Reporters and bureaucrats: public relations counter-strategies by public administrators in an era of media disinterest in government

Lee, Mordecai

doi:10.1016/s0363-8111(99)00031-4

Cited by 53 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…With regards media relations, SpAds, and indeed GIOs and journalists, agreed that the traditional tensions between government and media actors in terms of access and agenda setting (Lee, 1999;Wolfsfeld, 1997) Such perceptions mean that SpAds carefully select which journalists they disseminate information to, creating a group of 'elite' journalists who may be given access to exclusives and 'off the record' briefings. This is either because they are trusted, from the SpAd point of view, to be competent and fair, or are viewed as having the power to influence the public by virtue of their large public audience .…”

Section: The Spad Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Democratic Communication and the Role of Special Advisers in Northern Ireland’s Consociational Government

Rice

Somerville

Wilson

2015

International Journal of Public Administration

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This paper examines the role of ministerial Special Advisers in Northern Ireland's government communication. Using data gathered from elite interviews with Special Advisers, Government Information Officers and political journalists, we argue that the role of the Special Adviser is influenced by the post-conflict political culture in Northern Ireland and the consociational structure of government. The paper suggests that current theorising of the role of Special Advisers in democratic societies must also take account of how they operate within mandatory coalitions such as those found in Northern Ireland. We call for more research into their communication role in post-conflict consociational environments.

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Section: The Spad Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Democratic Communication and the Role of Special Advisers in Northern Ireland’s Consociational Government

Rice

Somerville

Wilson

2015

International Journal of Public Administration

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“…Recently, some governments have been stepping up their direct reporting to the citizenry as part of the renewed focus on citizen engagement Vergez, 2001, 2003). Given the general lack of interest in detailed and ongoing coverage of government by the news media (except for scandals and exposés), it is much harder for public agencies to report to the public through the traditional indirect route using the media (Lee, 1999). Direct reporting becomes increasingly attractive.…”

Section: Public Reporting In Public Administrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public reporting: A neglected aspect of nonprofit accountability

Lee

2004

Nonprofit Mgmnt & Ldrshp

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Nonprofit organizations have a compulsory external accountability (largely involving financial reporting) to government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and state regulators. They also have a pragmatic “must‐do” accountability to their funders, clients, and other obvious stakeholders. But are nonprofits also accountable to the public at large? If so, how can such accountability be implemented, given the diffuseness and breadth of the public as an audience? This article suggests that nonprofits should consider the citizenry as a stakeholder, if only due to the substantial taxpayer subsidy of the sector. The theory of public reporting that emerged in public administration literature beginning in the 1920s and 1930s can be helpful. Using principles, templates, and examples from public administration, nonprofit organizations can pursue more vigorous public reporting as one method to increase citizen confidence in their activities and in the sector as a whole.

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“…A key vehicle for disseminating government communication to the public in contemporary democratic societies is through mediated channels (Lee, 1999) and any study of government communication must focus on those working in government communication roles and those in the media with whom they interact (Katz, 2009). An overarching issue is whether these relationships assist democratic accountability by facilitating government communication with the public or, if those employed in government public relations and those working for the media engage in practices which reduce the capacity for the public to receive transparent information or hold government to account.…”

Section: Notes Thatmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some research which addresses how government communicators interact with journalists argues that these relationships are defined by contest and even antagonism (DeLorme and Fedler, 2003;Lee, 1999;Wolfsfeld, 1997). Other scholars identify alliances and reciprocity as characterizing these relationships (Davis, 2007b;Negrine, 2008;Pieczka, 2006); or discuss 'cautious cooperation' between political actors and journalists, with each group influencing the other's activities (Davis, 2009b;Savage and Tiffen, 2007).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Power-sharing and political public relations: Government-press relationships in Northern Ireland's developing democratic institutions

Rice

Somerville

2013

Public Relations Review

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1 Power-sharing and political public relations: Government-Press relationships in NorthernIreland's developing democratic institutions. AbstractNorthern Ireland's democratic governance is consociational (i.e. power-sharing is mandatory) and therefore substantially different from the majoritarian electoral system which characterises most Western democratic societies. Consociationalism has been advocated as a form of democracy which can reconcile post-conflict societies fragmented along ethnic, religious or linguistic lines. Political public relations within mandatory coalitions has received little attention from scholars to date. Drawing on data from elite interviews with Government Information Officers (GIOs), Ministerial Special Advisers (SpAds) and journalists in Northern Ireland, this paper analyses their perspectives on political public relations in Northern Ireland's evolving democratic institutions. Our findings suggest Northern Ireland's public sphere is characterised not just by the usual contest between government communicators and journalists over political stories, but also by competition across government departments and within departments between GIOs and SpAds. Our research investigates the role of public relations in Northern Ireland's developing democratic institutions and more generally identifies important issues surrounding government communication in post-conflict power-sharing democracies.

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Reporters and bureaucrats: public relations counter-strategies by public administrators in an era of media disinterest in government

Cited by 53 publications

References 26 publications

Democratic Communication and the Role of Special Advisers in Northern Ireland’s Consociational Government

Democratic Communication and the Role of Special Advisers in Northern Ireland’s Consociational Government

Public reporting: A neglected aspect of nonprofit accountability

Power-sharing and political public relations: Government-press relationships in Northern Ireland's developing democratic institutions

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