Nineteenth and twentieth century developments in corporations’ legal duties involving “public relations” activities gave rise to professional public relations practice. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, court cases, trade press, and the popular press used the term “public relations” to refer to the status of an organization and certain expected behaviors. As corporations and utilities grew in the late nineteenth century these “public relations” responsibilities were applied to them creating a legal requirement of transparency, disclosure, and good faith actions. Examining court decisions and the popular press this paper shows how this application of the term “public relations” to corporations had a relationship with public relations practice. Implications for public relations historiography and American public relations development are discussed.

中文翻译：

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规范公共关系：美国的法律政策和法规如何塑造早期的企业公共关系

19 世纪和 20 世纪公司在涉及“公共关系”活动的法律义务方面的发展催生了专业的公共关系实践。在 19 世纪和 20 世纪初期，法庭案件、行业媒体和大众媒体使用“公共关系”一词来指代组织的地位和某些预期行为。随着公司和公用事业公司在 19 世纪后期的发展，这些“公共关系”责任被应用于他们创造了透明度、披露和诚信行为的法律要求。通过审查法院判决和大众媒体，本文展示了“公共关系”一词在公司中的应用与公共关系实践之间的关系。