The Public Relations Work of Journalism Trailblazer and First Lady Confidante Lorena Hickok
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Fall 2009
College/Unit
Reed College of Media
Department/Program/Center
Reed College of Media
Abstract
This article draws on both primary and secondary sources to help understand the evolution of the public relations profession through a biographical analysis of Lorena Hickok, a reporter who was the first woman to have a front-page byline in the New York Times and to hold a PR position in the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. In examining her lesser-known public relations career at the World's Fair from 1937 to 1940 and at the Democratic National Committee from 1940 to 1945, the authors found that she implemented asymmetrical public relations and relationship maintenance strategies, which were both forms of a developing managerial function in the public relations field. Information about this period of her work adds to the history of women in political public relations.
Digital Commons Citation
Martinelli, Diana, "The Public Relations Work of Journalism Trailblazer and First Lady Confidante Lorena Hickok" (2009). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 1186.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1186
Source Citation
Martinelli, Diana and Bowen, Shannon. (Fall 2009). “The Public Relations Work of AP Reporter and Roosevelt Confidante Lorena Hickock, 1937–1945,” Journalism History 35(3): 131−140.