The Voice of Business

In 1933, John W. Hill opened the New York office of what would

become the most important public relations agency in history:

Hill & Knowlton, Inc. By 1959, the combined sales of its

clients--which included Procter & Gamble, Texaco, Gillette, and

Avco Manufacturing as well as the steel, tobacco, and aviation

industries' trade associations--amounted to 10 percent of the

gross national product. The Voice of Business chronicles Hill

& Knowlton's influence on American public discourse in the

years following World War II.

Guided by its founder's conservative ideals, Hill &

Knowlton developed a twofold mission: to influence public

discussion about issues important to its clients and to educate

Americans about big business. Karen Miller shows how the agency

tried to manipulate public opinion, political debate, and news

media content about such issues as postwar military aircraft

procurement, the deregulation of margarine production, President

Truman's seizure of steel mills in 1952, and the cigarette health

scare of 1953-54. Though its campaigns did not change many

opinions, she says, Hill & Knowlton affected the public

indirectly by reinforcing the ideas of its clients and other

conservatives.