The Public Relations Machine Behind the Scenes

Abstract

This chapter reveals the PR machinations taking place behind the scenes, wherein Roald Amundsen’s brother Leon and his patron Don Pedro Christophersen work on the explorer’s behalf to secure for him the best publicity at the most monetary gain in the event that he reaches the South Pole. During the time that Amundsen, his men, and his sled dogs had been returning from the South Pole, and while the expedition is departing from Antarctica to Hobart, Leon and Christophersen are engaged in intensive negotiations to sell Amundsen’s story at the highest price to the media with maximum exposure. Several cables, letters, and contracts to this effect are presented and analyzed, dated from December 1911 to March 1912, sent between Leon, Christophersen, and the London-based newspaper The Daily Chronicle, and showing the inner workings of these negotiations. The author provides a summary of the selection of The Daily Chronicle as the newspaper of choice, and the intricate steps of stealth and secret communication that were devised by Leon and the newspaper in order to release the news about Amundsen, his men, and his sled dogs.

Notes on Original Material and Unpublished Sources

All Roald Amundsen letters of correspondence quoted in this chapter, written from and to Roald Amundsen and Leon Amundsen, are in the Manuscripts Collection at the National Library of Norway (NB) in Oslo.

• 1. P. Christophersen to R./L. Amundsen, telegram in English, 11 January 1912, NB Brevs. 812:1

• 2. P. Christophersen to L. Amundsen, letter in Norwegian, 12 January 1912, (translated for the author by Anne Melgård during the author’s research at the National Library of Norway), NB Brevs. 812:1

• 3. E. A. Perris to P. Christophersen, letter in English, 10 December 1911, enclosure in letter from P. Christophersen to L. Amundsen, 12 January 1912, NB Brevs. 812:1

• 4. E. A. Perris to L. Amundsen, letter in English, 10 December 1911, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 5. R. Donald to L. Amundsen, letter in English, 8 January 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 6. R. Donald to L. Amundsen, letter in English, 18 January 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 7. R. Donald to L. Amundsen, letter in English, 30 January 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 8. R. Donald to L. Amundsen, telegram in English, 3 February 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 9. E. A. Perris to L. Amundsen, letter in English, 28 December 1911, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 10. R. Donald to L. Amundsen, letter in English, 18 January 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 11. R. Donald to L. Amundsen, letter in English, 19 February 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 12. R. Donald to L. Amundsen, letters in English, 8 January 1912 and 19 February 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 13. R. Donald to L. Amundsen, telegram in English, 21 February 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 14. Agreement between the United Newspapers Limited of the Daily Chronicle Buildings London in the United Kingdom and Captain Roald Amundsen of Christiana [sic] in the Kingdom of Norway and Leon Amundsen of Christiana [sic] Brother and Attorney of Amundsen, February 24, 1912. NB Brevs. 812:2:h

• 15. R. Donald to R. Amundsen, telegram in English, 1 March 1912, NB Brevs. 812:2:h