Burson, Harold

Harold Burson, founder and chairman of Bursonmarsteller, one of the largest public relations firms in the world, was named the most influential public relations figure in the 20th century by PR Week in 1999.

Burson attributed his success to a combination of many factors, including luck and taking advantage of opportunities. “Some people get opportunities but never know how to capitalize on them,” he said (personal communication, October 10, 2002). Early on, Burson recognized the value of a supportive, well-read father (who taught him to read at age 3) and the global vision given to him by his immigrant parents and the military, which were instrumental in shaping his career.

Burson was born February 15, 1921, in Memphis, Tennessee. Like many legendary figures in public relations, he started his career as a journalist; however, Burson started earlier than most. He was the editor of his junior high school newspaper and was appointed the Sunday high-school page reporter for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis. Though only 14 years old, Burson had a byline in the city's largest newspaper.

Burson said The Commercial Appeal continued to influence his life throughout high school and college: “I started out working with [The Commercial Appeal] as a copy boy, so I could pay my way through college” (personal communication, October 10, 2002). While attending the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Burson made an average of $60 per month as a stringer. He also headed the university's publicity department for three semesters, which he described as “the most valuable component of my college experience” (Burson, 2003, n.p.).

After graduating in May 1940, Burson continued to work for The Commercial Appeal. One of the stories he covered was the construction of a mammoth ammunition plant for the War Department near Memphis. The engineer–building contractor, the H. K. Ferguson Company, found itself in a labor dispute, and the company's owner asked Burson to take a leave of absence from his reporting job to handle press relations for the company. The dispute was resolved in a few weeks, and the owner asked Burson to join the company's headquarters staff as publicity director. In addition to providing a substantially higher salary, the opportunity allowed the 20-yearold Burson to fulfill his dream of moving to New York City. He worked for the Ferguson Company from 1941 until 1943, traveling throughout the United States. He enlisted in the army in 1944.

During World War II, Burson first was assigned to an engineer combat group and sent to Europe, where he cleared mines off the beaches of Normandy, France. With the Ninth U.S. Army, he marched across Belgium, Holland, and Germany.

In April 1945, he transferred to the Press and Psychological Warfare Detachment of the U.S. 12th Army Group, and when the war in Europe ended, he transferred to the news staff of American Forces Network (AFN)—the military radio network—and was sent to Paris. At 24, he was selected as AFN's chief correspondent at the Nuremberg Trial, where he worked alongside such reporters as Walter Cronkite and Walter K. Smith.

...