Archief F0397 - George James Rogers fonds

George James Rogers, public relations promoter, was born in Rock Terry, Cheshire, England in June 11, 1905. He emigrated to Canada as an adult prior to 1941 at which time he joined Canadian General Electric as a promotions man and editor of in-house publications. In 1949 he removed to New York and became assistant to the chairman, American Economic Foundation. He was very active in promoting the Foundation's educational programmes and films such as In our hands, Its your decision, Backfire, and Let's face it. In 1953 Rogers formed his own public relations firm in the Midwest, American Free Enterprise Productions and began to provide corporations and the general public with media shows, such as Our job security and The Milwaukee Baby, promoting the 'American way of life' (capitalism and representative government). In addition, he provided in-house publications, annual reports and training sessions for private clients. In 1962 he moved to Canada and formed the Canadian Economic Foundation before returning to New York in 1968. Both of Rogers' enterprises proposed to alleviate labour-management conflicts through a programme of economic education directed at workers and the general public. Their message was based on an attack of government spending and socialism in North America. The Canadian Economic Foundation sought to broaden out beyond the shop floor to have its material taught in community centres and public school systems. The Canadian Economic Foundation was a profit-taking organization which also relied substantially on donations from corporations to pursue its work.