Crystallizing Public Opinion

Edward Bernays (1891-1995) was a pioneer in the field of public relations who emigrated from his native Austria to the United States in the 1930s. During his career in public relations, Bernays devised and popularized many techniques for influencing public opinion on behalf of a huge roster of clients that included many corporations and industrial organizations, governments around the world, and advocacy groups in many fields. "Public relations, effectively used, helps validate an underlying principle of our society — competition in the market place of ideas and things," he wrote in 1971.