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Since the invention of the telephone in 1876, publicity has been
central to the growth of the industry. In its earliest years the
Bell company enjoyed a patent monopoly, but after Alexander Graham
Bell's patents expired, it had to fight competitors, the public,
and the U.S. government to maintain control of the telephone
network. It used every means its executives could imagine, and that
included constructing one of the earliest and most effective public
relations programs of its time. This book analyzes the development
of public relations at AT&T, starting with a previously
forgotten publicist, William A. Hovey, and then including James D.
Ellsworth and Arthur W. Page, who worked with other Bell executives
to create a company where public relations permeated almost every
aspect of work, leveraging employee programs, stock sales, and
technological research for PR. Critics accused it of disseminating
propaganda, but the desire to promote and protect the Bell monopoly
propelled the creation of a corporate public relations program that
also shaped the legal, political, media, and cultural landscape.
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