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Abstract There are many research findings and some theoretical models regarding the interaction between journalism and public relations (PR). But only scarce research has been done so far on the historical perspective of this relationship, which is also called co-evolution of PR and journalism. The aim of this article is to make a first step into the analysis of this co-evolution with a focus on the emergence of PR in the German-language area and based mainly on German literature about the history of PR. The analysis shows that the rise of PR in the second half of the 19th century was, amongst others, a reaction to the development of journalism that had become increasingly biased. Thus, for many societal actors and organisations, the barriers to entering the public arena were increasing. At the same time the importance of the mass media, and pressures on social protagonists and organisations to legitimise their interests in a changing society, were growing. These results support a theoretical concept that describes the development of mass communication as a process of rationalisation of societal communication, which in addition can be linked with system theory.
