Chapter 1

Introduction to Contemporary Public relations

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After studying Chapter 1 you should be able to:

▪ Define public relations as the management function that builds and

maintains relationships between organizations and their publics.

▪ Distinguish between public relations and marketing, identifying the

exchange between provider and customer as the distinguishing
characteristic of marketing relationships.

▪ Describe and differentiate among related concepts—publicity, advertising,

press agentry, employee relations, community relations, public affairs, issues
management, crisis communication, lobbying, investor relations, and
development.

▪ Outline how public relations helps improve organizations and society

Public relations is the management function that establishes and

maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization
and the publics on whom its success or failure depends. Individuals
and groups have always entered into relationships in order to
satisfy mutual wants and needs.

In the interconnected global community, however, increasing

interdependence requires even more complex social, political, and economic
interaction. As a result, establishing and maintaining relationships at all
levels of social systems have become important areas of scholarly study and
professional practice.
For example, human relations, marital relations, and interpersonal
relations describe the study and management of relationships between
individuals. At the other extreme, international relations deals with
relationships among nations in the largest social system. Courses and books
are devoted to the study of all these relationships, as well as relationships in
families, work teams, groups, organizations, communities, and other social
entities.
This book is about relationships between organizations and their
stakeholder publics—people who are somehow mutually involved or
interdependent with organizations. The term “public relations” refers to the
management of organization–public relationships and is one of the fastest-
growing fields of professional employment worldwide.
In everyday conversation and in the media, however, people use “public
relations” to refer to many things, and often not in a positive way. For
example, some say “it’s just public relations” to describe what they consider
to be an insincere public gesture. Others say it is “good public relations” or
“great PR” if something appears in the media, equating public relations with
anything that attracts media coverage. As one publicist said, “We encourage
that feeling because that’s what we do.”
Critics see public relations as an attempt to hide the truth or to put a positive
“spin” on bad news—“an industry designed to alter perceptions, reshape
reality and manufacture consent.” For example, during unrest in the Middle
East, critics claimed that public relations firms were engaged in “reputation
laundering”: “What people assume with PR agencies is their real business is
burying the truth.” Another critic suggested “the terms PR and public
relations have become widely accepted shorthand for subterfuge and
deception.” Even more extreme is a long-held view that public relations
people “pull the wires which [sic] control the public mind, who harness old
forces and contrive new ways to bind and guide the world.”
This book is not about the kinds of public relations represented in these
views. Rather, it describes public relations as the art and science of building
and maintaining relationships between organizations and their stakeholder
publics. This chapter defines public relations as an organizational
management function, discusses its parts and specializations, and
distinguishes it from other management functions and activities.

1. ATTEMPTS TO DEFINE PUBLIC RELATIONS

Hundreds have written definitions attempting to define public relations by

listing the major operations that make up the practice—what public relations
does. A longtime public relations scholar and professional leader, the late
Rex F. Harlow, collected almost 500 definitions. He identified common
elements and incorporated them in the following definition:

Public relations is the distinctive management function which helps

establish and maintain mutual lines of communication, understanding,
acceptance and cooperation between an organization and its publics;
involves the management of problems or issues; helps management to
keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and
 emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public
interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize
change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends;
and uses research and sound and ethical communication as its principal
tools.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) adopted an even longer

definition— “Official Statement on Public Relations”—in 1982. A blue-ribbon
panel of PRSA leaders attempted to provide society members a definition of
the field that stressed public relations’ contributions to society. In addition to
this conceptual aspect of the definition, the panel included activities, results,
and knowledge requirements of public relations practice. (See Exhibit 1.1.)
PRSA’s current website presents a new and much shorter definition similar to
what was first presented in this textbook in its 1985 edition: Public relations
is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial
relationships between organizations and their publics.

Exhibit 1.1 - Public Relations Society of America’s “Official

Statement of Public Relations” (Courtesy of Public Relations Society of
America)
Public relations helps our complex, pluralistic society to reach decisions and
function more effectively by contributing to mutual understanding among
groups and institutions. It serves to bring private and public policies into
harmony.
Public relations serves a wide variety of institutions in society such as
businesses, trade unions, government agencies, voluntary associations,
foundations, hospitals, schools, colleges, and religious institutions. To achieve
their goals, these institutions must develop effective relationships with many
different audiences or publics such as employees, members, customers, local
communities, shareholders, and other institutions, and with society at large.
The management of institutions needs to understand the attitudes and
values of their publics in order to achieve institutional goals. The goals
themselves are shaped by the external environment. The public relations
practitioner acts as a counselor to management and as a mediator, helping
to translate private aims into reasonable, publicly acceptable policy and
action.
As a management function, public relations encompasses the following:
• Anticipating, analyzing, and interpreting public opinion, attitudes, and
issues that might impact, for good or ill, the operations and plans of the
organization.
• Counseling management at all levels in the organization with regard to
policy decisions, courses of action, and communication, taking into account
their public ramifications and the organization’s social or citizenship
responsibilities.
• Researching, conducting, and evaluating, on a continuing basis, programs
of action and communication to achieve the informed public understanding
necessary to the success of an organization’s aims. These may include
marketing, financial, fundraising, employee, community or government
relations, and other programs.
• Planning and implementing the organization’s efforts to influence or
change public policy.
• Setting objectives, planning, budgeting, recruiting and training staff,
developing facilities—in short, managing the resources needed to perform all
of the above.
• Examples of the knowledge that may be required in the professional
practice of public relations include communication arts, psychology, social
psychology, sociology, political science, economics, and the principles of
management and ethics. Technical knowledge and skills are required for
opinion research, public-issues analysis, media relations, direct mail,
institutional advertising, publications, film/video productions, special events,
speeches, and presentations.
In helping to define and implement policy, the public relations practitioner
uses a variety of professional communication skills and plays an integrative
role both within the organization and between the organization and the
external environment.

In summary, the many definitions suggest that public relations:

1. Conducts a planned and sustained program by an organization’s

management.
2. Deals with the relationships between an organization and its
stakeholder publics.
3. Monitors awareness, opinions, attitudes, and behaviors inside and
outside the organization.
4. Analyzes the impact of policies, procedures, and actions on stakeholder
publics to identify those that conflict with the public interest and
organizational survival.
5. Counsels management to establish new policies, procedures, and
actions that benefit both the organization and its publics.
 6. Establishes and maintains two-way communication between the
organization and its publics.
7. Produces measurable changes in awareness, opinion, attitude, and
behavior inside and outside the organization.
8. Results in new and/or maintained relationships between an
organization and its publics.

2. DEFINING CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC RELATIONS

Definitions serve at least two purposes: to help us understand the world

around us and to argue for a particular worldview of how one concept relates
to other concepts. Consequently, the definition of public relations
describes what public relations is and does, as well as how it relates to other
organizational activities:

Public relations is the management function that establishes

and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an
organization and the publics on whom its success or failure
depends.

This definition positions public relations as a management function,

because all organizations must attend to relationships with their publics. It
also identifies building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships
between organizations and publics as the moral and ethical basis of the
profession. At the same time, it suggests criteria for determining what public
relations is and what is not public relations. And finally, it defines the concept
of public relations that is the subject of this book.

3. CONFUSION WITH MARKETING

Many confuse public relations with another management function—

marketing. Job openings for “public relations representatives” turn out to be
positions as shopping mall sales representatives or telephone solicitors. In
small organizations, the same person may do both public relations and
marketing, often without distinguishing between the two. So it is not
surprising that some mistakenly conclude that there is no difference. But
there is a difference that makes the difference.

Marketing is the management function that identifies human

needs and wants, offers products and services to satisfy those
 demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and
services to users in exchange for something of value to the
provider.

If not always clearly defined in practice, public relations and marketing

can be distinguished conceptually and their relationship clarified. First,
people’s wants and needs are fundamental to the concept of marketing.
What people want or need gets translated into consumer demand. Marketers
offer products and services to satisfy the demand. Consumers select the
products and services that provide the most utility, value, and satisfaction.
Finally, the marketer delivers the product or service to the consumer in
exchange for something of value. According to marketing scholars Philip
Kotler and Kevin Lane Keller, “Marketing is a societal process by which
individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating,
offering, and freely exchanging products and services of value with others.”8
This special relationship distinguishes the marketing function—two parties
exchanging something of value to each other.

The goal of marketing is to attract and satisfy customers on a sustained

basis in order to secure “market share” and to achieve an organization’s
economic objectives. To accomplish that goal, marketing creates quid pro
quo relationships in which ownership— title—changes hands. On the other
hand, in public relations there is no exchange of title in relationships with
employees, community members, environmentalists, and other constituent
publics. Simply put, organizations cannot “own” support, trust, commitment,
or loyalty from those upon whom the organization’s very survival depends.
(See Chapter 3, pages 82–83, for an extended discussion of the public
relations–marketing relationship in organizations.)

4. PARTS OF THE FUNCTION

Some confuse public relations with its activities and parts. For example,
many think that “publicity” is simply another way of saying “public
relations.” Publicity is often the most visible part, but seldom the only
program tactic. Similarly, “lobbying” may be the most noticeable activity in
Washington, D.C., and in state capitals, but it usually is only one part of an
overall public relations strategy. Another part, employee communication,
may dominate in some organizations, but it represents the internal public
relations effort that is necessary before dealing with relationships outside the
organization.
The contemporary concept and practice of public relations includes all the
following activities and specialties.

a. Employee communication

Critical to the success of any organization, of course, are its employees.

Before any relationships can be maintained with customers, consumers,
neighbors, investors, and others outside the organization, management must
attend to those who do the work—the employees. Hence, CEOs in
organizations talk about employees as their “number one public” or as “the
organization’s most important asset,” and they try to create an
“organizational culture” that attracts and retains productive workers. This
part of public relations practice deals with internal relations.

Internal relations is the specialized part of public relations that

builds and maintains a mutually beneficial relationship between
managers and the employees on whom an organization’s
success depends.

Internal relations specialists work in departments called “employee

communication,” “employee relations,” or “internal relations.” They plan and
implement communication programs to keep employees informed and
motivated and to promote the organization’s culture. According to Jon Iwata,
senior vice president of marketing and communications at IBM, “When we
talk about employee communications, we really think of it in terms of
corporate culture— how work gets done in our company, how we view things
here.” He points out that the CEO plays a critical role: “The CEO has to get
his or her business to perform, and that is down to the workforce. The
realization is that in order to drive any business results, the employees have
to be with you . . . .”

Internal relations staff work closely with the human resources

department to communicate about benefits, training, safety, and other topics
important to employees. They work with the legal department in
communication related to labor relations during contract negotiations and
work stoppages. And, recognizing that employees are an organization’s best
ambassadors, internal relations staff work with external relations staff. They
coordinate messages so the entire organization speaks with “one voice,”
whether in face-to-face discussion with neighbors and friends or in social
media postings. (Chapter 9 discusses internal relations and employee
communication in greater detail.)
 b. Publicity

Much of the news and information in the media originates from public
relations sources. Because the sources do not pay for the placement,
however, they have little or no control over if the information is used, when
it is used, and how it is used or misused by the media. Public relations
sources provide what they judge to be newsworthy information—publicity—
with the expectation that editors and reporters will use the information.
Media decision makers may or may not use the information, based on their
judgment of its news value and interest to their audiences. They may use the
information as provided, change the original information, or change how it is
presented, usually without identifying the original source. In the eyes of
readers, listeners, or viewers, the medium carrying the information is the
source.

Publicity is information provided by an outside source that is

used by media because the information has news value. this is
an uncontrolled method of placing messages in the media
because the source does not pay media outlets for placement.

Examples of publicity include a story in a newspaper’s financial

section about a corporation’s increased earnings, a columnist’s item about a
charity fund-raising campaign, a feature story in the city magazine
describing a new cancer research center, an entertainment tabloid’s
announcement of your favorite band’s local concert, and television news
coverage of a new civic center dedication ceremony. Typically, such stories
came from the corporation’s investor relations department, the charitable
organization’s director of donor relations and development, the university
medical school’s news bureau, the band’s publicist, and the mayor’s press
secretary.

Print media usually receive a news release, feature story with

photographs, or media kit including detailed background information.
Broadcast media and blogs typically receive a broadcast-style news script,
recorded interview or “sound bites,” video news release (VNR), or media kit
including material suitable for broadcast or Internet posting (see Figure 1.2).
To generate publicity, public relations practitioners must know what
information will attract media attention, identify a newsworthy angle and
lead, and write and package the information appropriately for each medium.
It also helps if journalists and targeted bloggers trust the news source.
 Newsworthy events also generate publicity by attracting media
coverage. Groundbreaking ceremonies, ribbon cuttings, open houses,
reunions, dedications, telethons, marathons, ceremonial appointments,
honorary degrees, contract and legislation signings, protest demonstrations,
press conferences, and other “media events” are designed to be “news.” An
amusement park makes news, for example, when the 500-millionth “guest”
enters the park. Network news crews cover the president signing health care
reform legislation as leaders of health care groups pose alongside on the
White House lawn. Those staging such events hope to attract media
coverage and to gain some control over what is reported. Successful
publicity events have real news value; appeal to media gatekeepers; offer
photo, video, or sound opportunities; and communicate the source’s
intended message.

The publicity model of practice often operates under the “public

information” title. “Telling our story” remains one of the most frequently
practiced models of public relations. Many top managers and clients hire
public relations specialists to secure media coverage that will attract media
coverage and put the organization in a favorable light. Those operating
under the publicity model typically began their careers as journalists and use
their understanding of the media to craft newsworthy messages and events
that will attract media coverage.

In its infancy, public relations practice consisted of former

journalists producing publicity, so it is not surprising that some still confuse
publicity with the broader concept of public relations. There is much more to
public relations than publicity, however. As long-time counselor and educator
Michael Herman observed:

We consistently see senior-level managers who still think that

public relations is “free advertising” or the ability to “get our name in the
media.” I usually tell clients that it’s no problem getting your name in the
media—just do something stupid or wrong.

c. Advertising

Unlike publicists, advertisers control content, placement, and timing by

paying for media time and space. Although both publicity and advertising are
mediated communication, advertising gives the source control over content
and placement.
Advertising is information placed in the media by an identified sponsor that
pays for the time or space. It is a controlled method of placing messages in
the media.

Many associate advertising with marketing goods and services, but it is not
limited to that purpose. Other parts of the organization also use this
controlled means of placing messages in the mass media for nonmarketing
purposes. For example, human resources departments place advertisements
in newspaper classifieds and Sunday business sections to announce job
openings. Legal departments place advertisements in “newspapers of
record” to conform with public notification requirements when corporations
announce their formation, change names, issue new bonds, or sell shares;
when they recall a defective product; or when they comply with a court
settlement.

Public relations uses advertising to reach audiences other than the

customers targeted by marketing. For example, after the tragic Deepwater
Horizon oil spill in the Gulf, BP spent more than $93 million on
advertisements, but not to market its products:

“Our objective has been to create informational advertising to assure

people that we will meet our commitments and tell them how they can
get help—especially claims,” said BP spokesman Scott Dean.”It is an
important tool to help us be transparent about what we are doing.”

When Andersen Consulting changed its name to Accenture, the company

placed advertisements in business publications announcing the new name.
Investor relations at another company placed advertisements to assure
stockholders and financial analysts that the corporation had thwarted a
hostile takeover attempt. Nordstrom advertisements in store communities
announced four-year Nordstrom Scholarships to be awarded to high school
juniors who plan to go to college. The Embassy of Kuwait purchased full-page
advertisements in major U.S. newspapers announcing “America is our ally”
and support for “the international effort to eradicate terrorism.” An
aerospace company’s community relations department placed an
advertisement announcing its gift to the local symphony, yet not a single
member of the intended audience bought the wing assemblies and airframes
manufactured by the company. A local charity’s public relations committee
bought a full-page advertisement to thank contributors who funded a new
center for the homeless. Merck & Company used advertising to announce its
withdrawal of VIOXXTM from the market (see Figure 1.3).
 Mobil Oil (now ExxonMobil) began the practice of using “advertorials” on
op-ed pages and in magazines in 1970 “to speak out on a variety of issues
designed to reach opinion makers.”12 According to Mobil’s then-public
relations vice president, Mobil’s chair man wanted to make the company’s
positions on economic and political issues part of public debate.
The advertisement did not sell Mobil products. The Minnesota Law Review
described such corporate advertising as “a hybrid creature designed to use
the means of paid advertising to accomplish the goals of PR.”
 Similarly, some charities also use advertising for public education. For
example, the American Cancer Society has long relied on advertising to
achieve its public awareness goals:
 The society was the first traditional health charity to engage in paid
advertising and, to be sure, for years our ad budget, which is less than 2% of
our revenues, was spent raising awareness of things such as colorectal
cancer and breast cancer screenings and tobacco prevention.

Organizations also use advertising for public relations purposes when

they want to address criticism in the media—over which they have no control
when they feel that their point of view is not being reported fairly, when they
feel that their publics do not understand the issues or are apathetic, or when
they are trying to add their voices to a cause. For example, Nike ran full page
newspaper advertisements denying that the company used unfair labor
practices in its Asian factories. Advertising messages attempted to counter
the critical news coverage of “Asian sweatshops” and to deflect attention
from editorial criticism and ridicule by editorial cartoon ists, including the
Doonesbury comic strip. Subsequent advertisements reported the results of
Ambassador Andrew Young’s six-month investigation of Nike labor practices
overseas.

In the final analysis, given an adequate budget, organizations use

advertising to place and control content, position, and timing of
public relations messages in the media.

d. Press Agentry

In Walking the Tightrope, the late Hollywood publicist Henry Rogers

summarized the essence of press agentry, “When I first started, I was in
the publicity business. I was a press agent. Very sim ply, my job was to get
the client’s name in the paper.”14 He candidly said that he had lied to the
West Coast editor of Look magazine about Rita Hayworth’s “fabulous”
wardrobe. The magazine devoted its cover and ten pages of photographs to
the then-relatively unknown actress and her hastily borrowed clothes.
Following such attention in a major national magazine, she became the talk
of Hollywood, and Columbia Pictures extended her contract. To the extent
that mass media coverage confers status, Rita Hayworth’s early stardom can
be attributed in part to her press agent’s lies about the size and worth of her
wardrobe.

Press agentry is creating newsworthy stories and events to

attract media attention in order to gain public notice.
 Press agents attract public notice more than build public
understanding. Publicity is their major strategy. They base their approach on
agenda-setting theory, which says that the amount of mass media coverage
subsequently determines public perception of the relative importance of
topics and people (see Chapter 8 for more on agenda setting). In other
words, the goal of press agentry is to create the perception that the subject
of the publicity is newsworthy and deserves public attention.

And the press coverage does not have to be positive, according to

some (see Figure 1.4). For example, The New York Times quoted a
spokesperson for Bruno Magli shoes—featured as evidence in the O. J.
Simpson murder trial—putting a positive spin on what many considered to be
negative publicity, “It’s certainly not the best way to get the name out there,
but it’s effective. Now we have a bigger audience of people who know about
our shoes.”15 Most would agree, however, that the impact of negative
publicity seldom has positive outcomes. Press coverage featuring the antics
of Charlie Sheen, Lindsey Lohan, and Kate Gosselin may bring notoriety—
even celebrity— but surely will not positively impact their respective careers
in the long run.

Press agentry plays a major role in the music recording industry,

professional sports, tourist attractions, motion picture studios, television,
concert and theater performances, and business enterprises headed by
celebrities. For example, press agents gave us the legends of Davy Crockett
and Marilyn Monroe; promoted NASCAR auto races and the Super Bowl into
national events; turned Fort Lauderdale and Cabo San Lucas into
internationally known spring break destinations; positioned Disneyland
Resort Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland as vacation desti nations even before
opening days; and made the Harry Potter movies and each new Disney–Pixar
animated release must-see movies even before the final edit. Press agentry
also is an important factor in political campaigns and national political party
conventions designed to build name recognition and attract voters through
media exposure.

In the candid words of a veteran press agent, “We stoop to anything,

but our stuff gets printed.” And it can pay off. A career-launching appearance
on a popular talk show may reflect the work of a press agent more than the
talent of the guest. Likewise, a good press agent can make a new club or
restaurant the “in place” even before a single customer experiences the
ambiance, food, or entertain ment of the place itself. A musical group’s
earning power may be as much a tribute to the skill of its press agent to get
publicity as to its musical abilities. For example, the young press agent who
worked for a struggling band later admitted that he reported the band “sold
50,000 albums this week when I knew it was 5,000, but it made a better
story.”16 The “struggling band” was the Beatles.

There are full-time press agents, or celebrity publicists, but many

public relations practitio ners use press agentry tactics at some time or
another to attract media attention to their clients, causes, or organizations.
Confusion results when press agents describe what they do as “public
relations” or use that term to give their agencies more prestigious, but less
accurate, titles. Hence, many journalists mistakenly refer to all public
relations practitioners as “flacks,” even though the Associated Press
Stylebook defines “flack” as “slang for press agent.” In fact, consumer press
writers often use “flak” or “flack” when referring to public relations people
(30 percent of 1,350 articles in one study). Only “spin doctor” was used more
often—in 56 percent of the stories.

e. Public Affairs

The armed services, many governmental agencies, and some corporations

use the title “public affairs” as a substitute for public relations. The actual
meaning varies across different types of organizations, but in general the
concept of public affairs is as follows:

Public affairs is the specialized part of public relations that

builds and maintains organi zational relationships with
governmental agencies and community stakeholder groups to
influence public policy.
 In the military and government agencies, this title is part of a
name game dating back to the 1913 Gillett Amendment to an appropriation
bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The amendment stipulated that
federal agencies cannot spend money for publicity unless specifically
authorized by Congress. This legislative hostility was reaffirmed in Public Law
93–50, Section 305, enacted July 1, 1973. This law expressly prohibited
government spending on “publicity or propaganda purposes designed to
support or defeat legislation pending before the Congress.” Historian J. A. R.
Pimlott concluded that limitations imposed on government public relations
“springs from the fear lest programs undertaken in the name of
administrative efficiency should result in an excessive concentration of
power in the Executive.”

Neither the 1913 amendment nor the 1973 law actually referred to
public relations. Nevertheless, many federal, state, and local governmental
officials apparently confuse public ity with the larger concept of public
relations. As a result, governmental agencies typically use other terms to
describe building and maintaining relationships with their constituents. It is
nothing more than a label switch, however, as thousands of public relations
specialists work in local, state, and federal government under titles such as
“public affairs,” “public information,” “communications,” “constituent
relations” or “community relations,” and “liaison.”

Recognizing the obvious need for building and maintaining relations

with citizens, in 1966 the federal government created what are now called
Federal Citizen Information Centers (www.pueblo.gsa.gov/). These centers
give citizens a single place to get information about federal programs and
services. As summarized by Mordecai Lee:

First, they perform a marketing function, helping increase the

utilization of public-sector services and products. Second, as a medium for
answering questions about the federal govern ment that aren’t related to
obtaining a service, FICs accomplish democratic accountability to the public.
They contribute to an informed citizenry, the sine qua non of democracy.

In corporations, “public affairs” typically refers to public relations

efforts related to pub lic policy and “corporate citizenship” and “corporate
social responsibility.” They may use the title “community relations” to
describe their position. Corporate public affairs specialists serve as liaisons
with governmental units; implement community improvement programs;
encourage political activ ism, campaign contributions, and voting; and
volunteer their services to charitable and community development
organizations (see Figure 1.5). Hewlett-Packard’s public affairs department’s
mission is to “shape public policy to foster an environment that allows HP to
achieve its business objectives.”

Likewise, public relations counseling firms (see Chapter 3) use the

public affairs label for their lobbying and governmental relations services
designed to help clients understand and address regulatory and legislative
processes. As Ruder Finn-D.C. managing director, Neil Dhillon, says, “The real
value in what we do is knowing how to navigate the process and
understanding how to work with the appropriate people.” Steve Behm, senior
vice president, Crisis & Issues Management, Edelman Worldwide in Atlanta,
adds, “Particularly in public affairs, what has become so important is that
those relationships are done through honest and transparent
communications.”

A public affairs specialist described the relationship between public

relations and public affairs as follows: “Public affairs is the public relations
practice that addresses public policy and the publics who influence such
policy.”22 An association executive based in Washington, D.C., defined public
affairs as “PR tactics applied to GR (government relations) strategies to
produce ‘excellent public policy.’ ”23 A survey of public affairs officers
identified major public affairs responsibilities as including (in descending
order) federal government affairs, state government affairs, local
government affairs, community relations, political action committees,
contribu tions, grassroots support, and issues management. Forty-three
percent of their departments use the title “public affairs.” Other public affairs
specialists operate in departments called “corporate affairs,” “corporate
relations,” “government relations,” and “external affairs.”24

When the San Diego Chargers National Football League team

embarked on its campaign to build a new football stadium, team owners
hired former Clinton administration special counsel Mark Fabiani to work with
local governments and citizen groups to build “grassroots” support for a new
stadium. The primary stumbling block for replacing the current stadium—
public financing for part or all of the new stadium—calls for public affairs
expertise not usually found in sports public relations departments. The issues
go well beyond scores and players, and media attention is intense.

For example, rumors that San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and
Chargers president Dean Spanos were going to meet piqued media interest.
The mayor’s “tight-lipped” press secretary confirmed the meeting but
provided little insight except for the key role of public affairs counselor
Fabiani: “Yes, a meeting is being scheduled. Other than the mayor and Mr.
Spanos, the meeting will include members of the mayor’s staff and Mr.
Fabiani. . . . Of course, a potential stadium downtown will be on the agenda.”

f. Lobbying

An even more specialized and criticized part of public affairs—lobbying—

attempts to influence legislative and regulatory decisions in government. The
United States Senate defines lobbying as “the practice of trying to persuade
legislators to propose, pass, or defeat legislation or to change existing laws.”

Lobbying is the specialized part of public relations that

builds and maintains relations with government, primarily to
influence legislation and regulation.

Even though the U.S. Constitution protects people’s right to petition the
government, some view lobbying as an attempt to manipulate government
for selfish ends. Movies and television programs depicting smoke-filled rooms
and payoffs by lobbyists working for powerful corporate and special interests
perpetuate this cynical view of lobbying. News stories sometimes report
illegal or questionable cash contributions to legislators, lavish fund-raising
parties, and hosted weekends at exotic golf resorts. However, lobbying more
often takes the form of open advocacy and discussion on matters of public
policy. Registration laws and their enforcement vary from state to state, but
all who engage in lobbying the U.S. Congress must register with the Clerk of
the House and Secretary of the Senate. Failure to register carries a fine of up
to $50,000 under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (see Chapter 6). Twice
a year, lobbyists are also required to report their clients, expenditures, and
issue-related activities.

Despite occasional abuse and public rebuke, lobbying remains a legal

and accepted way for citizen groups, associations, labor unions, corporations,
and other special-interest groups to influence government decision making.
Although clearly labeled and monitored at national and state levels, similar
lobbying efforts on county and municipal issues often are part of and
undifferentiated from public affairs, community relations, or other public
relations efforts. Many large cities, however, have or are developing
regulations to make lobbying more transparent in making local public policy.

Lobbyists at all levels of government must understand the legislative

process, know how government functions, and be acquainted with individual
lawmakers and officials. Because this knowledge may not be part of many
public relations practitioners’ educational preparation and professional
experience, lobbyists often have backgrounds as well-connected lawyers,
governmental administrators, elected officials’ important staff members, or
other insiders with good relationships with governmental decision makers. In
fact, critics of “the public–private revolving door” say that lobbyists working
for special interests “cash in” on the access and credibility they earned while
working in government.

In practice, lobbying must be closely coordinated with other public

relations efforts directed toward nongovernmental publics. Sophisticated
lobbyists mobilize like-minded constituents to get their voices heard by
lawmakers and officials in government. Targeted mailing lists, high-speed
printers, and software for individualizing letters can produce a flood of mail,
phone calls, faxes, and personal visits from constituents. Customized email
address lists and “blast” broadcast emails, as well as online news groups,
social media, podcasts, and blogs provide even faster ways to mobilize
constituents.

Getting the folks “back home” to take up the cause is referred to as

“grassroots lobbying” and is part of many coordinated public relations efforts
to influence public policy. In some cases, however, responses actually come
from “front” groups created to deceive or mislead policy makers about public
sentiment. Some refer to these pseudo-grassroots movements as “Astroturf
lobbying.” Examples of such front groups include “Citizens for Riverboat
Gambling,” funded by a gambling organization trying to pass a local
referendum, and numerous pro-gun ownership “grassroots networks” formed
by National Rifle Association of America (NRA) members at the
encouragement of the NRA’s lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative
Action. Such front organizations are designed to give the appearance of
widespread citizen support, when in reality they often are created by
sponsors to promote narrow interests.

In its primary roles as credible advocate and reliable source of

information, however, lobbying takes the form of information designed to
educate and persuade (see Exhibit 1.2). Lobbyists succeed or fail in part
based on their traditional public relations skills—researching legislators’
positions on issues and information needs, and communicating persuasive
infor mation to government officials, to grassroots constituencies, and to
their clients. In addition to those abilities, lobbyists need sophisticated
knowledge of government, legislative process, public policy, and public
opinion. Stereotypical images of the cigar-chomping insider dispensing
stacks of cash no longer apply to most lobbyists and their work.

Email and the Internet have changed lobbying. Researcher Kurt Wise
called the explosion of email the “ ‘Blackberrization’ of Capitol Hill.” As one
lobbyist told him, “Now, I can get so much more done sitting right here [at
his desk] than I can walking the hall [on Capitol Hill] and invading their
space. I can get quicker information without taking them away from what
they are doing.” However, lobbyists still see face-to-face communication as
necessary for maintaining relationships with their contacts: “On the Hill, it is
better to be seen and known than to just be an anonymous voice on the
phone or e-mail.”27
 Likewise, the many sources of information on the Internet can
complicate the lobbyist’s task. Increasingly, their job is to help legislative
staff sort through the many blogs and other sources advocating conflicting
positions on pending legislation. Staff often turn to trusted—key word—
lobbyists for help in making sense of the flood of information.

Lobbying is an outgrowth of our democratic system in a pluralistic

society, keeping govern ment open to those affected by proposed legislation
and government regulation. In Washington, D.C., and state capitals, lobbying
and other public affairs efforts play increasingly important roles in
formulating and implementing public policy. More effective regulation of
campaign finance and lobbying remains a challenge, however. In the end,
the role of lobbyists is to ethi cally advocate the interests of their
clients in the public policy debate.

g. Issues management

Two points capture the essence of issues management: (1) early

identification of issues with potential impact on an organization and (2) a
strategic response designed to mitigate or capital ize on their consequences.
For example, in the context of public opinion, issues management “attempts
to discern trends in public opinion so that an organization can respond to
them before they amplify into serious conflict.”28

Issues management is the process of anticipating, identifying,

evaluating, and responding to issues and trends that potentially
affect an organization’s relationships with its publics.

As originally conceived by the late public relations consultant W.

Howard Chase in 1976, issues management includes identifying issues,
analyzing issues, setting priorities, selecting program strategies,
implementing programs of action and communication, and evaluating
effectiveness. He said the process “aligns corporate principles, policies and
practices to the realities of a politicized economy.”29 Chase later defined
issues management as the process of closing the “gap between corporate
action and stakeholder expectation.”30 A panel of experts expanded the
definition to include the following:

. . . anticipating, researching and prioritizing issues; assessing the

impact of issues on the organization; recommending policies and strategies
to minimize risk and seize opportunities; participating and implementing
strategy; evaluating program impact.”31

Even though issues management was originally touted as a new

approach that would give practitioners elevated status, many do not see it as
anything different from what they already do. Others express concern that
the term “issues management” suggests something unlikely and
unacceptable because it sets up visions of manipulation—that an
organization can “manage” major public issues. Many major corporations,
however, have created issues management departments or “task forces,”
either by establishing specialized sections or by renaming existing units that
research and track issues. They focus on how to respond to public concerns
such as terrorism, global warming, deregulation, offshore “outsourcing,”
globalization, food safety, biotechnology (genetic engineering), toxic waste
disposal, managed care, an aging population, and corporate influence in
politics.

Conceptually, if not always administratively, issues management is

part of the public relations function. When viewed merely as persuasive
communication, however, it becomes a tactic to influence public policy, not
part of an organization’s strategic planning. When concerned with adjusting
the organization and building relationships with stakeholders to achieve
mutual goals, “public relations and issues management are quite similar and
result in similar outcomes.”

h. Crisis management

Stuff happens. And sometimes issues management does not prevent all
“issues.” Thus, the grow ing specialties of crisis management and “crisis
communication” are often key components of the strategic response.

Crisis management is the public relations specialty that helps

organizations strategically respond to negative situations and
to dialog with stakeholders affected by perceived and actual
consequences of crises.

Many public relations consultancies (both firms and solo practitioners)

claim expertise in helping organizations respond to unexpected, negative
events that threaten their relationships with stakeholders. For example, crisis
communication counselor Jim Lukaszewski has been referred to as one of the
experts “to call when all hell breaks loose.” In addition to helping clients deal
with crises, he writes books, conducts workshops, and blogs on the subject
(http://crisisgurublog.e911.com/).

Crisis management has become an increasingly important part of

public relations practice, according to scholar Tim Coombs. He attributes this
to the high value attached to organizational reputation, increased
stakeholder/consumer activism, new Internet-based communication media
and technology—especially social media, and the legal liability of negligent
failure to plan for crises. In addition, he points out that the terrorist attack of
September 11, 2001, made clear that crises do not have to be local to have
an impact.33 The disastrous 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan,
for example, interrupted the supply line of auto parts, temporarily shutting
down auto manufacturing plants worldwide.

Coombs divides crisis management into “three macrostages: pre-

crisis, crisis, and postcrisis.” His pre-crisis stage deals with taking steps to
detect, prevent, and/or prepare for potential crises. The crisis stage
comprises dealing with the “trigger event,” containing the damage, and
recovering from what happened. The post-crisis stage covers activities and
plans after the crisis is considered “history.” Kathleen Fearn-Banks describes
five stages of crises: (1) detection, (2) prevention/preparation, (3)
containment, (4) recovery, and (5) learning. “The learning phase brings
about change that helps prevent future crises.”35

This is not to suggest, however, that crisis management neatly follows

such sequenced stages or that experts can prescribe a strategy that works in
every situation. As researchers in one study concluded, “The best crisis
strategy is to maintain good relationships.”

i. Investor relations

Also referred to as “IR” and “financial relations,” investor relations is

another specialized part of public relations in publicly held corporations.
Investor relations specialists work to enhance the value of a company’s
stock. This reduces the cost of capital by increasing shareholder confidence
and by making the stock attractive to individual investors, financial analysts,
and institutional investors.

Investor relations is the specialized part of corporate public

relations that builds and maintains mutually beneficial
 relationships with shareholders and others in the financial
community to maximize market value.

Investor relations specialists keep shareholders informed and loyal to a

company in order to maintain a fair valuation of a company’s stock. Their
work involves tracking market trends, monitoring financial blogs and social
networks, providing information to financial publics, counseling
management, and responding to requests for financial information. Annual
and quarterly reports, required Securities and Exchange Commission 10-K
forms, emailed earnings reports, press releases distributed by newswire
services, and home page links to “material” financial information are
methods used to disseminate timely information to analysts, investors, and
the financial press. An example illustrates how it works to benefit both a
company and its investors:

A new biotechnology company has 10 million shares outstanding, with

each share selling for $20. This means the company has a “market
capitalization” of $200 million. Assume that the stock becomes more
attractive to institutional investors, financial analysts, and individual inves
tors as they learn more about the company’s products, management,
“financials,” and plans. If the share price increases to $25, the market value
of the company increases to $250 million!

Now assume that the company needs $10 million to continue research
on promising new products. At $25 a share, it needs to sell only 400,000
company-held shares, versus 500,000 shares at $20, to raise the $10 million
to finance the research. Not only are investors’ holdings worth more, but the
company must sell fewer shares to raise additional capital.

On the other hand, consider what happens to the value of stockholder

investments and the cost of new capital when a corporation loses
shareholder confidence, fails to respond to a respected financial blogger’s
concern about the latest quarterly earnings report, or receives negative
coverage in the financial press. For example, when Compaq Computer
merged with Hewlett-Packard, HP stock lost almost one-fifth of its premerger
value and Compaq stock fell about 10 percent. Some specialists criticized
how the investor relations staffs of both companies had failed to address
investors’ concerns that had been extensively reported in the financial press
before the rumored merger.

Investor relations specialists must know corporate finance, accounting,

Wall Street, international equities trading, international business trends,
business journalism, and much more. Most of all, however, they must know
Securities and Exchange Commission and stock exchange financial reporting
requirements. “Public relations practitioners who do not have solid training
and experience in business, management, and law will apparently be unable
to fill even entry level positions in inves tor relations,” according to
researchers who studied CEO perceptions of investor relations.37

As a result, those aspiring to careers in investor relations should

combine studies in public relations with coursework in finance and business
law. An MBA degree is often necessary prepa ration (see Figure 1.6). It also
helps to know more than one language, to study economics, to be widely
traveled, and to follow the rapidly changing international political scene.
Corporations and investor relations specialists increasingly deal in a global
economy. Because few practitioners have the required combination of
corporate finance and public relations, and the competition for those who do
is great, investor relations practitioners are among the highest paid in public
relations.

j. Development
Just as investor relations helps finance publicly held corporations, fund-
raising and membership drives provide the financial support needed to
operate charitable and nonprofit organizations. These organizations typically
use the title “development” or “advancement” for this aspect of public
relations. Nonprofit hospitals, social welfare groups, disease research
foundations, service charities, and universities have directors of
development. Organizations that rely on membership fees for some or all of
their revenues often have a “director of member services and development.”

Development is the specialized part of public relations in

nonprofit organizations that builds and maintains relationships
with donors, volunteers, and members to secure financial and
volunteer support.

Development specialists work for charities, public broadcasting stations,

disease research foundations, hospitals, community arts groups, museums,
zoos, youth clubs, universities, and religious organizations. Because these
organizations depend on donations, membership fees, volunteers, or all
three, they rely heavily on annual campaigns and special events to call
attention to their needs and to solicit public support and contributions.

An annual telethon, 10K run, open house, homecoming, and celebrity

auction, however, represent only a few of the activities in a yearlong
program to establish and maintain relationships with volunteers, alumni,
members, and donors, as well as prospective members, volunteers, and
donors. Fund-raising activities and membership services make up a major
part of the overall program. Because development deals with the lifeblood of
nonprofit organizations, it often plays a major role in the larger public
relations function in such organizations.

5. CONFUSION OF TERMS

The preceding sections discuss terms that are all parts of the broader
organizational manage ment function known as public relations. They all deal
with organizations’ relationships with specific groups or publics. Some
organizations divide the function into internal and external departments.
Internal relations deals with publics involved in the internal workings of
organiza tions, such as employees, families of employees, and volunteers.
Relations with publics outside organizations—neighbors, consumers,
environmentalists, investors, and so forth—are the responsibility of external
relations.
 Title confusion is further complicated when the total function is given one
of many other labels such as corporate relations, corporate communication,
university advancement, hospital relations, public affairs, and public
information. Whatever name is used, the basic concept and motivation of
public relations are similar from one organization to the next—large or small,
local or global. all effective organizations strive to establish and maintain
relationships with those identified as important to organizational survival and
growth.

In practice, however, too often employers and clients define public

relations narrowly or incorrectly based on the various goals and tasks they
assign to it. In one organization, public relations takes the form of candid,
open communication with many publics. In another, public relations attempts
to maintain a silent, low profile. For an organization engaged in the gun-
control debate, the purpose of public relations can be to provoke controversy
and maintain adversarial relationships that motivate and activate its
members. In an organization attempting to resolve differences with a labor
union in order to avoid a work stoppage, public relations tries to facilitate
reconciliation and compromise.

Likewise, practitioners define public relations every day by what they do

and by what they call “public relations.” For example, many do product
publicity because that is what they are paid to do under the rubric of public
relations. Others see it as “getting ink” or “hits” (exposure in the mass media
or on the website), because that is their experience as former journalists now
working in public relations.

Concerned citizens see frequent references to “PR,” “public relations,”

and “flacks” in press coverage of scandals, oil spills, industrial pollution,
political campaign shenanigans, city hall corruption, and other breaches of
the public trust. Movies and television programs featuring p ublic relations
practitioners often do not present accurate portrayals. Media coverage
seldom associates public relations with positive stories of organizations and
their accomplishments. Books such as PR! A Social History of Spin and Toxic
Sludge Is Good for You sensationalize accounts of press agentry and
advocacy on behalf of clients and causes later proven to be of dubious merit.

There is little news value or market for reports about the good work done
by public relations on behalf of clients and causes judged worthy of public
support. Who outside the inner circle of a children’s hospital pays attention
to a successful development campaign that funded a new pediatric wing?
Other than investors and employees, what other groups care if the investor
relations staff successfully debunked press reports of impending bankruptcy?
In other words, it depends on who values what and who has a stake in the
organization’s success or failure.

In short, most people know public relations by what they see

organizations and practitioners do under the banner of “public relations” and
by what media report as “public relations.” Few study the concept itself or
the roles public relations plays in organizations and society. The challenge for
practitioners is to define and perform public relations in ways consistent with
the contemporary meaning of this necessary organizational and social
function.

6. TOWARD RECOGNITION AND MATURITY

Some scholars credit public relations for the heightened attention to public
accountability and social responsibility among government administrators
and business executives (see Exhibit 1.3 on page 20). Others emphasize the
function’s role in making organizations more responsive to public interests
and more accepting of their corporate social responsibility (CSR):

The new era of transparency is part of an offshoot movement in CSR

that’s been dubbed “sustainability.” Sustainability proponents argue that
companies that are consis tently indifferent to their impact on the
environment and its various stakeholders—such as employees and
customers—are threatening their own long-term sustainability.38

As the authors of The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency

Will Revolutionize Business said, “If you are going to be naked, you had
better be buff!”39 One business leader long ago said:

We know perfectly well that business does not function by divine right,
but, like any other part of society, exists with the sanction of the community
as a whole . . . . Today’s public opinion, though it may appear as light as air,
may become tomorrow’s legislation for better or worse.

Exhibit 1.3 - Public Relations in the Tylenol Crises

(Courtesy Lawrence G. Foster, Corporate Vice President— Public Relations
(retired), Johnson & Johnson. Used with permission).

A different form of terrorism was unleashed on America in 1982 with the grim
news of cyanide-laced Tylenol poisonings in the Chicago area. Seven people
died. Because the extent of the contamination was not immediately known,
there was grave concern for the safety of the estimated 100 million
Americans who were using Tylenol.

The first critical public relations decision, taken imme diately and with
total support from company management, was to cooperate fully with the
news media. The press was key to warning the public of the danger. The
poisonings also called for immediate action to protect the consumer, so the
decision was made to recall two batches of the product and later to withdraw
it from store shelves nationally.

During the crisis phase of the Tylenol tragedy, virtually every public
relations decision was based on sound, socially responsible business
principles, which is when public relations is most effective.

Johnson & Johnson’s corporate Credo strongly influenced many of the

key decisions. Robert Wood Johnson, son of the company founder and, at the
time, chairman of the company, wrote the one-page Credo in 1943. The
Credo lists four responsibilities. The customer is placed first and foremost,
followed by responsibility to employees, to the communities where they work
and live, and finally, responsibility to the stockholders. (See the complete
Credo in Chapter 12.)

At Johnson & Johnson, Lawrence G. Foster, corporate vice president of

public relations, reported directly to chairman and CEO James E. Burke, who
promptly formed a seven-member strategy committee to deal with the crisis.
Foster and five other senior executives on the committee met with Burke
twice daily for the next six weeks to make key decisions, ranging from
advertising strategy and network television interviews to planning Tylenol’s
comeback in tamper-resistant packaging.

In the weeks following the murders, Foster and his three senior staff
members, all former journalists, responded to more than 2,500 calls from the
press. They were helped by the smaller public relations staff at McNeil
Consumer Products (manufactur ers of Tylenol). While the corporate staff was
dealing with the press, Burson-Marsteller, which had the product publicity
account for Tylenol, began planning a unique 30-city video press confer ence
via satellite to reintroduce the product. Polls showed that 90 percent of
Americans did not fault the company, and 79 percent said they would again
purchase Tylenol. The satellite relaunch took place in just six weeks. Later,
sales of Tylenol began soaring to new highs.

The Washington Post wrote: “Johnson & Johnson has effectively

demonstrated how a major business ought to handle a disaster.”
 The unthinkable happened four years later. A woman in Westchester
County, New York, died after ingesting a Tylenol cap sule that contained
cyanide. A second contaminated bottle was found in a nearby store a few
days later. Chairman Burke recon vened the strategy committee, and the
Credo was at the center of the discussions. The next day, Johnson & Johnson
announced that, henceforth, no J&J company worldwide would market any
over-the-counter capsule product because the safety of custom ers could no
longer be assured, even when the capsules were in the new safety
packaging. The public made Tylenol caplets a best seller soon after, and to
this day Johnson & Johnson has kept its pledge not to market an over-the-
counter capsule product anywhere in the world.

Once again, Robert Wood Johnson’s Credo had shown the way. The
Tylenol tragedies demonstrated that public relations is a business of basics
and that the best public relations decisions are closely linked to sound
business practices and a socially responsible corporate philosophy.*

(*For more detailed discussion of the Tylenol crises, see Lawrence G. Foster,
“Tylenol: 20 Years Later,” The Public Relations Strategist 8, no. 4 (Fall 2002):
16–20; and Foster’s Robert Wood Johnson: The Gentleman Rebel (Ashland,
OH: Lillian Press, 1999).

Public relations also helps organizations anticipate and respond to public

perceptions and opinions, to new values and lifestyles, to power shifts among
the electorate and within legislative bodies, and to other changes in the
social and political environment. Thus, it contributes to making the
democratic process more effective in meeting social needs. Without effective
public relations, organizations tend to become insensitive to changes
occurring around them and to become dysfunctional as they grow
increasingly out of step with their environments.

Public relations also makes information available through the public

information sys tem that is essential to both democratic society and
organizational survival. Practitioners increase public knowledge and
understanding by promoting expression and debate in the competitive
marketplace of ideas regarding, for example, the need for health care and
immi gration reform, the causes and cures of global warming, the value of a
new public transpor tation system, the impact of international trade barriers,
or the need for blood and organ donations.
Public relations serves the public interest by providing organizations and
interest groups voices in the public forum for alternative points of view,
including the views of those—such as the homeless and powerless—who
would not otherwise be heard because of limited media attention.

The practice serves society by mediating conflict and by building the

consensus needed to maintain social order. Its social function—its mission—is
accomplished when it replaces ignorance, coercion, and intransigence with
knowledge, compromise, and adjustment. In other words, public relations
facilitates adjustment and maintenance in the social systems that
provide us with our physical and social needs.

In the final analysis, an organization’s relationships are the responsibility of

top man agement. As counselor and author Henry DeVries rephrased our
definition of public rela tions, “Public relations is the boss’s job to build and
keep strong bonds with key groups that the organization needs to grow and
thrive.” Once this concept of public relations is embraced at the top, it
spreads and becomes part of an organization’s culture. The axioms outlined
in Exhibit 1.4 outline the principles and values central to this concept of
contem porary practice.

Public relations professionals who help organizations establish and maintain

mutu ally beneficial relationships perform an essential management function
that has an impact on the larger society. They encourage social responsibility
in organizations and promote public relations’ essential role in maintaining
social order. Inherent in this concept of public relations is a moral
commitment to mutual adjustment among interdependent elements of
society. That calling motivates the chapters that follow.