Tradition Eleven
"Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than
promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of
press, radio, and films."
WITHOUT its legions of well-wishers, A.A. could never have grown as it
has. Throughout the world, immense and favorable publicity of every
description has been the principal means of bringing alcoholics into
our Fellowship. In A.A. offices, clubs, and homes, telephones ring
constantly. One voice says, "I read a piece in the newspapers . . .";
another, "We heard a radio program . . ."; and still another, "We saw a
moving picture . . ." or "We something about A.A. on television. . . ."
It is no exaggeration to say that half of A.A.'s membership has been
led to us through channels like these.
The inquiring voices are not all alcoholics or their families. Doctors
read medical papers about Alcoholics Anonymous and call for more
information. Clergymen see articles in their church journals and also
make inquiries. Employers learn that great corporations have set their
approval upon us, and wish to discover what can be done about
alcoholism in their own firms.
Therefore, a great responsibility fell upon us to develop the best
possible public relations policy for Alcoholics Anonymous. Through many
painful experiences, we think we have arrived at what that policy ought
to be. It is the opposite in many ways of usual promotional practice.
We found that we had to rely upon the principle of attraction rather
than of promotion.
Let's see how these two contrasting ideas--attraction and
promotion--work out. A political party wishes to win an election, so it
advertises the virtues of its leadership to draw votes. A worthy
charity wants to raise money; forthwith, its letterhead shows the name
of every distinguished person who support can be obtained. Much of the
political, economic, and religious life of the world is dependent upon
publicized leadership. People who symbolize causes and ideas fill a
deep human need. We of A.A. do not question that. But we do have to
soberly face the fact that being in the public eye is hazardous,
especially for us. By temperament, nearly every one of us had been an
irrepressible promoter, and the prospect of a society composed almost
entirely of promoters was frightening. Considering this explosive
factor, we knew we had to exercise self-restraint.
The way this restraint paid off was startling. It resulted in more
favorable publicity of Alcoholics Anonymous than could possibly have
been obtained through all the arts and abilities of A.A.'s best press
agents. Obviously, A.A. had to be publicized somehow, so we resorted to
the idea that it would be far better to let our friends do this for us.
Precisely that has happened, to an unbelievable extent. Veteran
newsmen, trained doubters that they are, have gone all out to carry
A.A.'s message. To them, we are something more than the source of good
stories. On almost every news front, the men and women of the press
have attached themselves to us as friends.
In the beginning, the press could not understand our refusal of all
personal publicity. They were genuinely baffled by our insistence upon
anonymity. Then they got the point. Here was something rare in the
world--a society which said it wished to publicize its principles and
its work, but not its individual members. The press was delighted with
this attitude. Ever since, these friends have reported A.A. with an
enthusiasm which the most ardent members would find hard to match.
There was actually a time when the press of America thought the
anonymity of A.A. was better for us than some of our own members did.
At on point, about a hundred of our Society were breaking anonymity at
the public level. With perfectly good intent, these folks declared that
the principle of anonymity was horse-an-buggy stuff, something
appropriate to A.A.'s pioneering days. They were sure that A.A. could
go faster and farther if it availed itself of modern publicity methods.
A.A., they pointed out, included many persons of local, national, or
international fame. Provided they were willing--and many were--why
shouldn't their membership be publicized, thereby encouraging others to
join us? These were plausible arguments, but happily our friends of the
writing profession disagreed with them.
The Foundation* wrote letters to practically every news outlet in North
America, setting forth our public relations policy of attraction rather
than promotion, and emphasizing personal anonymity as A.A.'s greatest
protection. Since that time, editors and rewrite men have repeatedly
deleted names and pictures of members from A.A. copy; frequently, they
have reminded ambitious individuals of A.A.'s anonymity policy. They
have been sacrificed good stories to this end. The force of their
cooperation has certainly helped. Only a few A.A. members are left who
deliberately break anonymity at the public level.
This, in brief, in the process by which A.A.'s Tradition Eleven was
constructed. To us, however, it represents far more than a sound public
relations policy. It is more than a denial of self-seeking. This
Tradition is a constant and practical reminder that personal ambition
has no place in A.A. In it, each member becomes an active guardian of
our Fellowship. *In 1954, the name of the Alcoholic Foundation, Inc.,
was changed to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc.,
and the Foundation office is now the General Service Office.
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