The Paris Air Show: A study of United States governmental and industrial international public relations

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.The United States government and aviation industry have long been regular participants of what is considered to be the world's largest aviation gathering--The Paris Air Show. More often than not, the image of a person, organization, or country is projected by action, not simply words. It is in this light that the American participation is studied by the author. In 1965, United States participation, therefore its image, was the subject of much criticism. There was a general consensus, both at home and abroad, that the American program had failed to present an accurate picture of United States aerospace development and progress. The situation was additionally compounded by the presence of a strong Russian program and the unfortunate fact that America's presentation was primarily military in nature. The author has attempted to first place the Paris Air Show in its proper perspective by introducing some background of this and other air shows. Next, the participation of government and industry is treated individually, with emphasis on objectives and programs for the 1965 show. Since that year marked the first formal structure of government-industry co-operation, there are naturally overlapping areas. The fact that the United States image suffered at the Paris Air Show is documented by an analysis of the news and magazine coverage of the show. Also, various United States government officials' comments on the show serve as substantiation to this fact. In conclusion, the proposed United States program for 1967 is presented as a contrast to that of 1965. The author does not attempt to criticize the participation in any way but constructively, in hope that the many pitfalls of placing America and its aerospace products on international display are avoided in the future.2031-01-0