Poison Ivy On Display

The seminal PR work of Ivy Lee, sometimes called "the real father of modern PR," is currently on display in the Transit Museum in Grand Central Station in New York City. In 1908, Lee became the first publicity director for Pennsylvania Railroad, developing campaigns to influence public opinion in support of the railroad's lobbying efforts. Lee gain notoriety when he was hired by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to turn public sentiment about the 1914 Ludlow Massacre. His work supporting turn-of-the-century robber barons earned him the nickname "Poison Ivy." NYC's Interborourgh Rapid Transit hired Lee in 1916. He created the Subway Sun newspaper as part of an effort to publicize New York's subway system. In the early 1930s, Lee was a consultant to a German company linked to Hitler, which, in part, led to the passage of the Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938.