The journalist-to-publicist pipeline
From P.T. Barnum’s 1871 publicity stunts to today’s media relations, journalists have long been enlisted as instruments to generate attention for organizations and events.
Modern public relations traces back to P.T. Barnum in 1871, who created “The Greatest Show on Earth” by fabricating stunts to amaze audiences. Believing that no publicity was bad publicity, Barnum viewed journalists as instruments to orchestrate his spectacles; over 150 years later, media relations specialists remain part of the relationship between organizations and the press.