MOONDEERS NOTES on Bernays' PROPAGANDA
There is no means of human communication which may not also be a means of deliberate propaganda, because propaganda is simply the establishing of reciprocal understanding between an individual and a group.
The relative value of the various instruments of propaganda, and their relation to the masses, are constantly changing. Take advantage of these shifts of value the instant they occur.
Fifty years ago, the public meeting was a propaganda instrument par excellence. Today it is difficult to get more than a handful of people to attend. They are sick of the ballyhoo of the rally. Instead there are numerous other media of communication, some new, others old but so transformed that they have become virtually new.
Large groups, political, racial, sectarian, economic or professional, are tending to control stations to propagandize their points of view.
Another instrument of propaganda is the personality. Has the device of the exploited personality been pushed too far? A personality may create circumstances. Events may create a personality. It is often difficult to say which creates the other.
Once a public figure has decided what ends he wishes to achieve, he must regard himself objectively and present an outward picture of himself which is consistent with his real character and his aims. The man who would most effectively transmit his message to the public must be alert to make use of all the means of propaganda.
Propaganda will never die out.