Newswise — Transcripts from 38 speeches by public relations pioneer Arthur W. Page, whose practical, effective and ethical approach to public relations has been translated into the well-known “Page principles,” are now available online. Page’s speeches – indexed and summarized for easy reference – are available on the website for the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University (http://pagecenter.comm.psu.edu/).
Marie Hardin, director of the Center, said the resource has value for scholars, public relations practitioners, and anyone interested in ethical issues in communication and business.
“Through the words of Arthur W. Page, one can trace the origins of today’s corporate social responsibility movement and glean advice on ethical, transparent communication that is as relevant today as it was in the 1920s, 30s, ‘40s and ‘50s when these speeches were given,” she said.
Arthur W. Page is remembered as one of the nation’s early and still-revered public relations practitioners. He was the first to serve on the executive management team of a major corporation, AT&T, which he joined in 1927.
In time, Page’s public relations precepts became known as the Page principles. They are: (1) tell the truth, (2) prove it with action, (3) listen to the customer, (4) manage for tomorrow, (5) conduct public relations as if the whole company depends on it, (6) a company’s true character is expressed by its people, and (7) remain calm, patient and good-humored.
Speeches indexed and summarized
The speeches on the website are summarized and indexed by key topics and Page principles.
“If, for example, a practitioner or scholar wants to find examples of the Page Principle, ‘manage for tomorrow,’ he or she can easily find the full texts of the Page speeches illustrating that guideline,” Hardin said.
The 38 speeches in the collection represent all of the speeches by Page that are known to exist. These public remarks comprise a large part of his legacy as he was, for the most part, a private man. In a long career at AT&T and afterward, Page provided counsel to government on programs such as The Marshall Plan and Radio Free Europe. About the Page Center
The Arthur W. Page Center, a research unit of Penn State University’s College of Communications, was created in 2004 through a leadership gift by Lawrence G. Foster, a distinguished Penn State alumnus and retired corporate vice president for public relations at Johnson & Johnson.
The Center seeks to foster a modern understanding and application of the Page Principles and the business philosophy of Robert Wood Johnson II by supporting innovative research, educational or public service projects in a wide variety of academic disciplines and professional fields. For further information on the Center and the Page or Johnson Legacy Scholar Grants, go to http://pagecenter.comm.psu.edu/.
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