Many critics place the blame for such standardization on the so called “huckster” who ply the dual trades of advertising and publicity. But here again the criticism is relative to the end in view. At its best, public relations employs the media of communication in a constructive way, and its practice is a legitimate function of the free enterprise system in a democratic society. If it is true, for example, that public relations and advertising men work hard to sell washing machines and automobiles, it is also true that average American enjoys more goods and has the highest standard of living of any individual in any country in the world.
A good deal depends upon the training, judgment, and professional ethics of the public relations practitioners, the end in view, and means taken to achieve that end. In this respect, public relations uses the instrument of mass communication in much the same manner as the lawyer and doctor employ the instruments of their respective professions.
Necessarily, advertising agencies and the public relations counsel plan in term of thousand or the million th so called captive audience rather than in term of individuals. But this is not so much an inherent flaw in advertising techniques as it is a natural outgrowth of the sheer proficiency of the electronic communication media. In a world which growing ever more complex, the entrepreneur cannot conceivably reach the individual directly.
The public relations man, therefore, serve as a useful middleman or catalyst between management and the public, interpreting each to the other. The mass media are the avenues of this intercommunication.
Does the widespread use of the mass media imply the restriction of free discussion? It is relatively easy, as the recent history of Russia an the Iron Curtain satellite countries has shown, either to employ or restrict the devices of communication to achieve control over the thought and actions of millions of people. Here, however, there is no public opinion at work, for there is no opportunity for the opinion forming process to operate. Public relations techniques, which are implicitly competitive, would be useless.
On the other hand, democracy survives and grows through the dissemination of truth which, in term of public relations and communication arts, means scrupulous regard for fact and impartial coverage of the news. Mass media must not control public opinion but must be controlled by it so as to serve a socially useful end. This may be accomplished by keeping the media a fully competitive as possible and, when necessary by a minimum of federal an state regulation in the public interest. In this way, the mass media become the servants,not the masters, of democracy.
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