| Description | Material relating to the British Psychological Society's communications press, PR [public relations], marketing and information function - including committees, training, press releases, events, publications, consultations, briefings and launches.
Includes:
BPS/001/11/01 BPS Press and Communications Committees 1956-2000
BPS/001/11/02 BPS Press and Communications Correspondence 1984-2000
BPS/001/11/03 BPS Press, Policy and Communications Press Releases and Projects 1969-2002
BPS/001/11/04 BPS Lobbying and Public Policy Responses 1966-2010
BPS/001/11/05 BPS Press and Communications Training and Publications 1984-2001
See also BPS/001/06 BPS Events for press and communications material relating to Annual and London Conferences as well as special events such as the BPS Centenary in 2001. There will also be communications material such as press releases in the British Psychological Society specialist Divisions, Sections, Branches and Groups (known as BPS Sub Systems or Member Networks) who hold regular conferences and events as well as producing publications and policies and responding to specialist consultations.
Note: This Series is a work in progress
Note: This ref number BPS/001/11 [PSY/BPS/001/11] was previously used for a file entitle 'BPS Miscellaneous II' the contents of which is now in BPS/001/9/04/01 Membership Documents |
| AdminHistory | In 1943 a committee was set up to discuss 'the recent treatment of psychological matters in the press' [Council Minutes 3 July 1943].
The first report on public relations was in 1946 by T H Pear [see BPS Council Papers 25 May 1946]. Reports on psychological in the media were regularly published in the Bulletin of the British Psychological Society (1946-1987) and its successor The Psychologists.
In 1952 it was suggested that the press be invited to attend the AGM this was not agreed but their was an idea that the press be invited to selected meetings where general papers were read. A journalist from the Manchester Guardian had in fact attended the 1937 Annual Conference and 'reported in a satisfactory manner' but it had been agreed at the Council meeting of 19 May 1937 that ordinarily meetings should not be published. A public relations committee was founded in 1955 and became 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. A press officer was recruited in 1991.
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.
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| 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 |