| Description | Correspondence relating to the press and communications function of the British Psychological Society BPS including press coverage and complaints to National Press; Press Committee membership, copy for 'Media Watch' column in The Psychologist; annual conference press; BPS Impact of Disasters Bill (Keith Vaz); press releases for section conferences (DCLP [Division of Criminological and Legal Psychology], Special Group in Counselling Psychology, Health Psychology, Social Psychology Section and the Psychology of Women Section); advertising and contacts for annual conference press coverage; Radio 4 programme 'The Archers' and Granada TV 'Coronation Street concerning depression story lines; Setting Priorities in Mental Health research report coverage; Spearman medal, non-qualified people appearing in the media as 'psychologists'; Information Committee responsibility holders; response to White Paper on 'Health of the Nation'; funding for Special Group in Central Government 'Disastrous Decisions' lecture; complaints concerning BBC programme Public Eye Sex in the Forbidden Zone not emphasizing disciplinary code for chartered psychologists. |
| AdminHistory | The first report on public relations was in 1946 by T H Pear [see BPS Council Papers 25 May 1946]. A public relations committee was founded in 1955 and was a short lived working party.
In 1971 Nicholas Georgiades and Professor Arthur Summerfield arranged a press conference at Brown's Hotel to draw attention to the BPS response to Sir John Foster's report on Scientology [See BPS/001/4/01/03/01]. After advice from Mr Christopher Hall, Barbara Castle's Information officer on setting up a press function - a Standing Press Committee was formed in October 1971 under the Chairmanship of Dr Georgiades - they produced press releases and started recruiting spokespeople and setting up a media training courses for them - the first of which was held in June 1972. Early press efforts were concentrated on promoting the conferences and journal articles but later encompassed promoting BPS policy, positions, activities and the profession of psychology.
In 1973 Susan Best PA to the Secretary General took on the additional role of 'Public Relations Secretary', this was later held by Mrs M Clark, the post existed until 1976.
Stephen White joined the BPS staff as Director of Communications in 1985 and started organising regular media training from 1986 onwards. By October 1991 the Press Committee was no longer a standing committee but a subcommittee of the Information Committee (which itself took over from the Standing Committee on Communications SCCOMS 1984-1990). The Information Committee became the Communications Committee in 1998 as part of the Society's strategic plan. This became the Publications and Communications Board in 2000.
A press officer was recruited in 1991. |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the Head of the History of Psychology Centre and Archives and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material |