Earl Newsom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edwin Earl Newsom (1897–1973) was an American counselor in public relations. He is best known for the success of his public relations firm, Earl Newsom & Company (ENCO), which managed and counseled several large corporations in the midst of scandal and controversy. In the words of his biographer, Scott Cutlip, "He saw his role as a counsellor, not as an agent for a client. [He] did not issue press releases for clients or deal with the press in a public relations capacity."[1]
Newsom believed that the American social model of self-governance put corporate virtue at a premium. He refuted Gustav Le Bon (1898) The Crowd – A Study of Public Mind, where the capacity of man to think collectively is denigrated. Newsom also maintained that "an enlightened and socially responsible performance is the only sound base for a favourable public relationship."[2] Newsom has been recognized by The New York Times as being one of the most influential public relations counselors in the history of private industry.[3]
Earl Newsom was born in Wellman, Iowa, on December 13, 1897, to Reverend John Edward and Emma Day Newsom. He had two older brothers, both of whom worked as piano salesmen. Newsom eventually took up the trade also and developed the art of persuasion this way. Later, he went to Oberlin College. During World War I, he served in the Air Corps of the Navy. Returning to Oberlin, he graduated in 1921. For two years Newsom taught English at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio. Newsom was in "endless search for mastery in the use of that thrilling phenomenon, the English sentence."
Earl Newsom married Lois Ruth Rinehart on June 14, 1923. The couple moved to New York City where Newsom taught English and mathematics at McBurney School. For a time, he also studied English literature at Columbia University as a graduate student.
In 1925, Newsom started working for the Literary Digest. In 1927, he was involved in the home heating industry as coal furnaces were replaced by oil heaters. He took a position with the Oil Heating Institute, promoting the term oil heater over oil burner, and the conversion of the old coal room to a "basement playroom". In 1931, returned to publishing with the John Day company. Among his projects was putting The Good Earth into print.
Disposition and appearance
Earl Newsom was known for his love of writing and the English language. He was regarded as being scholarly, humorous, and charming. He was neither greedy nor money hungry, and he developed trusted relationships with his clients. Physically, Newsom resembled Abraham Lincoln; he was tall, dark and "craggy." Fittingly, Newsom admired Lincoln and kept a portrait of the former president behind his desk. He frequently quoted Lincoln stating, "You can't fool all the people all the time."[4]
