Corporate Community Relations Directors

The first documented public relations firm was established in the early 1900s. Run by newspaper veterans, the Publicity Bureau had Harvard University as its first client.

Many corporations, regardless of their industry focus or size, realize the importance of positive publicity. One well-placed news item can be considered priceless in terms of advertising and name recognition. Also, the notion of global citizenship has had a huge impact on the growth of corporate public relations. It is not enough for companies to succeed in a particular arena. As a global citizen, a company must react and help address social and health issues, environmental concerns, education reform, and cultural advancement. For this reason, corporations have seen the need to establish public relations departments to develop, implement, and report on such programs.

The Public Relations Society of America is the one of the world's largest professional organizations catering to this industry. It has more than 30,000 professional and student members, many of whom specialize in corporate public relations.