Trains, chains, blame, and elephant appeal

Public Relations Review 38 (2012) 341–346

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Public Relations Review

Trains, chains, blame, and elephant appeal: A case study of the public

relations significance of Mary the Elephant

John Brummette∗

School of Communication, P.O. Box 6932, Radford, VA 24142, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:

Received 5 September 2011

Received in revised form

17 November 2011

Accepted 29 November 2011

Keywords:

Mary the Elephant

Press agentry model

Animal cruelty

Circus promotion

Public relations history

Community reputation

a b s t r a c t

Using the media coverage of the hanging of Mary the Elephant, the purposes of this article

are to discuss the major implications of the press agentry model of public relations, the

impact of corporate decisions on the reputation of its surrounding community, and how

the values related to societal issues such as animal cruelty change over time. Findings reveal

that public pressure, intense police attention, and the counsel of a master press agentled the

circus owner to make the decision to hang Mary and ultimately adulterate the reputation

of the town of Erwin, Tennessee indefinitely.

© 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In 1916, the Carolina, Clinchfield and Ohio Railroad Company performed its civic duty by assisting an angry public in

hanging a murderer in Erwin, Tennessee. The murderer, a two-ton circus elephant named Mary, was convicted, sentenced

and hanged from a railroad derrick for causing the death of her trainer in a horrific public spectacle. The death of the trainer

and resulting hanging of Mary created a public relations crisis for Charlie Sparks, the owner of Mary and the Sparks World

Famous Shows.

Primary sources from Erwin, Tennessee’s archives and county newspaper indicate that public pressure, intense police

attention, and the counsel of master press agent, John Heron, led Sparks to make a decision that brought negative attention

to his circus and the entire town of Erwin. This article examines this incident that is a relevant, yet little known piece of

public relations history that not only deals with the major implications of the press agentry model of public relations, but

also illustrates the impact a decision can make on the reputation of an organization and community.

2. The press agentry model

The history of press agentry and circuses are inextricably linked. Grunig and Hunt (1984) defined press agentry as a one￾way, asymmetricalmodel of public relations that oftenutilizes erroneous ormisleading tactics to persuade andmanipulate its

targets. Press agentry has been labeled as the “public be damned model” due to its use of publicity stunts and sensationalized

marketing to influence the public in the direction that benefits the organization (Goldman, 1948). Grunig, Grunig, and Dozier

∗ Tel.: +1 540 831 6189; fax: +1 540 831 5883.

E-mail address: [email protected]

0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.11.013