Public relations pioneer Denny Griswold, co-founder and original owner of PR NEWS, died after a long career in the PR spotlight last month in Connecticut. She was
92.
"She was the best cheerleader the profession ever had," recalls Jack Felton, former national president of PRSA and professor of journalism at the University of Florida,
Gainesville. "She did a marvelous job in creating a role for women in a profession that was getting off the ground."
Griswold launched PR NEWS in 1944, one of the first publications dedicated to the industry. She focused heavily on writing about successful PR campaigns, creating "case
studies" that strategists could learn from and emulate. Griswold targeted PR NEWS for corporate executives at a time when public relations was not a high priority for
business leaders.
She also spearheaded recognition for professional PR efforts. "She started the whole business of giving awards to people," Felton says. "She hosted an annual banquet
recognizing people who had been appointed to strategic positions in major companies, topping it off with a 'PR Person of the Year' award."
Griswold frequently opened her upscale New York townhouse to dinner guests for informal networking opportunities. "Her annual dinners were quite something," enthuses David
Finn, CEO and co-founder of New York-based agency Ruder Finn. "She had a wonderful apartment in the city filled with memorabilia of all sorts." Griswold, he adds, was a "catalyst"
who often introduced stars in the field to each other.
Griswold sold PR NEWS to Phillips Publishing Company in 1991 after a diligent search for an owner who would value the publication as she did. A transcript from a 1991
meeting related to the sale reveals that Griswold was searching for a "suitor" for PR News and that Phillips was the "logical groom." (Following another sale last year, PRN
is currently owned by Veronis Suhler & Associates, NYC.) After her sale, Griswold retreated from the profession to care for her ailing husband, who died several years
later.
"She started a field where there really wasn't much of a field," said Felton. "She gave public relations meaning and responsibility and took the curse off of being a
publicist."
"In her manner of speech, appearance, and lifestyle she acted regally," observes New York-based consultant Richard Weiner. "She was the self-appointed queen of the PR
Kingdom."