PUBLIC RELATIONS 



Because of their great appeal to the imagination of the public and 

 the striking impression they make in pictorial presentations, dino- 

 saurs were again the focus of much of the Museum's publicity. The 

 completion of the huge Brontosaurus skeleton (see page 21) resulted 

 in publicity comparable to that which greeted the Gorgosaurus- 

 Lambeosauriis exhibit at the time of its installation in Stanley Field 

 Hall (see Annual Report 1956, page 24). In fact, the Chicago 

 Sun-Times revived interest in the older group with a half-page color 

 picture. Other Museum events that received major coverage were 

 the fiftieth anniversary of President Stanley Field as presiding 

 officer of the Board of Trustees (see page 23) and the acquisition 

 of the famed Fuller Collection (see page 21). 



More than 230 news releases were circulated by the Division of 

 Public Relations during the year. The Museum's monthly Bulletin, 

 in addition to its primary function as a liaison between the Museum 

 and its membership, serves also as a supplementary release of 

 Museum information, and many of its articles and pictures are 

 reprinted in newspapers and magazines and mentioned in broadcasts. 

 An outstanding example was a page of pictures of the Stone Age 

 dioramas in Hall C published in the Chicago Daily News. Several 

 feature stories and a layout of photographs in the Chicago Tribune 

 related to the constant flow of gifts of material from all over the 

 world for the collections of the scientific departments. 



Radio and television stations and networks as well as the press 

 showed gratifying interest in the Museum and its activities and 

 have been highly co-operative in their reception of news material 

 distributed by the Museum, frequently following up Museum 

 releases or originating their own stories based on material in the 

 exhibits or study collections. The Chicago American has been espe- 

 cially responsive in picture-coverage of Museum events. The inaugu- 

 ration by the Chicago Daily News in October of a new rotogravure 

 magazine called Weekend has provided an especially welcome and 

 effective vehicle for announcements of current events, special events, 

 lectures, and programs for children. The editors of this magazine 

 have been most co-operative, and the Musemn had material pub- 

 lished in it almost every week. 



With the constant publishing and broadcasting of Museum news 

 and the reiteration of the Museum's name in this connection, it is 

 believed that no Chicagoan can remain unaware of the institution's 

 existence and its program for education and public service. Most 

 of the major publicity stories are also carried nationally (and even 



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