heights, the growing Chinese population in Bensonhurt and the polyglot mix of Arabs, Brazilians and Bangladeshis in Astoria.

PR for Dummies

"Crystallizing Public Opinion for Good Government" a book written by Edward L. Bernays, is a guide for public relations agents on how to sway public opinion. Bernays is viewed as the father of modern day public relations and much of his techniques are still used today. Bernays techniques focused on natural irrationality of the public due to our emotions. Bernays states in the section titled "Surveying the Market":

"the dominant though usually inarticulate thought in his community by a survey of what are ordinarily termed " group leaders," that is, the leaders of thought -- whether their influence be for the good or for the bad-- in a given community. The basic reason underlying such analysis is the fact that men's opinions are most often changed by their acceptance of the opinions of those whom they regard as leaders." P2

Bernays realized that the power of a group leader could sway specific groups public opinion. As long as they saw someone that they trusted and related to, no matter what they may represent, the group would follow. Understanding the power of group leaders helped Bernays, to realize that the power was in the group leaders hands. Instead of focusing on the individual, it was best to focus on the characteristics of the group leader because it would lead to mass appeal.

Bernay's later goes on to state in the section titled "Analyzing the Appeal":

"He realizes that the individual and the group are swayed by only a very small number of fundamental desires and emotions and instincts. Sex, gregariousness, the desire to lead, the maternal and paternal instincts, all are dominating desires of the group." P5

This statement shows that Bernays knew that we all shared a common irrationality as a public. This irrationality is controlled by emotions and instincts, allowing the majority to have their opinions swayed based on these emotions. If the group leaders could tap into these fundamental desires, then it was easy for them to target and mobilize their specific groups.

This was a radical idea in that it showed that while we all had our social class/standings, we all were in a sense equal to each other on this basis. Bernays helped to show that even the most rational person's public opinion could be swayed under the right circumstance.

Below is a video of Family Guy in which, the undecided voters represent the irrational public and how easy they could be swayed with the right words that tapped into their fundamental desires and emotions.

See it to believe it

Public Opinion/The Phantom Public - Walter Lippmann

In Walter Lippmann's piece, Public Opinion, he was able to explain the "secrets" of propaganda. Lippmann explains that society interpret things as a result of a series of events. "A report is the joint product of the knower and known, in which the role of the observer is always selective and usually creative. The facts we see depend on where we are placed, and the habits of our eyes...", (Lippmann, 183). Here Lippmann explains that the way we view a story or report all depends on what we are accustomed to seeing.

In a sense, Lippmann explains that the people believe the reports, whether factual or not, because they show them what the are expecting to see. "Photographs have the kind of authority over imagination today, which the printed word had yesterday, and the spoken word before that." (Lippmann 184). Mass media has a way of influencing ones' thoughts. Thus leaving the reader or viewer very gullible to believe anything they see/hear. Lippmann explains that the main reason is because propaganda only shows the reader what the want to see.

Walter Lipmann's Public Opinion

"For the most part we do not first see, and then define, we define first and then see. In great blooming, buzzing confusion of the outer world we pick out what our culture has already defined for us...." (Lippmann, 183)

What immediately came to my mind when I read this passage was the topic of dating. As shallow as it is, I know many people; some who are my friends and who won't date a person who is ugly or fat. ...What is the definition of ugly? ... What is the definition of fat? we learned those definitions from our society; but are they correct .... is there even one that is correct?

Overall, I think that Walter Lippmann is telling us the straight facts of how humans think and percieve things. He argues that people don't always seem to really view things through reality or in depth. The reason for that would be society; it gives us all these stereotypes or tells us these social norms. People's opinions can be easily swayed by the enviornment they are in. Certain behaviors and actions are just seen as acceptable or not in different societies. Peoples thoughts are refined by the society they are in.

America Wants You Now To Remain Here

"...America Has Received You When You Came Here
She Wants You Now To Remain Here."

This was the heading of an advertisement which the council was placed in the "Jewish Forward" on June 2, 1919.
The advertisement was not trying to sell any American product nor any American other specific commodity, it was rather convincing and reminding the foreign immigrants to remember the time when they came into America - and how she embraced them with open arms.

"America has room for your ideals and welcomes your ideas; and your race
has a future in the building of America. Enterprises, hopes, and rewards, are in
the New World."

The advertisement was pressing the emotional buttons of these immigrants, convincing them that America is a solution to all their problems, and that remaining on this land will give birth to a global prosperity.It goes on and says:

"You native country needs that you remain in America to make safe the markets,
to help build the world with American surplus materials and money which the
world needs."

The advertisement is filled with similar thought provoking statements, informing the immigrants that even their mother country needs them to remain in America - for only this will result in the betterment of all!

This was not the only advertisement posted in newspapers, in fact, numerous pieces of such advertisements were disseminated throughout the nation, trying to tie a bond between the immigrants and America. Essentially, these were effective ways, for many immigrants felt that now they own a piece of democracy in America, and furthermore, such advertisements gave these immigrants a sense of patriotism for their new host nation.

Foreign Newspapers leads to Americanization

What is the real definition of an American citizen? Is it a person that was born here? Or maybe its someone that simply lives and works here. An American citizen should be a person that lives in America and contributes to the well being of America.

In present day society, it is very common to encounter someone who was not born in this country. During the period between 1890 and 1920, immigrants in America were either Eastern European or from southern Italy. The white, native Americans felt the need to change their heritage. They even went as far as having a desire to control the foreign language press. The language barrier presented a problem. Showing support for the press did work out in our advantage.

"One way to Americanize the immigrant is to invite his co-operation and use his own institution in the process. The immigrant press was useful to the United States in winning the World War. It should be quite as valuable, it would seem, in time of peace." (Park, "Controlling through Alliance", page 3)

At that time, America was willing to work with the foreign langauge press. The Inter-Racial Council and the Foreign Language Bureau went into effect. Both organizations became an outreach for foreign and international policies.

The foreign language press became a great tool in American society. It became the backbone for international affairs concerning America and opened up many foreign born citizens. It has become a common fact that America is the "melting pot of America", and it all started with these European immigrants.

Immigration and Americanization

“Some immigrant heritages are so different from our own that their expression in the press is likely to instigate action that is inimical to our national purposes, or that interferes with our social machinery. To prevent such discord is a legitimate undertaking.
Americans may even go one step father. By encouraging the foreign-language press to emphasize the immigrant heritages congenial to ours, by showing it the friendly side of America, it is possible to hasten its development into an instrument of Americanization.”

-Robert E. Park "Controlling Through Alliance"

After the Great Depression in the United States there was a mass migration of immigrants from 1890 to the 1920’s. The Industrial revolution brought about the need for cheap labor and many immigrants filled those positions. Native born Americans feared the immigrants were going to transform the American way of life. They felt that immigrants needed to be Americanized and taught the American way of thinking. In “Controlling through Alliance” by Robert E Park he discusses the establishment of foreign - language newspapers. These papers created a new way of promoting the American way of life to the immigrant population in the U.S.

Rear-Admiral Cooper F. Goodrich proposed the idea of taxing immigrant publication. Another proposal was to have translations in the columns of the paper in English. Both of these proposals were strategies that failed to be implemented for the control of the foreign language press.

“The immigrant is disposed to use his language and his press to help him find his way in the New World. The foreign-language press, if it preserves old memories, is at the same time the gateway to new experiences.
For this reason foreign-language papers are frequently agencies of Americanization in spite of themselves. They are always Americanizing influences when they print the news.”

-Robert E. Park "Controlling Through Alliance"

The Inter-Racial Council and the Foreign Language Bureau were two agencies created to aid the combined effort of the government and the immigrant press. The Inter-Racial Councils chairman was T. Coleman Du Pont and it was a government agency with the goal of Americanizing the immigrant population. This agency created a intermediary between the immigrant laborer, the native employer and the labor organizations.

I feel that it is important for immigrants to be assimilated to the American way of life. The foreign-language press was a tool used to aid in the Americanization of the immigrants in the past and it is still used in today's society. I feel that it is important for immigrants to learn English and to adjust to our American culture, customs and dress. We live in a multi-ethnic society and I would not want it any other way, but it is important for immigrants to adjust to American society.

The Crowd

"The crowd mind" embodied the triumph of unreasoned instinct, whereas ''public opinion'' was the sum of ''individual critical attitudes"....Socalled public opinion is generally nothing more than a naive collective impulse which can be manipulated by catchwords''. - Robert Ezra Park. (Stuart Ewen, PR! Ch.7, p.135)

According to R.E.Park and Le Bon, people in crowds don't make their own decisions. They feel like one organism. By being part of the crowd, individuals lose all sense of self and responsibility. Yet, at the same time, they gain a sentiment of invincible power due to their numbers. They can break glasses, vote for or against something or sing and dance, just because everyone else is doing it. They understand what they are doing but it doesn’t have to make any sense.
Behaviors that relate to Le Bon's context are seen as inherent attributes of the crowd. Therefore one can assume that they can arise everywhere, irrespective of setting. By obscuring the social bases of behavior, “crowd action” is rendered mindless and meaningless.

I believe, that all the decisions and feelings of a crowd are the expression of the individual traits that can be picked up on by other members of the community. Eventually they become part of the overall mindset of the group. In this process, different members take on roles within the society, with some emerging as leaders, while others become active followers. Within each group’s psychology, there are also those that remain passive and tend to go along with the majority.

The Science of The Press

As we view public relations in the present, publicists utilize various tools to accomplish certain objectives for his or hers clients (athlete, actor, corporation etc.). The publicist must be able to think in and outside of the box to either sell the talents of actor or to generate support for an athlete who has fallen from grace (Alex Rodriguez). In a way, to create the ideal impact in public relations is like a science project in which chemicals are combined to make something useful (Clorox, Lysol, Mr. Clean). As modern public relation tactics were being created, one man understood the science behind the press, Walter Lippmann. His impact on public relations can be felt here in the present. We can understand the science behind public relations in the following:

"Modern leadership required specialists who would formulate how the press itself would cover a given issue. "[P]ublic opinions must be organized for the press if they are to be sound, not by the press as is the case." Political science was, for Lippmann the science that would frame public opinions for the press" (Ewen, PR!, 151).

Lippmann understood that individuals with special talents were needed in public relations because the methodology of the field was changing given the mediums to communicate with the masses (Newspapers, Magazines and Radio). So now we can understand how public opinion about a celebrity and or organization can be changed through innovative ways because science is all about thinking outside of the box.