Propaganda is now a dirty word, but it once was a sacred word.
The word propaganda should bring images of World War Two Nazi Germany to mind as Joseph Goebbels of the Third Reich infamously marred this word for all time. Before the century of twin world wars, the word propaganda was associated with the Catholic Church and its religious based agenda of mass world conversion. The word propaganda used to literally mean a committee of Catholic cardinals in charge of propagating the faith through missionary work, and dates back to the year 1622, originating with the Papacy of Pope Gregory XV.*
Douglas Fairbanks, movie star, speaking in front of the Sub-Treasury building, New York City, to aid the third Liberty Loan. • Wikimedia Commons
Loans For Liberty
The 20th century saw the use of propaganda increase as new media forms amplified the power of scripted persuasion many times over. The moving film image, mass-produced newspapers, and eventually radio and other communication advances, allowed this amplified power to grow exponentially. World War One began with Hollywood stars patriotically pitching in to help Uncle Sam raise money for war. Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith would go on to form the film company United Artists after hawking United States issued war bonds, known as Liberty Bonds or Liberty Loans, to the American people. Not only did Hollywood celebrity endorsements of Liberty Loans raise money for the war effort, this entertainment industry sponsorship also raised public interest in Wall Street investment opportunities and helped secure Hollywood a significant, continuous role in shaping human perception and behavior, not just in America, but internationally as well. This showed the world the powerful impact celebrities can have on civilization.**
World War One ended just as the wireless era of radio broadcasting was dawning. During the subsequent decades, technological achievements continued. By the 1920s mass-produced movies began to include sound. The radio programming format was just being established and television was just starting to transition into a commercialized form when World War Two broke out in Europe.*
"Over the top for you - Buy U.S. gov't bonds, Third Liberty Loan", Poster showing a soldier clutching an American flag. • Wikimedia Commons
Over The Top Gossip Evolves
In addition to mass-produced newspapers and radio broadcasts, newsreels shown in darkened film theaters would be the means by which many of us would learn about the lives of all sorts of celebrities and world-changing events. There were even film theaters dedicated to only showing newsreels. These theaters existed in parts of the world until the middle of the 20th century. Newsreels, created in 1911 by the French entrepreneur Charles Pathé, were popular up to the 1960s when television news broadcasts began to replace this older informational medium. A few countries would continue to produce newsreels into the 1990s.**
1915 Advertisement for Pathé newsreels covering the events of the First World War. • Wikimedia Commons
A compelling narrative can manipulate human herd behavior.*
The power of scripted persuasion is what allows many of us to believe that the art of public relations is not actually the practice of propaganda reconfigured into a more politically palatable presentation. Back around the time of the second world war, the word propaganda became associated with the Nazi regime’s communication efforts. Yet despite its supposed reputation as a dirty word and even dirtier practice, propaganda was never limited to one government. All governments have always engaged in this practice; the United States government is not exempt from this law. All corporations use these methods. Advertisers and marketers are propagandists too; but of course, here in the good old U.S.A. and in polite company, we are to use the term public relations and avoid the word propaganda like a biblical plague.*
Video: The Invention of Public Relations – Bill Moyers PBS
