Lexington Books
Pages: 204
•
Trim: 6 x 9
978-0-7391-8929-0 • Hardback • October 2014 • $108.00 • (£83.00)
978-1-4985-0588-8 • Paperback • April 2016 • $48.99 • (£38.00)
978-0-7391-8930-6 • eBook • October 2014 • $46.50 • (£36.00)
Pam Parry is chair of the Mass Media Department at Southeast Missouri State University.
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Public Opinion Wins Wars
Chapter 3: Pennsylvania Avenue Meets Madison Avenue
Chapter 4: The Presidential News Conference
Chapter 5: A New Kind of Press Secretary
Chapter 6: Breaking the Glass Ceiling
Chapter 7: The Selling of America
Chapter 8: Conclusion
This volume offers a clear, compelling argument that few scholars (or media pundits) have dared to suggest: Dwight D. Eisenhower, not John F. Kennedy, was the first US president to truly embrace the use of public relations while in office . . . Parry uses archival materials and interviews with figures associated with Eisenhower to establish that Eisenhower had an under-appreciated strategic approach to public relations. She credits Eisenhower with reinventing the presidential news conference, reinvigorating the stature of the presidential press secretary, using mass media advertisements in his presidential runs, and creating the United States Information Agency to merge diplomacy with propaganda. Parry also points out that despite his intuition vis-à-vis public relations, Eisenhower suffered from poor speaking skills, a propensity for secrecy, and unwillingness to use the presidency in the service of the emerging civil rights movement. A welcome volume for those who wish to see how the presidency began to embrace strategic public relations. Includes extensive endnotes, a listing of archival sources, and photos. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers.
— Choice
Dwight D. Eisenhower had an illustrious career that has been well documented. Despite the vast literature on him, however, Pam Parry has managed to find an underexplored area. . . .Other mass media scholars have touched on Eisenhower’s attitudes toward the media, innovative use of television, and public relations’ savvy, but no one has taken the focused look at his impact on public relations as Parry has. . . .The book would make an ideal addition to a course in the history of public relations as well as in political science classes focused on the presidency. It is an interesting and informative look at a president about whom we continue to learn much.
— American Journalism: A Media History Journal