Principles of Public Relations  Ragas Politics and Government (Part 2)

The White House and Public Relations At the apex of government public relations efforts is the White House The top PR person in the White House is the Director of Communications The most visible PR person in the White House is the Press Secretary Under the Office of Communications: Communications Media Affairs New Media Research Speechwriting Jay Carney, White House Press Secretary Dan Pfieffer, White House Communications Director

A day in the Life of Robert Gibbs, former White House press secretary

A day in the Life of Robert Gibbs, former White House press secretary

State Information Services The head communications person in a state or local agency is called the public information officer (PIO) or public affairs officer (PAO) PIOs and PAOs provide information to the public and the press on policies, programs, and the activities of their respective agencies Every state provides public information services Ex. The state of California employs 175 PIOs in about 70 state agencies

City/Municipal Information Services Cities also employ PIOs to disseminate news and information from numerous municipal departments The following agencies typically have a PIO function: Airport Transit district Redevelopment office Parks and recreation Convention and visitors bureau Police and fire City council Mayor’s office

Criticism of Government Information Efforts A criticism of government information efforts is that allegedly more time is spent trying to persuade the public than to provide it with balanced and timely information Between 2003-2006 the Bush administration spent $1.6 billion dollars on contracts with communication firms to promote its positions on issues The primary purpose of PR in government should be to inform the public (government is supposed to serve the public interest!)