The Voice of Business

By: Karen S. Miller

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Synopsis: In 1933, John W. Hill opened the New York office of what wouldbecome the most important public relations agency in history:Hill & Knowlton, Inc. By 1959, the combined sales of itsclients--which included Procter & Gamble, Texaco, Gillette, andAvco Manufacturing as well as the steel, tobacco, and aviationindustries' trade associations--amounted to 10 percent of thegross national product. The Voice of Business chronicles Hill& Knowlton's influence on American public discourse in theyears following World War II. Guided by its founder's conservative ideals, Hill &Knowlton developed a twofold mission: to influence publicdiscussion about issues important to its clients and to educateAmericans about big business. Karen Miller shows how the agencytried to manipulate public opinion, political debate, and newsmedia content about such issues as postwar military aircraftprocurement, the deregulation of margarine production, PresidentTruman's seizure of steel mills in 1952, and the cigarette healthscare of 1953-54. Though its campaigns did not change manyopinions, she says, Hill & Knowlton affected the publicindirectly by reinforcing the ideas of its clients and otherconservatives.