Public Relations and the Making of Modern Britain: Stephen Tallents and the Birth of a Progressive Media Profession

Public relations was established in Britain by a group of liberal intellectuals in the aftermath of the slump. It adopted an ethos that might be termed cultural Keynesianism and its manner, men and methods would heavily influence post war organizations such as UNESCO. Central to the startling story of Britain’s early public relations pioneers is Sir Stephen Tallents, the inaugural President of the Institute of Public Relations. Tallents was a public sector svengali who lent his patronage to John Grierson’s documentary film movement, the BBC Overseas Service, the development of Listener Research and the staging of the Festival of Britain. His intellectual imprint lingers on everything from the jubilee telephone kiosk to the V for Victory movement, from Nightmail to the Greater London Plan. A brilliant portrait of how the social, economic and media revolutions of early twentieth century reshaped national life, Public relations and the making of modern Britain reveals a country struggling to cope with austerity and crisis that is at once very different from, and yet surprisingly similar to, our own. This book will interest students and scholars of media studies and modern British culture, history and politics.