Bledcom 2010 Proceedings Hi

GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION
Proceedings of the 17
th
International Public
Relations Research Symposium BledCom
17
th
BledCom
International Public
Relations Research
Symposium
Bled, Slovenia
2 - 3 July 2010
Editors: Dejan Veri, Krishnamurthy Sriramesh
th
International Public Relations Research Symposium BledCom
Bled, Slovenia
2 - 3 July 2010
EDITORS:
Dejan Veri
Krishnamurthy Sriramesh
PUBLISHED BY:
Pristop d.o.o.
Trubarjeva cesta 79
1000 Ljubljana
CIP - Kataloni zapis o publikaciji
Narodna in univerzitetna knjinica, Ljubljana
659.4(082)
INTERNATIONAL Public Relations Research Symposium (17 ; 2010 ;
Bled)
Government communication [Elektronski vir] : proceedings of the
17th International Public Relations Research Symposium BledCom,
Bled, Slovenia, 2-3 July 2010 / editors Dejan Veri, Krishnamurthy
Sriramesh. - Ljubljana : Pristop, 2010
ISBN 978-961-90484-7-4
1. Gl. stv. nasl. 2. Veri, Dejan
251607040
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION BY DEJAN VERI
2. FOREWORD BY HONORARY SPONSOR OF BLEDCOM 2010
3. AUTHORS
4. PAPERS
Anne Gregory, Paul Willis
What Good Looks Like in UK National Health Service Communication
Fraser Likely
The Generic Principles and the Evolution of the Management of the
Communication Function in the Canadian Federal Government from 1999 to 2009
Maria Silvia Bilaevschi, Adina Liliana Aldea
E-government in Romania - Features and Trends
Kojo Yankah
Government Public Relations in West Africa: Propaganda or Development Tool
the Case of Ghanas Ministry of Information
Donald Alexander, David Cameron, Peter Simmons
Future-Proong a Strategic Communication Team for a Major Australian
Government Entity
Holger Sievert, Markus Rhomberg
Government Communication and the Mass-Mediated Climate Debate Decision
Making, System Integration and Public Communication
Karen Sander, Francisco Diaz Lozano, Mara Jos Canel
Government Reputation as an Intangible Value for Public Institutions and the
Communication of Spanish Local Government. Proposing a Research Framework.
Larske Larsson
The Prime Minister in Front of the Press
The Development of Government Press Conferences in Sweden
Karen Dwek, Toni Muzi Falconi
New Public Diplomacy Practices in Public Relations
An Analysis of The Shift Away from the Government Model to a
Non-Governmental Organization Model
Filiz Otay Demir, Burcu Kaya Erdem
The Reection of the East-West Dichotomy on Turkish Public Diplomacy:
the Case of Davos Summit
Arhlene A. Flowers, Katalin Lustyik
The Expansion of Junk Food Marketing, Cyberspace, and Childrens Waistlines:
Government Public Relations Combating Childhood Obesity in Hungary and the
United Kingdom
Nina Furman
Communicating Public Money: Risks vs. Opportunities
Melanie James
The Use of Intentional Positioning Techniques in Government Agencies
Communication Campaigns
Philippa Brear
RTI Clinic Checkup: Can a Campaign to Increase Awareness of Indias Right to
Information Legislation in Orissa Succeed?
Paolo Fedele, Mario Ianniello
Stakeholders Inclusion: More Than a Cup of Tea? An Evaluation Model for
Interactive Decision Making
Szymon Chojnowski
Public Relations in the EU Communication Policy
Bo Laursen, Chiara Valentini
Communicating the Eu to the Media: The Delicate Role of Press Ofcers at The
Council Of The European Union
Gran Eriksson, Mats Eriksson
Managing Political Crisis: An Interactional Approach to Image Repair in Political
Press Conferences
Leanne Glenny
An Esoteric Notion: Truth and Lies in Australian Government Communication
Kaja Tampere
Critical Approach: Communication Failures as a Risk to Government Public
Relations
Ulrike Rttger, Joachim Preusse
External PR Consulting in the Field of Political Communication Theoretical
Foundations and Empirical Findings from Germany
5. KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
6. ABOUT BLEDCOM
7. BLEDCOM 2010
8. ABOUT PRISTOP AND DPG
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1. INTRODUCTION BY
DEJAN VERI
Dear readers, dear colleagues, I am proud to introduce you to Government Communication:
th
International Public Relations Research Symposium BledCom.
Papers selected here address the communication and public relations activities of
government and government agencies at international, national, regional, and local levels.
As governments on all levels heavily impact our lives, I need insights into how (well) they
communicate.
Scholars and practitioners from all over the world were invited to respond to the Call for
papers and the best studies and commentaries are presented here, offering excellence
and expertise. As such, Government Communication: Proceedings of the 17
th
International
Public Relations Research Symposium BledCom is a valuable contribution to our collection
of 8 books, several special issues of leading public relations journals and past BledCom
Proceedings, all of which were published as a direct result of BledCom (see: www.
bledcom.com). I daresay that BledCom has thus contributed to the development of the
public relations profession.
Dear colleagues, I wish you a pleasant reading. May it bring new ideas to share, new
recognitions to discuss. I will be happy to hear it from you over future BledCom gatherings.
Dejan Veri, PhD
University of Ljubljana & Pristop
04 Proceedings of the 17
th
2. FOREWORD BY
HONORARY SPONSOR
OF BLEDCOM 2010
For the last 17 years, BledCom has gathered renowned communication experts from all
around the world in discussing topics related to public relations practice. It has inuenced
numerous books, articles and studies and thus contributed to the development of the
theory and practice of public relations world-wide. I was happy to sign on as the honorary
sponsor of BledCom in 2010, discussing government communication.
The symposiums organizers followed a very simple question when preparing this years
main topic: how do governments at national, regional and local levels communicate
with their publics. As the answer is certainly rather a complex one, I am very pleased
to see public relations experts from all around the world surveying various governments
communication practices, discussing the means, ways and results of their communication.
By doing so, everybody working in governmental public relations and communication will
be able to reect on their role as communicators. Furthermore, BledCom will also offer an
extremely valuable insight for governments throughout the world into how experts see their
work. I believe this years symposium will show if and how governmental communicators
follow what I believe to be their main task: ensuring people access to information regarding
their governments activities.
As an internationally recognized symposium, BledCom can and sure will contribute to the
development of government communication practices. BledCom Proceedings, dear read-
ers, presents a valuable step on this path.
Dr. Danilo Trk
President of the Republic of Slovenia
Honorary sponsor of BledCom 2010
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3. AUTHORS
Anne Gregory Paul Willis
Professor Anne Gregory PhD is Director of the Centre for Public Relations Studies at Leeds
Business School, Leeds Metropolitan University.
Originally a broadcast journalist, Anne then spent 10 years in public relations practice at
senior levels, including award winning work for one of the UKs largest Building Societies
before transferring into consultancy. She was a Founding Director of Weber Shadwicks UK
northern office and worked on a broad range of public relations and marketing projects.
Anne is responsible for creating the largest academic department of public relations in
Europe. As Director of the Centre of Public Relations, she leads research, consultancy and
training projects. Clients include the UK Government Cabinet Office, Department of Health,
Department of Work and Pensions, Tesco Corporate and Nokia. Anne is an internation-
ally recognized academic and teaches and speaks around the world. She is editor of the
CIPRs PR in Practice series of 16 books, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Communication
Management and author of books and numerous academic papers, published in high rank-
ing journals. Anne was also President of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
in 2004, leading the Institute in its Charter initiative, and is an Associate of the respected
think-tank Demos.
Anne is actively involved in the local community being a non-Executive Director of South
West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust.
Paul Willis is director of the Centre for Public Relations Studies at Leeds Business School,
Leeds Metropolitan University. Prior to becoming a Director of the Centre for Public Rela-
tions Studies, Paul was Deputy Managing Director at Ptarmigan Consultants, a multiple
award winning public relations agency and former PR Week Consultancy of the Year.
Paul established the agencys strategy and planning function, playing a key role in building a
culture of professional excellence within the consultancy and helping Ptarmigan to become
one of the countrys most successful independent PR operations, employing over 50 peo-
ple and generating a turnover of more than 4 million per annum.
As a consultant Paul has provided strategic counsel to a range of organisations and brands
operating in the private, public and NGO sectors, delivering campaigns that have encom-
passed many issues, audiences and techniques. He has also led a range of blue chip com-
mercial research projects covering issues such as corporate social responsibility, sponsor-
ship, public affairs, evaluation and stakeholder analysis.
He has worked as a retained consultant for clients including ASDA, BT, BMW, Ernst &
Young, The Football Association, NHS, Proctor & Gamble, Royal Bank of Scotland, UK
Sport and Wm Morrison. Paul has also delivered a wide range of bespoke training pro-
grammes for organisations as diverse as The Arts Council, The UK Cabinet Office and the
Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
He began his career running a media and research unit for a group of MPs at Westminster
and then held public affairs roles both in-house and within the consultancy sector.
His current projects at the Centre include the design, delivery and management of a devel-
opment programme for senior communication and engagement professionals in the NHS.
Paul is also an active researcher having presented academic papers in the UK and abroad
on issues such as stakeholder power, guerrilla marketing, social media and the commu-
nication challenges generated by the credit crunch. His work has also been published in
academic texts and journal.
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Maria Silvia Bilaevschi Koyo Yankah
Adina Liliana Aldea
Maria Silvia Bilaevschi graduated from the Faculty of History Alexandru Ioan Cuza
University - Iai (2003-2007). She also has a M.A. degree in Project Management,
Faculty of Communication and Public Relations, National School of Political Sciences and
Public Administration, Bucharest (2007-2009). At present, she is a University Assistant
at Apollonia University from Iasi, the Faculty of Communication Sciences. She is very
much fond on political sciences, e-government, art history and contemporary means of
communication.
Koyo Yankah has a Post-graduate Certificate in Communication Policy & Planning for
Development of University in Nairobi and a Post-graduate Certificate in Communications
Policy & Strategy of Cornell University in New York. As Deputy Minister of Ministry of Infor-
mation he has managed the marketing, advertising and communicating of Ghana domesti-
cally and internationally. As Minister of State of the two regions Ashanti Region & Central
Region in Accra he managed governance and marketing of the investment potentials of
these two regions. He is a Founder of Yankah & Associates: A marketing communications
firm responsible for communication strategy, corporate image, public relations and training.
Also a founder, president and Chief Executive of African University College of Communica-
tions. Senior operating and management executive with strong domestic and international
experience in Communications strategy, Corporate image, Public Relations and training;
with a proven track record in communications related activities.
Adina Liliana Aldea graduated from the Faculty of Communication Studies, Department
of Public Relations and Communication, Petre Andrei University (2003-2007). Between
January 2007 and September 2009, she was a University Assistant at the same faculty.
Currently she is a University Assistant at Apollonia University from Iasi, the Faculty of
Communication Sciences.
From 2008 to 2010 she studied for a M.A. in Public Relations and Advertising, the Faculty
of Philosophy, Al. I. Cuza University. She is very much interested in new media, social
networks, online political campaigns and advertising.
Donald Morris Alexander
Is a senior lecturer in Public Relations and Organisational Communication and undergradu-
ate course coordinator at Charles Sturt University, Bathurst, Australia. Holds a Bachelor
of Laws from University of Otago, New Zealand, and Masters in Organisational Commu-
nication, Charles Sturt University, Australia. He was previously a senior lecturer at Cen-
tral Queensland University, Mackay campus. He was accepted into CSUs higher degree
programme to undertake a PhD in leadership and communication. Has held senior man-
agement positions with AMP, Australias largest financial services provider and American
Express, where he was responsible for external/internal communications and government
relations for Australia and the Pacific region. Has been a reporter for a daily newspaper and
radio and television in New Zealand and then held public relations positions in the alumini-
um industry in New Zealand and Australia and the automotive industry in Australia (Nissan
Motor Co.). Has been managing partner in two national consultancies before becoming an
academic. Papers have been published on the impact of technology on public relations
practice and university curriculum, and also on aspects of CEO communication.
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Markus Rhomberg Karen Sanders
Markus Rhomberg (*1979) is Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication &
Cultural Management at Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, Germany. From 2009 to 2010
he worked as Guest Professor at the University of Hamburg. Rhomberg studied Political
Studies, Communication Studies and Sociology at the University of Vienna and received his
PhD in 2006 with a book on Agenda-Setting and Media Democracy. His current research
interests are in the field of public communication on climate change issues. Currently pub-
lished: Politische Kommunikation. Ein Lehrbuch (2009), Adaptation or Mitigation: The
Approach to Rapid Climate Change (with Nico Stehr, forthcoming), Risk Perceptions and
Public Debates on Climate Change: A Conceptualization Based on the Theory of a Func-
tionally-differentiated Society (forthcoming).
Karen Sanders is professor and head of the Department of Advertising and Institutional
Communication at the CEU-San Pablo University in Madrid and is visiting professor at the
IESE Business School. She lectures at a number of universities including the University of
Navarra (Spain) where she teaches on their MA in Political and Corporate Communication
run jointly with George Washington University, Washington D.C.
Karen has written widely on political communication, journalism and ethics. She published
Communicating Politics in the Twenty-First Century (Palgrave Macmillan) described in the
Times Higher Educational Supplement as showing fine scholarship mixed with clear un-
derstanding of professional practice and appropriate case studies (2009). She has also
published Ethics and Journalism (Sage) in 2003 (published in Chinese in 2007) and is
co-author of Morality Tales: Journalism and Political Scandals in Britain and Spain in the
1990s (2006) as well as numerous other publications including articles in peer-reviewed
international journals, book chapters and numerous papers and conference proceedings.
She was a founding member of the Institute of Communication Ethics in 2002 and of the
Association of Political Communication in 2008 on whose board she serves. She currently
works as a consultant in health and business communication.
From 1995 to 2006 she was a member of the Department of Journalism Studies at the
University of Sheffield (UK) where she ran the MA Political Communication. She was previ-
ously director of media and parliamentary relations for the British Chamber of Shipping.
Her undergraduate studies in Philosophy and English (Joint Hons.) were at the University
of Durham (UK) and she completed her MA and Phd in Communication at the University of
Navarra (Spain).
Holger Sievert
Holger Sievert (*1970) is Visiting Lecturer at the Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen, the
Technical University of Munich and the University of Muenster; his main professional oc-
cupation is being a director at a large PR consultancy in Duesseldorf (all cities in Ger-
many). From 2005 to 2006 he worked as a Visiting Research Fellow at the Universities of
Cambridge (UK) and Lugano (Switzerland). Sievert studied Communication Science at the
Universities of Muenster and Aix-en-Provence (France) and received his PhD in 1998 with
a book on European Journalism. Main other publications (partly with co-authors): Das Bild
der Auslnder in der ffentlichkeit (1995), Konstruktion, Interpretation, Kultur (1999),
Mediennutzung international (2002), Strategisch kommunizieren und fhren (2006, 2nd
edition 2007), Communication and Leadership in the 21st century (2008) and Interna-
tional Corporate and Product Communication (forthcoming).
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Francisco Jos Daz
Francisco Jos Daz is Professor in Marketing and in Consumer Baheviour at the San Pablo
CEU University of Madrid (Spain).
He has worked is several multinationals companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, The
Walt Disney Company, AC Nielsen or Take 2 Interactive; holding different positions and
based in different countries (Spain, US or Japan).
He is also founder and managing director of Ziran Consulting, a communication consulting
firm based in Madrid that provides public relations services in the entertainment (Ardistel,
JoWood,etc.) and tourism (US Airways, Star Alliance) industries.
He holds an IexMBA from IE Business School.
Larske Larsson
Larske Larsson (PhD Gteborg/Gothenburg University) is Professor of Media & Commu-
nication Science at rebro University, Sweden. Dr. Larssons research is within the fields
journalism, public relations and crisis communication. His articles is to be found in Journal-
ism Studies, Journal of Communication Management and Nordicom Review. He partici-
pate in Public Relations: Critical Debates and Contemporary Practice (LEtang & Pieczka).
Opinionsmakarna (The Opinion Makers) is the result of a larger Swedish PR project. He has
carried out research projects about most severe crisis situations for Sweden, among them
the Estonia wreck, the Gothenburg fire, September 11th, the murder of a foreign minister
and the tsunami followed by a heavy hurricane 2004/2005. He has published several aca-
demic text books in public relations and crisis communication.
Mara Jos Canel
Mara Jos Canel is Professor in Political Communication and in Public Relations at the
University Complutense of Madrid (Spain). Vice Chair of the Political Communication Sec-
tion of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) and
President of ACOP Asociacin de Comunicacin Poltica.
She has published nationally and internationally on government communication and related
matters (relations with the media, media effects, corporate communication strategies, pub-
lic perceptions of public policies): amongst others, Comunicacin Poltica (Tecnos); Retrato
de la profesin periodstica (Cis); Morality Tales: Political Scandals in Britain and Spain in the
1990s (Hampton Press) (coauthored); Comunicacin de las instituciones pblicas (Tecnos,
2007). She has also published articles in the journals of Local Government Studies, Journal
of Political Communication, European Journal of Communication, Parliamentary Affairs and
Journalism. Theory, Practice and Criticism.
Apart from the Academia, she has got practical experience in strategic communications for
public institutions: she has been Advisor to the Spanish Minister for Education, Culture and
Sport (2000-2002) and Chief of the Ministers Cabinet (2002-2004). She has also advised
Spanish regional and local governments on public perceptions of public policies, and has
been consultant on presidential communication for the Mexican presidency (Presidential
Spokepersons Office, 2005).
She teaches Government communication at the University Paris XII, at Georgetown Uni-
versity (2007) and at the University of Navare (Spain). She also teaches Communication
Strategy for Public Institutions in different institutions: Spanish National Institute for Public
Administration (where she is head of the programme), Madrilian Institute for Public Ad-
ministration (for regional government officials), Ministry of Justice of Spain and Regional
Government in Murcia.
She has been Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics (1991); she has also
taught in Italy, Great Britain, Portugal, France, Hungary, Poland, USA, Mexico, Guatemala,
Colombia, Argentina, Per, Santo Domingo and Chile.
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Karen Dwek
Karen Dwek is a consultant at Millward Brown Optimors London practice, working in the
team that produces the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Brands, published annually in
the Financial Times. Before joining Optimor, she worked in public relations and corporate
communications, advising diplomats and corporate clients on media relations, issue man-
agement and crisis communication issues.
Prior to joining MBO, Karen was a consultant at Ruder Finns New York office, advising
clients from the pharmaceutical and financial industries. For over three years, she was the
Public Relations Officer at the Israeli Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
Her responsibilities included interfacing with local and international media, organizing spe-
cial UN events, conferences and cultural activities while promoting Israeli issues in the UN
system. She also provided logistical and media relations support to three Israeli dignitaries
at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2008.
Karen graduated from the University of Geneva, where she studied Political Science. She
also holds a Masters in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics
and an MA in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from New York University.
While completing her Masters, Karen was a full-time volunteer at the New York Headquar-
ters of Obama for America (Presidential Campaign), and was in charge of recruiting, train-
ing and deploying volunteers, supervising phone bank sites, and providing technical and
logistical support to the field staff.
She is a Swiss national and is fluent in French, Spanish and English.
Filiz Otay Demir
Burcu Kaya Erdem
Filiz Otay Demir had B.A. from Economics and Administration Faculty of Selcuk University,
Turkey. After her graduation, she was appointed as a research assistant at the capacity of
Communication Faculty, Selcuk University. She earned MA in Management Science in the
Social Science Institute at Selcuk University. Management Sciences Program in 1996. Mrs.
Otay Demir got PhD in Public Relations and Advertising in the Social Science Institute at
Anatoly University, Turkey in 2003. She has been working as head of Department and an
assistant professor at the Department of Public Relations and Publicity, Maltepe University,
Istanbul since 1994. She is working generally PR and marketing communication, especially
brand strategies. She is married with a child.
Burcu Kaya Erdem had B.A. from Communication Faculty of Istanbul University, Turkey.
She earned MA in General Journalism in the Social Science Institute at Istanbul University.
After her graduation, she was appointed as a research assistant at the capacity of Com-
munication Faculty, Maltepe University at the Department of Public Relations and Publicity
in 2006. Mrs. Kaya Erdem got PhD in Journalism in the Social Science Institute at Istanbul
University, Turkey in 2009. She has been working as an assistant professor at the Depart-
ment of Television Reporting and Programming, Maltepe University, Istanbul since 2009.
She is working generally international communication in the context of East and West Di-
chotomy, critical media literacy and representation of activist groups at mass medias. She
is married since 2005.
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Ronl Rensburg
Prof Ronl Rensburg had been the Head of the Department of Marketing and Communi-
cation Management at the University of Pretoria from 2000-2008 and is still a member of
the department. She also had been Chairperson of the School of Management Sciences
in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at that time. She is past President
of the Southern Africa Institute for Management Scientists (SAIMS; 2001 - 2010). She is
also a board member of the Ron Brown Institute (RBI) for the enhancement of business
incubation in Africa, a board member of the Centre for Microfinance of Southern Africa.
She is President-elect of PRISA (Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa), a member of
SACOMM (Southern Africa Communication Association), a member of the North American
and Russian Communication Association (NARCA) and the ICA (International Communica-
tion Association). She has recently (March 2010) been elected as Board member of the
Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management. Ronl Rensburg is
coordinator of all international exchange activities, global research cooperation and collab-
oration initiatives for the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University
of Pretoria, South Africa.
Ronl Rensburg holds the degrees BA (Communication); Honours (Communication); Mas-
ters in Communication and a Doctorate in Communication Science. She has delivered 43
doctoral students and more than 30 Masters and MBA-dissertations. She has published
books and articles (nationally and internationally) on corporate communication, speech
communication, political and government communication, corporate social investment,
public relations and reputation management. Her current area of research is the role of
reputation management and stakeholder engagement in corporate governance. She has a
specific interest in serving the SADC-region of Africa where public relations theory, research
and practice are concerned. Ronl writes speeches for politicians and captains of industry
on a continual basis, as well as regular business reviews for a daily newspaper (Business24)
in South Africa.
Owen Kulemeka
Owen Kulemeka is a PhD Candidate in the College of Media at the University of Illinois
Urbana Champaign (US). He also received a Masters in Communication and Bachelors
in English from the University of Maryland College Park (US). In 2009, he was named the
Grunig/PRIME Research/Institute for Public Relations Fellow.
He conducts research on crisis and disaster communications. His dissertation is examining
disaster communication campaigns in post-Katrina New Orleans. He is also conducting
research on how technologies have transformed the practice of public relations.
His work experience includes public relations and marketing positions at US Airways, Am-
nesty International, the American Insurance Association, the United Nations, the O.E.C.D,
Cassidy & Associates/Weber Shandwick Government Relations, and Kearney & Company.
Paolo Fedele
Paolo Fedele is assistant professor of management at Udine State University, Italy. He
holds a PhD in Public Administration and Management at Parma State University and a
Master in Public Management at Bocconi University, Italy. His main research interests are:
public management reform, management of supranational organisations and stakeholder
management. Among his publications Fedele P. e Ongaro E. (2008), A common trend, dif-
ferent houses: a comparative analysis of devolution in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom,
in Public Money & Management, n. 2/2, pp. 85-92 and P. Fedele, D. Galli and E. Ongaro
(2007) Disaggregation, Autonomy and Re-regulation, Contractualism: Public Agencies in
Italy (1992-2005), Public Management Review, 9, 4, 557-85.
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Arhlene A. Flowers Nina Furman
Emese Gulys
Arhlene A. Flowers is Assistant Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications in the
Department of Strategic Communication at the Roy H. Park School of Communications,
Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York, where she teaches public relations, writing, and meet-
ing and event planning. Her research encompasses virtual worlds, visual literacy, social
media applications in crisis communications, and marketing to children. She also has two
decades of industry experience in global public relations agencies and in-house marketing
departments in New York City and Toronto. Born in Hawaii and raised in New York, Arhlene
holds a Bachelor of Arts from New York University and a Master of Professional Studies
from the New School in New York City. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of
America, International Communication Association, and National Communication Associa-
tion. E-mail: aflowers@ithaca.edu.
Nina Furman has over ten years of experience as an expert in public relations. Having
started her career in the Parliament in 1999 then continued as the Ministers adviser for
PR at the Ministry of Transport. In 2004 she became one of two key persons setting up
the Public Relations Department at a newly established Ministry of Public Administration.
At later stages she also headed this Department and was the Ministers adviser for media
and public relations. From 2006 she is the head of the Presidents Cabinet at the Court of
Audit, responsible for media and public relations, editing the official website and interna-
tional relations.
Working in legislative and executive branches of power and finally at the Court of Audit
enables her to have in-depth knowledge and practice on different aspects of wider public
sector public relations. She is also active in the region of south-eastern Europe having
lectures and advising in various international conferences, seminars and workshops and is
also a founder of international PR network of Supreme Audit Institutions.
Nina Furman has master degree in American Studies and international diploma at the Lon-
don School of Public Relations. At the end of 2009 she was nominated acting president of
the Public Sector Communicators Section within the Public Relations Society of Slovenia.
Emese Gulys is a Senior Researcher at the Association of Conscious Consumers in Bu-
dapest a local civil society organization engaged in the research and the promotion of
sustainable consumption practices and policies. She is responsible for the design and
the management of the Associations research activities. She is also a Ph.D. candidate
at the Sociology Doctoral School of the Corvinus University of Budapest (CUB), where
she researches the ethical and political aspects of consumer behaviors and of consumer
movements. In the recent years she has been teaching consumer behavior at the CUB. Her
recent research topics include: the sustainability effects of large retail chains, obesity and
governance in Europe, ethical consumption and public participation.
E-mail: emese@tve.hu.
Katalin Lustyik
Katalin Lustyik is Assistant Professor of Media Studies at the Department of Television-
Radio, Roy H. Park School of Communication, Ithaca College, and a Regional Visiting
Fellow at Cornell University. Her research and teaching interests include childrens media,
Nickelodeon, Disney, media globalization, and new media. Her publications have appeared
in book collections and academic journals.
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Philippa Brear
Philippa Brear is a program director and senior lecturer in Public Relations in the School
of Media and Communication at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. She also teaches
in, and advises, RMIT communication programs in Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam. In
January 2010 she was a visiting lecturer at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. Philippa
has taught courses including Strategic PR Planning, PR Campaigns and PR in Global Prac-
tice. Her academic interests include PR strategy, learning and teaching, and writing, as well
as communication of laws and legal issues.
Philippa has 15 years PR industry experience, her career in professional communication
starting in media relations at Australian bank Westpac, which she joined as an economics
graduate. She went on to work in professional services, managing external and internal
communication for Freehills, one of Australias leading commercial law firms; several Lon-
don-based international law firms; and Andersen Australia, where her focus was crisis and
change management after the Enron scandal. Philippa was among the first PR practition-
ers in Australia to specialise in legal services. As a consultant, she has advised private and
public sector clients in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Melanie James
BA (Hons) in Communication (UTS), MA in Journalism (UTS), GCert.T.Teach (UoN), has won
state and national awards for her national public relations campaigns. She is a member of
the Public Relations Institute of Australia and the Professional Communicators Network.
She is a lecturer in communication and specialises in public relations teaching and re-
search. Melanie authored Australias first book on careers in public relations and has also
published a book on careers in government. Her career spans senior public relations roles
in health, government and the financial services sectors as well as feature writing for na-
tional newspapers and magazines.
Since joining the University of Newcastle in late 2006, Melanies research work has been
published in the Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal, PRism and the Journal of Public
Relations Research (in press). She has presented refereed research papers at numerous
conferences including ANZCA (2008 NZ - awarded commendation for best PR paper) and
the PRIA Academic Forum. Her research interests span PR strategy and the use of social
media in PR. In 2010 she will present her research at the International PR Research Sym-
posium to be held in Slovenia (Bledcom). Melanie sits on the Editorial Board of the recently
launched journal, Public Communication Review. She is currently working on her doctoral
thesis and expects to complete her PhD in late 2010.
Read more at www.melaniejames.com.au or follow Melanie on Twitter www.twitter.com/
melanie_james.
Mats Eriksson
Mats Eriksson is Ph.D, in in Media & Communication Studies, rebro University, Sweden.
His research concerns public relations, crisis communication and risk communication. He
has since 1995 worked in several different projects in this area, funded by the Swedish
National Board for Psychological Defence, Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and Preem
Environmental Research Foundation. His most recent research concerns Internet and mo-
bile communication technology in the context of risk and crisis communication. An example
of his most recent work is the Swedish textbook Ntens kriskommunikation (in english,
Crisis communication and the Net), published 2009.
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Mario Ianniello
Bo Laursen
Szymon Chojnowski
Mario Ianniello research fellow at the Laboratory for Research in Economics and Manage-
ment of Udine State University, Italy, is currently Phd student in Public Administration and
Management at Parma University, Italy, and holds a master degree in Public Relations of
Institutions at Udine State University.
He has been tutor in the Balkans for the School of Education and Communication of
Jonkopping University, Sweden, and for the Swedish International Development Agency.
His main research interests are in the relationships between public relations and strategy,
with a special interest in public administration and non profit sector.
He published Public Relations for Peace. A Sustainable Approach to Grassroots Peace-
building in Post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina (2005) with the Institute of International Soci-
ology of Gorizia, Italy.
Dr. Bo Laursen is an Associate Professor at the Department of Language and Business
Communication, Centre for Corporate Communication, at the Aarhus School of Business,
University of Aarhus, Denmark, where he teaches public relations and organizational com-
munication. He holds a doctoral degree in linguistics from the Aarhus School of Business,
University of Aarhus. Between 1999 and 2009 he worked in the General Secretariat of the
Council of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, first as a translator and later as a press
officer.
His research interests focus on public relations and in particular media relations and cor-
porate social responsibility communication. He has published various articles in the field of
linguistics. Email: bola@asb.dk
Szymon Chojnowski is a PhD Student at the Warsaw School of Economics, where he co-
operates with International Security Department. Graduate of Collegium Civitas University
in Warsaw, Master of Political Sciences (2007); Post-graduate in Public Relations at the
Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Warsaw (2009). Moreover, in 2006 he
took a course at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College of
London. He was prized with the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs 3rd award for the best
masters thesis in contemporary international relations (2007) and Collegium Civitas schol-
arship under the patronage of The Office of the Committee for European Integration and
The Polish National Commission for UNESCO (2002).
Since 2008 he has been working as an analyst at International Department of the Polish Min-
istry of Finance. He has gathered professional experience stemming from both current post
in public administration and earlier responsibilities held during his career in PR units in private
sector. At International Department of the Ministry of Finance he deals with a wide range of
financial and economic aspects of Polish membership in the OECD, WTO and Council of
Europe. He was involved in organization of international conferences and meetings, such as
the High Level Event: Ministers of Finance on Climate Change in Warsaw (2008), an event
accompanying COP14. His research interests revolve around the EU communication, as well
as the influence of international economic organisations on state policies.
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Chiara Valentini
Dr. Chiara Valentini is Assistant Professor at the Department of Language and Business
Communication at the Aarhus School of Business, University of Aarhus, Denmark, where
she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in public relations, public and political
communication for the European Studies and Corporate Communication programs. She
gained her doctoral degree in Organizational Communication and Public Relations at the
University of Jyvskyl, Finland, and her Masters degree in Public Relations at the Uni-
versity of Udine, Italy. Dr. Valentini has worked for and consulted organizations and public
institutions in several countries, including the Italian Representation of the European Com-
mission in Rome and the European Movement International Secretariat in Brussels.
Her research interests focus on public relations and relationships management; public and
political communication; public affairs and public diplomacy; international and intercultural
communication; and the European Union. She is the author of a book on EU communica-
tion strategies and co-author of two books, one about Italian public relations / journalist
perceptions and self-perceptions and the other on public communication in the Europe-
an Union. She has also published various articles on public communications, relationship
management in international contexts and media relations both in Italian and international
journals, such as Journal of Communication Management, International Journal of Strate-
gic Communication, Journal of International Communication, Corporate Communication:
An International Journal. Email: chv@asb.dk
Fraser Likely
Fraser is President and Managing Partner of Likely Communication Strategies Ltd., a com-
munication management consulting boutique incorporated in 1987. The firm specializes in
the management, organization and performance measurement practices of an organiza-
tions public relations/communication function. Fraser has been an Adjunct Faculty Mem-
ber of Royal Roads Universitys MBA Program in Public Relations and Communication
Management as well as an Adjunct Professor teaching undergraduate courses in the De-
partment of Communication at the University of Ottawa. Fraser is a member of the Institute
for Public Relations Commission on Public Relations Measurement and Evaluation, elected
in 2001. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Advisory Board of the annual Interna-
tional Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC) held in Miami each March where he
co-sponsors the IPRRC Jackson-Sharpe Award, a $2000 award given each year to the
best joint academic-practitioner scholarly paper. He recently authored a chapter on the
evolution and state of Canadian public relations/communication for the Global Public Rela-
tions Handbook (Routledge 2009). He is a Fellow of the Canadian Public Relations Society,
where he has held many executive positions and received numerous awards.
Gran Eriksson
Gran Eriksson is Associate Professor in Media & Communication Studies, rebro Univer-
sity, Sweden. He received his PhD in 2002 and mainly writes in the areas of politics and
media. Examples of his recent work include The Management of Applause and Laughter
in Live Political Interviews, Media, Culture & Society (2009), Interviews as Communica-
tive Resources in News and Current Affairs Broadcasts, Journalism Studies (2010) (co-au-
thored with sa Kroon Lundell), and Adversarial Moments: A study of Short-form Interviews
in the news, Journalism (in press).
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Leanne Glenny Kaja Tampere
Leanne Glenny currently lectures in public relations at undergraduate and post-graduate
levels at the University of South Australia and researches in the areas of government com-
munication, public relations ethics and experiential learning in tertiary education. Leanne
was awarded the Donald Dyer Scholarship in 2005 and began her PhD research into the
ethical environment of public service communicators.
Prior to her move to Adelaide, Leanne was a lecturer in public relations and marketing com-
munication at the University of Canberra. This appointment followed a career as an officer
in the Australian Army which culminated in an appointment within the Defence Public Affairs
and Corporate Communication Branch. Since obtaining her Bachelor of Arts, majoring in
journalism and politics, Leanne has completed further study in management, public rela-
tions, marketing communication and telecommunications management.
Leanne has published several articles on ethics in government communication and crisis
communication. As a Councillor in the Public Relations Institute of Australia (SA), Leanne
is involved in a new research project which aims to benchmark in-house public relations
practice in corporate, government and non-profit organisations.
Kaja Tampere is teaching public relations at the University of Jyvskyl (Finland) since 2005.
In 2003 she defended her doctoral theses in Jyvskyl University (Finland) about Public
Relations in transition society. She taught Public Relations & Communication manage-
ment courses in Tartu University from 1996-2005, and as visiting lecturer also in Estonian
Business School, Tallinn University Baltic Film and Media School, International University
Concordia Audentes, Artevelde Hogeshool Gent (Belgium), Utrecht University (Netherlands)
and University of Sofia (Bulgaria).
She also has a long practical experience in the field of Public Relations, being a PR man-
ager and a consultant in the large Estonian companies (Estonian Phone Company and Es-
tonian Energy Company) and public organizations (Estonian Health Insurance Foundation,
Estonian Procecutors Office etc.).
Her research interests focus on communication and public relations peculiarities in the dif-
ferent type of societies, on the strategic public relations and communication in changing
processes. Her special reserach interest are propaganda and persuasive communication.
Blog: http://kajatampere.wordpress.com/
Rttger Ulrike
Joachim Preusse
Rttger, Ulrike, Prof. Dr., is Professor at the Institute of Communication Science at the Uni-
versity of Muenster (Germany). She has done extensive research on the theoretical foun-
dation of public relations, in particular on campaigning, issues management, PR as an
professional field and PR/communications consultancies. She is president of the German
Communication Association (DGPuK) and member of the jury of the International German
Public Relations Award.
Joachim Preusse M.A. works as teaching and research assistant at the Institute of Com-
munication Science at the University of Muenster (Germany). He completed academic
studies in communication science, economics, public law and german literature from 2000
to 2006 at the University of Muenster. His current research focuses on PR-theory and the
PR-activities of political organisations.
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4. PAPERS
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What Good Looks Like in UK National Health Service Communication
by Anne Gregory and Paul Willis
ABSTRACT
Communication in the United Kingdoms public sector is being conducted in an increasingly
challenging environment driven by external factors such as information technology impacts, and
the demand for increasing accountability (Arthur Page Society, 2007). This is complemented
by a public sector reform agenda and demands for stringent efciency gains as the current
Government attempts to recoup some of the public debt incurred by the Brown Government
in its efforts to mitigate the worst effects of the recent economic downturn. All these pressures
are driving change and change management initiatives that require organisational processes
and projects to be co-designed, co-produced and co-delivered (as evidenced by the World
Class Commissioning programme (Department of Health, 2009a) in the National Health Service
(NHS)). This context requires a profound shift in the structure, working practices and culture
of public institutions and necessitates that communication should play a more strategic and
central role within these organisations.

This paper describes research undertaken for the UK NHS to discover best practice in the
role ascribed to the communication function. An initial literature review was undertaken and a
potential model proposed. This was then critiqued and extended by a NHS Project Board, a
series of critical readers, focus groups and broader working groups to provide an evidence base
from which the NHS has developed a national policy document named The Communicating
Organisation. The paper describes the research that the authors undertook to provide the
evidence base for the policy document.
The paper proposes that there are four attributes that characterise best practice and that the
communication function should make a contribution at four strategic levels: societal, corporate,
stakeholder/service-user and functional. The paper concludes with a novel conceptualisation
of four roles for the NHS communication function, which acts as orienter, navigator, guardian
and implementer.
The Communicating Organisation policy is now being implemented within the NHS and
broader application in other public sector organisations is also being explored.
KEY WORDS: strategic communication, communication function, change, public sector,
NHS, Government.
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CONTEXT FOR THIS STUDY
Since its inception, 60 years ago, the UK National Health Service (NHS), funded by the
Department of Health, has become the worlds largest publicly-funded health system with
a budget of over 100 billion and 1.5 million staff, making it is the fourth largest employer
in the world (NHS, 2009).
The continuing evolution of the NHS has created signicant change for those working
in and with it. Initiatives such as World Class Commissioning (Department of Health,
2009a), the Next Stage Review (NHS, 2009b) with its NHS Constitution (Department of
Health 2009b) and the Operating Framework for 20010/11 (Department of Health, 2010)
drive this change. In addition, the NHS continues to go through profound structural and
cultural development, with new nancial arrangements, the creation of semi-autonomous
Foundation Trusts, centralisation of some services and the re-orientation of the service
towards service-user design, choice and access.
In addition, communication (as public relations is labelled in the UK public sector) by
Government Departments overall is being conducted in an increasingly challenging
environment driven by external factors such as information technology impacts, and
the demand for increasing accountability (Arthur W. Page Society, 2007). This has been
exacerbated by the current nancial climate that requires the NHS to make efciency
savings of between 15 billion and 20 billion over the three years from 2011 to 2014
and with no funding growth for at least ve years from 2011 (Nicholson, 2009). This is also
complemented by a public sector reform agenda driven by central Government that requires
organisational processes and projects to be co-designed, co-produced and co-delivered
with partners both within and outside the public sector. This context requires a profound shift
in the structure, working practices and culture of public institutions and necessitates that
communication should play a more strategic and central role. The willingness to recognise
this contribution is evidenced by the increasing number of communicators that are being
appointed at Board level, an appetite by senior NHS Executive Directors to champion the
professionalisation of communication across the system and a commitment to invest in the
training and development of communicators.
As an exemplar of these profound shifts being driven by Government, this paper describes
research commissioned by the UK NHS to conceptualise and articulate best practice
in the role of the communication function and intended to provide a framework for
communicators operating within it. The research forms the basis of a policy document called
The Communicating Organisation (Department of Health, 2009c) which was distributed to
every NHS organisation at the end of 2009 and which during the summer of 2010 is being
promoted and embedded within all NHS organisations. The research therefore illustrates
how a bridge between theory and practice can be built by fusing the rigor of academia with
policy formulation at Government Department level which then leads to direct impacts on
practice. Indeed, for the last six years the authors of this paper have been deeply involved
with the public sector. One as an academic consultant and one as a practitioner consultant,
latterly becoming an academic and changing the orientation of his consultancy work to have
an academic perspective. During this time, the authors between them have undertaken a
range of research and consultancy projects for the public sector, including:
a six month secondment to the Cabinet Ofce (the Downing Street department
which coordinates the activities of all Government Departments) to lead a project
team to research and construct a capability development framework for Government
Communicators (Gregory, 2006)
adapting and further developing this framework for specic use by National Health
Service communicators
a research project on best practice in creating a communication function for the
Commission for Rural Communities
a framework for assessing the activities of the communication function of
Government Departments for the Cabinet Ofce
membership of the Permanent Secretarys Management Board for Engage, the
Government recommended communication planning approach
research into the competencies of board level practitioners in the public sector
for the Department of Health Gregory, 2009)
a series of short courses for the Cabinet Ofce on strategic approaches to
communication (including leadership), attended by over 500 Government
communicators from across all Government Departments
a range ofsocial marketing practitioner consultancy projects in the areas of health
and recycling that covered strategy formulation, campaign development and
implementation
a review of the communication dimensions of the Foot and Mouth outbreak with
DEFRA (Gregory, 2005)
research into best practice in internal communication for the Department of Work and
Pensions
a research project on What Good Looks Like in NHS Communication for the NHS
the design and delivery of a co-produced Masters course in Strategic Communication
for senior communication professionals in the NHS
the development of a co-produced Graduate Training Post Graduate Diploma
for the NHS
the development of a series of short courses for local government organisations
This level of engagement has provided the opportunity for deep interaction with, and
observation of public sector communication structures, processes and practitioners, and
a growing understanding of the challenges and opportunities that face these functions
and individuals. In particular the co-produced post graduate level courses for the NHS
have provided a multi-layered and multi-perspective insight into the aspirations for and
requirements of its communication capability.
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Background on the NHS
Funded by the Department of Health, the NHS is divided into 10 Strategic Health Authority
(SHA) areas. Services comprise primary and secondary care. Primary care is the frontline
of the NHS and the rst point of contact for most people. General Practitioners (GPs),
dentists, optometrists and pharmacists, work in primary care. Acute, or secondary care,
can be either elective (i.e. planned, such as surgery) and usually referred from primary
care; or emergency care. There are 160 acute and 60 mental health NHS Trusts and
114 Foundation Hospital Trusts responsible for over 1,700 hospitals and specialist care
centres in the secondary care sector. Emergency vehicles, mainly ambulances, are also
provided by the NHS. Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) manage primary care and are the major
commissioners of secondary services. They control 80% of the NHS budget, drive health
agendas locally and are seen to be the leaders of the NHS in their areas.
Under the World Class Commissioning initiative introduced in 2008, PCTs are performance-
managed by their SHA, using a set of 11 commissioning competencies (Department of
Health, 2009a) to measure effectiveness. Some of these competencies are seen to have
communication as core, especially the rst ve:
1. locally lead the NHS
2. work with community partners
3. engage with public and patients
4. collaborate with clinicians
5. manage knowledge and assess local health needs
These new performance requirements on the PCTs and the imperative of involving local
communities, staff, patients, the public and other commissioning and delivering partners,
means that the traditional and largely passive approach to communication has to change.
Communication is seen as indivisible to the overall assessment that will be made on whole
organisational performance.
In addition, every NHS secondary care, ambulance service and SHA organisation has a
communication department whose role it is to help discharge these public accountabilities
as well as supply information to the press, public and stakeholders in general, and
increasingly, lead on internal communication. Communication functions have grown over
the last few years and currently there are approximately 3,000 professional communicators
employed in the NHS.
In response to this demand, the question was asked by the Director of Communications
for the NHS and his counterparts in the SHAs What does Good Look Like in NHS
communication? By being clear about this, NHS organisations could then begin to
benchmark their own communication functions and build capacity and capability in line with
the increasing demands noted earlier. The NHS commissioned the authors to undertake the
research for What Good Looks Like which underpins The Communicating Organisation
policy document mentioned earlier.
There were three particular challenges in articulating what good communication looks like
for the NHS:
many types and size of organisation exist within the NHS, operating in a range of
contexts and environments - for example, the communication needs of a rural PCT
may be very different from a large, city-based teaching hospital. The insights therefore
had to be real and relevant to communicators in their organisational situation,
wherever they were located in the NHS.
the vision of What Good Looks Like needed to take account of very different and
growing service user expectations with a customer mind-set
communicators in the NHS have to deal with a level of stakeholder complexity and
public scrutiny that is rare - a situation that profoundly shapes and denes their
professional practice and development.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS
The overall methodological approach was grounded theory. The researchers examined
extant theories and models to discover whether there was an appropriate approach that
could be adopted or adapted for the NHS or whether a new one needed to be developed.
These theories and models would be tested against both empirical reality, but also calibrated
a clear vision of the role that communication needs to play given the new demands placed
upon it.
The following research methods were employed:
the creation of a NHS Project Board to support the What Good Looks Like project,
led by the Director of Communication for the NHS, with representatives from across
the NHS system
a wider reference group drawn from communicators across the NHS
a literature review taken from a public relations and communication perspective
recruitment of ve independent critical readers who reviewed the rst and nal drafts.
Three of these ve critical readers were familiar with health systems from outside the
UK
one-to-one interviews with14 CEOs from a variety of NHS organisations
recruitment of three focus groups made up of 14 senior level NHS communicators
operating in local communities, a group drawn from the broader Project Board and a
group of board level health communicators working in Sweden
a workshop with 18 communication directors who are members of the Swedish
Public Relations Association (Sweden was chosen as a major comparator because it
has a broadly comparable publicly-funded health system).
An iterative approach meant that the research team worked closely with the Project
Board, the wider reference group and the critical readers (called collaborating groups),
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presenting drafts of their thinking, taking feedback and adjusting the emerging models as
new knowledge and perspectives were offered.
As noted, the project was also informed by work undertaken in the public sector by the
Centre for Public Relations Studies over a period of six years. This has included research
into the desired competencies of senior communicators, development of a public sector
capability framework, creation of a communication planning model for Government
Departments, audits of existing communication activity and strategic consultancy on a
number of projects.
The project had a number of constraints which limited the research: a short timescale,
limited researcher time and a restricted budget.
RESULTS
The results of the study can be summarised under four headings; denitions, attributes,
dimensions and role re-articulation
Denitions
The brief given, summarised in the research project title, begged two fundamental questions.
What does good and communication mean? The research team concluded good
in this context meant both effective and ethical. In the past communication in the NHS
has come from the public information model of practice and taken a typical public sector
approach of information provision (Gregory, 2003; 2006) with a focus on media relations
and publicity (LEtang, 2004). More recently the NHS has embraced techniques from
marketing, especially social marketing, for public health projects (Powell et al 2007; White,
2008). It has also adopted a commitment to public, national consultation for initiatives such
as the NHS Constitution (Department of Health, 2009b) and local level consultations on
the shape and provision of community based services (Department of Health 2009a). The
engagement of local communities, patients, carers and other health providers is seen as
essential. However, the broader public relations view of communication which embraces
customers as one group among a range of stakeholders holds good both practically and
philosophically and hence the public relations literature formed the basis of the literature
review.
A good communication function provides management with evidence-based analysis of
ongoing issues and relationships that may impact on its overall reputation and operations.
Communication facilitates cultural evolution internally and externally and helps organisations
adapt to environmental change. In practical terms managed communication provides a
range of scientically-based interventions, including issues identication, management
and resolution; stakeholder engagement, market research and stakeholder intelligence,
crisis and risk planning and management, evaluation and management of reputation; and
inward and outward communication programmes. The role is concerned with the analysis,
understanding, management and evaluation of key relationships, to achieve results within
and through them.
Four Attributes of NHS Organisations that Communicate Effectively
The scale and complexity of the NHS, coupled with the diverse needs of the local communities
that it serves, means that each NHS organisation has different priorities and goals. As
a result, they organise their communications functions and communication processes in
different ways. However, the research identied four attributes that will characterise NHS
organisations that exemplify good practice in communication:
Deep understanding of the Brand
Understanding their brand will be essential for each NHS organisation. The components
of the NHS brand are complex and it enjoys considerable brand equity. Indeed, helps to
dene Britishness itself by being an expression of the values of the nation. A communicating
NHS organisation brings its brand to life through the services it provides, through the way
it provides those services, by the way it engages with its stakeholders and through its
deliberate and undeliberated communication activity.
Nationally the NHS is one of the nations most respected and instantly recognised brands.
It is a service that most of the population have a relationship with at some point in their
lives.The most comprehensive attempt to dene the NHS brand is the NHS Constitution
(Department of Health, 2009b), which describes its purpose, principles and values alongside
the rights and responsibilities that drive it.
At the national level, citizens can help shape policy changes through national engagement
initiatives, an example being Patient Choice which consulted and then agreed that service
users should be able to chose where they are treated, rather than having a doctor decide
for them. The results of this have been monitored up to 2009 (Department of Health 2009d).
At a local level, most people experience the NHS brand through local services (such as their
General Practitioner, hospital, dentist, etc). The communication function has an important
role in helping to bring to life at a local level the brand values expressed in the NHS
Constitution. It also helps to develop the brand locally by seeking community views and
feeding this intelligence into the service. Communication informs patients and the public
about what the organisation is trying to achieve, how they can access local services and
analyses whether the reality that patients experience is in line with the pledges made to
them. The communication process also helps test or predict how products or services that
are being developed will be received by stakeholders, and also to identify attendant risks,
opportunities and threats.
The role of the communicator should be to act as a brand guardian and champion by
promoting the principles of the NHS Constitution within the context of the local organisation.
Excellence in planning, managing and evaluating communication
High-performing NHS organisations will ensure that their communication is proactive
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(planning and implementing strategies), reactive (responding to attacks on the organisation
and taking advantage of opportunities to highlight good work) and interactive (engaging in
two-way dialogue through face-to-face, digital and other channels).
By planning, managing and evaluating communication well, NHS organisations can gain a
thorough knowledge of their local communities and stakeholders, anticipate and manage
reputational risks and help ensure that their perception of performance matches the
experience of users and stakeholders. Communicating organisations undertake most if not
all of the activities listed below:
monitoring issues that have an impact on the organisations reputation, and helping to
identify solutions and responses to these issues
analysing and evaluating key internal and external relationships
media relations management
partnership engagement and working
market research
public opinion polling
scenario planning
crisis and risk planning, management and communication
brand building and management
change management and internal communication
reputation evaluation and management
developing, delivering and evaluating outward and inward communication
programmes in order to achieve pre-dened outcomes (including social marketing
initiatives)
development of strategies for reliable and scientically valid feedback
analysis and development of organisational culture and climate
evaluation and managing of reputation.
By managing proper integration across this comprehensive mix of activities, a communicating
NHS organisation facilitates communication ow throughout the organisation and between
itself and external stakeholders, including its service users and all those in its value and
supply chain.
Leadership support for communication
Effective leadership will negotiate and express the organisational purpose to employees
and set out how that purpose will be achieved at a local level. Leaders also need the ability
to articulate the organisations vision in a way that resonates with patients, the public and
other external stakeholders. Leaders have a particularly crucial role in explaining what the
organisation is trying to achieve, defending it in the face of unjust criticism and at times of
crisis. The NHS Chief Executive, David Nicholson, articulated four principles that should
guide the way that NHS organisations manage change: co-production, subsidiarity (that is,
the principle that decisions should always be taken at the lowest possible level or closest to
where they will have their effect), system alignment and clinical engagement (Department
of Health, 2009c). In order to operate within these principles, good communication
is seen to be vital. To support change of this magnitude and complexity effectively and
appropriately communication professionals must have access to the most senior leaders
in their organisation.
Communication as a core competency
Good communication is seen to be the responsibility of all managers and all staff, in the
same way that good nancial management is not just the responsibility of the nance
department. Staff across NHS organisations have important roles to play in engaging with
their patients, the community and local partners. This is crucial as the NHS strengthens its
commitment to putting patients at the heart of services, and forms closer partnerships with
tThe communications function can help by coaching and supporting key staff in developing
and communicating the organisational narrative and in being part of the organisational
antennae network. The more proactive staff are about the organisations vision and story,
and the more active their role as advocates and intelligence gatherers, the greater the
potential communication and reputational impact.
Four levels of activity
In the public relations literature there is a huge amount on the contribution that public relations
makes in society and in organisations and particularly on the roles that practitioners full
which cannot be adequately summarised here. This paper is particularly concerned with
the role of the communication function (or department) and of individuals, especially senior
managers. This brief overview of the roles literature begins with the seminal work by Broom
(Broom and Smith, 1979; Broom 1982) which drew from the consulting literature to dene
four public relations roles expert prescriber, communication facilitator, problem-solving
process facilitator and communication technician. Dozier (1992) reduced these four roles
to two communication managers, who enact the rst three roles and communication
technician who focus on the technical aspects of public relations work. It is this dual role
proposition that dominates the literature. At the same time Grunig and colleagues (Grunig,
1992) identied through empirical work, the characteristics of good communication
departments and emphasised their access to or membership of the dominant coalition,
their autonomy, research orientation and their commitment to symmetrical communication.
More recent empirical work by DeSanto and Moss (2004) and Moss, Newman and DeSanto
(2005) identied ve elements to the manager role: monitor and evaluator; key policy and
strategy advisor; trouble shooter/problem solver and issues management expert. These
managers also take responsibility for implementing some high level technical work. Van
Ruler et al (2004) in their European study of communication departments discovered four
roles for the function: reective, managerial, operational and educational. Finally, Steyns
(2007) study of South African companies, using the strategic management perspective,
mapped the contribution of communication at various levels of business operation:
enterprise, corporate, business unit, functional and operational.
The research team saw utility in parts of all these models, particularly that of Steyn (2007),
however, they are mainly designed to address the needs of large corporate organisations
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operating in the private sector where the minority of practitioners work. What was needed
was something tailored to the public sector. Consequently, the researchers proposed a
hybrid model, which after iterative testing with the collaborative groups, concluded that
communication can contribute to the NHS nationally and locally at four different levels:
societal, corporate, value-chain and functional.
Societal
The role for communication here is twofold. First to help represent the NHS so that it
maintains its legitimacy (or licence to operate), place, standing and reputation in society
through the clear communication of values and purpose, and demonstrating consistency of
performance against them. The NHS is an interesting organisation in that it has a Constitution,
enshrined in law which denes its role, values and principles. However, it is experienced
locally and local NHS organisations are able to determine their own values, missions and
goals, which must of necessity, not contradict the Constitution. Communication plays
a role in helping individual NHS organisations dene their values, mission, goals and
objectives, and assessing what broad stakeholder support or opportunity is likely to be.
At both national level and local levels, stakeholder connection can be quite loose; indeed,
public sentiment expressed through public opinion, may be the extent of the association.
However, this connection, although loose, can be emotionally extremely strong. The NHS
has the status of a national totem in the UK and it is meddled with at the peril of the
meddler. Negotiating and maintaining ongoing legitimacy is difcult for the public sector
especially in economically straightened times, but it is the authors opinion that generally
speaking the sector is good at this and getting better. The legitimacy of the NHS has never
been in question; rather the challenge is to Government to continue to maintain it as a
national service, free at the point of delivery given its increasing sophistication and cost.
Second, at this level, the function also provides the antennae of the organisation, monitoring
the external environment and stakeholder intentions, to bring essential intelligence into
the organisation. Communication managers are required to analyse developments outside
and inside their organisations and then reconcile their organisations with (and against) a
challenging mix of social, economic, political and technological forces.
Corporate
At this level, public sector organisations focus on their nancial and business goals, and
hence resource allocation and achievement of business objectives (often stated as Key
Performance Indicators by regulatory bodies) is paramount. The role of the communication
function can be seen to be threefold at this level. First, communication must ensure
that enlightened business decisions are made by insisting that the range of stakeholder
perspectives is considered. It is often here that organisational values are tested and the
communication role is to ensure that all stakeholder interests are represented, balanced
and tested within the declared value-base.
Second, the communication function should also advise on whether the relationship
and reputational capital that exists internally and externally is compatible with what the
organisation wishes to achieve and whether the organisations culture and identity is
congruent with its strategic plans (Laurati, 2008). In the current economic climate, public
sector communication functions have to be much more adept at making their case as a
core resource of the organisation. More usually they are seen as a spending function, not
a resource function.
It is the authors observation that it is at this level that communicators nd the greatest
difculty. Their ability to articulate the arguments for and persuade fellow directors or their
seniors of the value of communication is limited, and it is here that issues such as the
requirement to demonstrate a Return on Investment become apparent. Furthermore, the
pre-occupation of practitioners at the corporate level of strategy tends to be on securing an
appropriate slice of the resource pie for the communication function rather than the wider,
strategic considerations of the organisation. It is also here that the literature lacks weight
and more work is required to make the case cogently.
Arguing a case based on what reputational, relational and cultural resources are required
for the organisation to succeed positions the communication function quite differently
because the starting point for discussion is entirely different: it is corporate and strategic,
not operational and tactical. Using the language and disciplines of business at corporate
level is important. Human Resource Directors argue for the human assets required to deliver
the organisational vision and business unit directors will make a case for their operational
area in similar terms: communication should be no exception.
Third, it is neither desirable nor possible for the communication function to be totally
responsible for the entire organisations relationship-building and communication
activity. An essential role of the senior communication professional at corporate level is
to coach and mentor other senior managers in communicating the NHSs objectives and
decisions to their peers and inuential stakeholder groups who they interact with, and
ensuring that they are alert to the reputational and relational opportunities and threats
inherent in doing so.
Stakeholder/Service User
At the Stakeholder/Service User level (sometimes called the value-chain), the focus will be
on those stakeholders directly involved in, and with the organisation. Their closeness to the
organisation distinguishes them from the broad societal level stakeholders who may have
no specic or strong link with it but who form the substance of those social norms that
form public opinion. Typical value chain stakeholders will include customers, service users,
delivery partners, suppliers, distributors, regulators, employees etc. It is at this value chain
stakeholder level that societal and corporate intentions and decisions are made real. The
communications function has a part to play in engaging with these close stakeholders,
including those who may be regarded as troublesome, such as activist groups and on-
line communities. This engagement could be for a range of reasons: to involve them in
decision-making, to keep them informed, to persuade them to buy or to sell, to identify
and work through their current and future concerns, to identify potential issues and crises,
to capitalise on opportunities they raise, to solve common problems and so on.
th
Specic expertise in stakeholder identication, segmentation, insight, engagement and
collaboration and/or management, can be offered by the communications department
alongside coaching and mentoring those colleagues who engage with these stakeholders
regularly. In addition, the communication function can offer help in detecting, balancing and
managing what could well be the conicting demands of different stakeholder groups and
navigating complex negotiations and relationships between them and management.
A very specic and important skill is the insight that communication professionals can
provide on specic groups of stakeholders and individuals: knowing stakeholders intimately,
being able to judge how they are likely to behave and how that behaviour can be inuenced
is a critical skill of practitioners. Being alert to the differences between internal culture
and behaviours and external expectations of that culture and behaviour is also especially
important at this level. Individuals are representatives of the organisation and the brand,
and how they behave and communicate will affect the reputation of the whole organisation.
This is precisely why so much attention is now being paid to the internal stakeholder, with
communication being central to successful cultural and organisational change.
The role of the communications function in being attuned to and representing all these close
stakeholder perspectives, internal and external, to senior managers in the organisation, is
critical to organisational success.
Functional
At this level the role of the communication function is to devise, implement and evaluate
programmes of activity to pre-dened objectives which support societal, corporate and
value-chain plans.
These programmes will need to be:
of different types depending on the needs of the stakeholder groups involved,
for example, social marketing programmes for behaviour change; mass media
campaigns for information dissemination; lobbying in the public affairs arena
strategically formulated using recognised planning disciplines
employing an appropriate variety of channels and techniques depending on the
programmes purpose
focussed at specic stakeholder groups
The function will also be responsible for re-active communication.
In addition to implementing communication activity itself, the communication function
will also full a capacity-building role, ensuring that managers and colleagues within the
organisation are equipped to undertake tactical communication tasks thereby enabling it to
become a communicatively competent organisation.
A RE-ARTICULATION OF ROLES
An outcome of this research led to theorising on the roles of NHS communicators. Figure
1 encapsulates this by conceptualising the role of the communication function in the NHS,
the bold headings providing an overall descriptor. There was considerable debate in the
research team and with the collaborative groups about the descriptors, especially Guardian.
A strong alternative was Catalyst because it is clear that many senior communicators as
individuals and teams galvanised their organisations into action when they discovered the
realties they encountered did not match their reputation or relational ambition or posed
a threat to their existing reputation or relationships. Guardian appeared to some to be
somewhat passive. However, after considerable discussion, the majority view prevailed
Guardian can be seen as proactive as well as defensive.
Figure 1.
A conceptualisation of the four roles of the communication function in the NHS
Orienter Societal
The communicator acting as a compass in the NHS, ensuring that the licence to operate
and its societal mandate are maintained by keeping the system orientated in the direction
that maintains stakeholder support. Communication has an essential role to play by
informing, involving and engaging with external and internal stakeholders to maintain the
legitimacy of the brand.
Navigator Corporate
Ensuring that stakeholder perspectives are brought into resource decision-making, ensuring
that relational and reputational capital is factored in as a key resource, and navigating a way
through conicting stakeholder demands is the key role.

ORIENTER

Societal
IMPLEMENTER

Functional
GUARDIAN
Stakeholder/
Service-User
NAVIGATOR

Corporate
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Guardian Stakeholder/Service-user
Embedding a stakeholder and service-user perspective in the design, creation and delivery
of services requires the communication function to provide vision-critical intelligence,
engagement capability and evaluation to ensure the delivery of world-class services. Here
the function is as guardian of NHS values in ways of working and stakeholder partnerships.
Implementer functional
In this technical role the communication function designs and delivers (or commissions)
appropriate communication activities and programmes which will deliver societal, corporate,
stakeholder and service-user objectives.
CONCLUSIONS
The model put forward in this paper is new. Furthermore, it is not a theoretical conceit, but
a tool that has already been tested, found to work and adopted by organisations. By using
this framework to benchmark their own activities, it is proposed that senior communicators
in the NHS and the broader public sector will be able to diagnose and address areas of
strength and weakness. They can also use it to enlighten their senior management teams
of the strategic role that communication can play: indeed, they are already doing so and the
point of going through the strategic levels at which public relations can make a contribution
is to:
generate a better understanding of organisational strategy and how this might be
conceptualised for communication practitioners operating in the public sector;
clarify the types of input that communications can make to the organisation as a
whole, including its input into organisational decision-making;
demonstrate that communication contributes more to an organisation than just
programmes and campaigns - it can make a strategic input at all levels;
show that programmes and campaigns have to be seen within a broader context
and ensure all programmes are aligned to societal, corporate and/or stakeholder
objectives;
enable the practitioner to articulate and move between the various roles that they
must play within the organisation.
The research is a detailed case study of how the bridge between theory and practice can
be built. It fuses the rigor of academia with policy formulation at Government Department
level which then leads to direct impacts on practice.
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The Generic Principles and the Evolution of the Management of
the Communication Function in the Canadian Federal Government
from 1999 to 2009
by Fraser Likely
ABSTRACT
The Government of Canada employs over 5000 public relations/communication (PR/C)
specialists at the federal, national political level. These practitioners form the largest single
PR/C community of practitioners in Canada. These practitioners are public servants,
employed by a government department or agency. Within the dozens of federal government
departments and agencies, the vast majority of these communication specialists work in a
designated unit called a communication branch. Over the last ten years, in order to compare
management practices between and among these discrete communication branches, four
comprehensive government-wide benchmarking studies were conducted.
From a review of these studies ndings, this paper examines the practice of strategic
management by Government of Canada communication branches and their heads. In
particular, it looks at how management practices evolved between 1999 and 2009. Five of
the generic principles, part of the global theory of public relations and derived from the work
of the Excellence Project, are tested. Evidence from these benchmarking studies suggests
that Government of Canada communication branches are managed strategically.
This paper is the part of an on-going research project investigating communication branch
strategic management, organizational, performance measurement and leadership practices
in the Canadian government. The next step would be to test the remaining generic principles
to ascertain that the communication branch/head contributes to the strategic management
of the department.
th
INTRODUCTION
The original Excellence Projects quantitative survey included 14 government organizations
located in Canada (out of a total of 57 Canadian organizations) (Grunig, L.A., Grunig, J.E.
& Dozier, D.M. 2002), a number of which were government agencies operating at the
federal, national level. Data from these 14 were not presented separately. Data from all
government organizations (United States; Canada; United Kingdom) were aggregated.
These government organizations represented a mix of federal, regional, state-provincial,
local and political agencies (Grunig, L.A. et al 2002, P. 35).
This mixture of agencies was compared to the other types of organizations (corporations;
associations; not-for-prots) and said to differ in the following ways:
The senior public relations person in government agencies is more likely to report being
in a technician or media relations role than in other types of organizations especially
in comparison to corporations. However, he or she is about average for the managerial
role, participation in strategic management, and being in the dominant coalition. Such a
combination of roles suggests that the historical public information or public affairs denition
lives on in government of disseminating information to the general population directly or
through the media. At the same time, the data suggest that the government agencies are
moving toward a more managerial and strategic role. Government agencies seem to be
moving toward a strategic, managerial and symmetrical role; but they are not quite there
yet (Grunig, L.A. et al 2002, P. 86-87).
While stating that there wasnt a statistically signicant difference in Excellence scores
among the three countries, the authors also made these statements about ndings that
were signicantly different for Canadian organizations:
CEOs in Canada assigned a lower value to the public relations department than did
CEOs in the United States (P. 80).
The Canadian top communicators estimated that the dominant coalition would
value public relations less than in other countries, which the comparison of means
suggests is a realistic assessment (P. 80).
Women headed somewhat more (61%) of departments we studied in Canada. (P.
184). This was in relation to American PR/C departments (51%) and British (40%).
In Canada, a large number of department heads enact the technician role
predominately (P. 220). In making this statement, the authors were citing the work
of Piekos and Einsiedel (1991), who attributed the enactment of the technical role in
part to the fact that departments are smaller and thus less specialized in Canada in
comparison to larger and thus more specialized departments in the United States.
While the Excellence study has been replicated (for example Grunig, L.A. et al 1998) or
the generic principles (Vercic et al 1996) derived from the studys excellence theory have
been examined (for example: Lim et al 2005; Rhee 2002) in other countries in the past two
decades, no detailed study has been conducted since in Canada. One recent study a
case study on municipal government communication addresses a number of the generic
principals (Killingsworth 2009). But, overall, this lack of research does beg the question:
Are the statements made in the Excellence study ascribed to Canada and to government
agencies in Canada still applicable after almost two decades?
In each of the scal years 2000-01, 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2007-08, a study was conducted
of Canadian federal government communication branch management practices. The rst
two studies concentrated on the communication branches at department and agency
headquarters, typically located in the national capital of Ottawa. The third study replicated
the rst two studies and examined the management practices of communication branches
located in regional ofces across Canada. Finally, the fourth in the series of studies included
both headquarters and regionally based communication branches. A PR/C management-
consulting rm - Likely Communication Strategies - conceived the idea for the study and
competed and contracted for the rst study by the Privy Council Ofce, Communications
and Consultations Secretariat and for the last three by the Communications Community
Ofce. These studies served two purposes. First, they collected statistics about such
basic management information as the number of positions, number of employees, position
classication levels of employees, budgets and numbers and sources of recruits. This
was information that, while individual branches may have gathered much of it for their
own use, had not been shared as a package to all heads of communication branches.
Second, the studies described the management opportunities and challenges heads were
experiencing. Again, while this was information that may have been shared between two
or a few heads off the record, it was not information that was aggregated, analysed and
shared broadly among all heads. The reports emanating from these studies allowed heads
of communication branches to benchmark management information and practices against
their peers, as well as to analyse how the management practices (for example: reporting;
organizing; planning; budgeting; controlling) of their branch were evolving over the course
of a decade. These reports were stand-alone documents and only once have they been
repurposed to provide a second level of analysis (communication branch heads leadership
verses management roles: Likely 2004).
This evolution of the headquarters communication branch strategic management practices
is compared to the corresponding generic principles found in the global theory (Vercic et al
1996). This study did not look at the principles in relation to the theorys specic variables
(political system; economic system; culture; extent of activism; level of development;
and media system), variables that need be addressed when the principles are applied to
different nations. (See Likely 2009 for a brief overview of a Canadian application of each
of these variables.) Of the eight (Grunig, J. 2009), nine (Vercic et al 1996) and/or ten (Rhee
2002) generic principles, this study focused on ve:
The communication branch/head is/has:
empowered by the dominant coalition or by a direct reporting relationship to senior
management;
separate from other functions;
integrated in to one function;
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headed by a manager rather than a technician;
diversity is embodied in all roles.
Together these ve generic principles address the question of whether the communication
branch is managed strategically.
BACKGROUND
The Canadian Federal Political System
Canada is a parliamentary democracy, separating the roles of head of state and head of
government. Canadas ofcial head of state is the King/Queen of England; the Canadian-
born Governor General, appointed by the King/Queen on the advice of the Canadian Prime
Minister and Cabinet, is his/her representative in Canada and has responsibility for the
daily constitutional, diplomatic and operation roles of head of state. The Prime Minister is
Canadas head of government. The Prime Minister is both the leader of a political party and
an elected Member of Parliament (MP). Currently, there are 308 electoral ridings or seats
across Canada and in each a single MP is elected. The elected MP who is the leader of
the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons forms the government.
The leaders of the other political parties and their elected members form the opposition in
Parliament. The Prime Minister as head of government chooses and leads the executive
branch or Cabinet (duly elected Members of Parliament chosen by the Prime Minister
usually from the party with the most seats). The Prime Minister assigns responsibilies to
Cabinet members, such as Minister of Health, Minister of the Environment or Minister of
Finance. The executive branch, and therefore government, depends on the support of the
legislative branch or Parliament, through votes of condence, for its continuence in power.
The Prime Minister also appoints senators to the non-elected Senate and has the power to
make thousands of appointments.
The government and Parliament is supported by a neutral, non-partisan, merit-based,
professional, career public service.
1
The Prime Minister and each Minister is supported
by a department, headed by a Deputy Minister. The Prime Minister appoints Deputy
Ministers, on the advice of the Prime Ministers deputy minister, the Clerk of the Queens
Privy Council. Deputy Ministers serve at the pleasure of the government. Deputy Ministers
report to the Clerk. The Deputy Minister is the functional head of the department in question
while the Minister is the departments political master. Deputy Ministers, as with all public
servants, are hired in to the public service and advanced based on merit, not based on
political appointment. While Ministers are responsible to the Prime Minister and ultimately
to Parliament for their department through the concept of minisiterial accountability, the
Deputy Minister is responsible to the Clerk for his or her personal performance accord.
The Prime Minister and each Minister of the Crown directly employ a number of what are
1 The Canadian government employs over 450,000 individuals, but just over 200,000 are considered part of the public service.
Other employees, such as members of the military and national police force, are part of other employee agreements.
called political or exempt staff. These are partisan, political appointments; the individuals
are not members of the public service and are exempt from the rules that govern the public
service. Ministers Ofce staff provide logistical, political, party, constituency, communication,
policy and legislative advice and support to the Minister, separate from that provided by the
neutral public service. Being non-partisan and neutral with their employment dependent on
merit not the whims of any government, one of the fundamental tenets of the public servant
is the ability to speak truth to power. The Minister advices the Deputy Minister on the
governments political direction and directs the Deputy on policy, regulatory and program
plans and changes the government desires. Exempt staff do not have the authority to direct
public servants but can convey the Ministers instructions to and ask for information directly
from public servants. The distinctions between and among directing, conveying and asking
is one ne line. It is not a solid, denitive line in the sand, but one that is constantly shifting.
(Aucoin & Savoie 2009; Kozolanka 2009; Government of Canada 2009; Thomas 2009;
Kozolanka 2006; McGregor 2000). While Canadas public service has made considerable
progress towards eliminating patronage and political partisanship and in promoting merit
through competitive examinations within its ranks, it still faces a degree of uncertainty at
the political/public service interface. This interface is, of course, where communication
specialists in the public service work with communication specialists in the political realm
from the Ministers Ofce and from the Prime Ministers Ofce (PMO).
To put the Canadian Federal political system in to the context of the 2000s, here is a
summary of some of the major developments of that decade:
The rst four years saw Canada governed by a government that had the majority of
seats in Parliament; a minority government (the party with most of the seats did not
have a majority of those seats, 155 out of 308) was in power for the remaining six
years and as a minority was dependent on the MPs in other parties to vote with the
government to have legislation passed by Parliament;
After slaying budgets decits in the late 1990s, governments enjoyed budget
surpluses throughout the 2000s until the last two years when stimulus spending
pushed the government back in to a decit situation;
Budget expenditures rose steadily throughout the 2000s;
The number of civil servants increased steadily throughout the 2000s after the size of
the public service was drastically cut in the mid 1990s as a decit cutting move;
There was a greater emphasis on accountability and oversight in government
operations in areas such as donations to political candidates, government
appointments and procurement of government contracts as well as in the
development of departmental management accountability frameworks (MAFs) which
link business planning to performance measurement; and
Prime Ministers in this decade continued, and in the latter half increased the pace, of
a 30-year trend to centralize decision-making authority in the Prime Ministers Ofce
(PMO), away from Ministers Ofces (Akin 2010; Ottawa Citizen 2004; Savoie 2008 &
1999).
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The Canadian Federal Government Communications Community
Governments were responsible for the rst public relations activities in Canada (Johansen
2001). First France, then England, used public relations techniques to sell the merits of
investment in and immigration to their northern, new world colony (Emms 1995). After Canadian
confederation in 1867, the Government of Canada (GoC) applied various media relations and
marketing communication strategies and tactics in Europe and in the United States to bolster
the population and the economy of the edging country. Publicity programs were run by the
Departments of Agriculture and of Trade and Commerce. From the late 1880s to the start of
the WWII, the Canadian government gradually employed publicists in other departments as
well to disseminate information to the Canadian public, such as the Department of Energy,
Mines and Resources in 1907 and the Department of National Health in 1920 (Donoghue
1993; Johansen & Ferguson 2005). By the start of WWII, nearly every federal government
department was carry out public relations functions and providing information not only directly
to the public, but also to newspapers and radio stations (Donoghue 1993 P. 101). In 1944,
the Canadian government employed 396 publicity ofcers of whom 156 were with the
Wartime Information Board (Donoghue 1993 P. 101). The Canadian governments public
relations efforts during the Second World War are viewed as pivotal both for the entrenchment
of the function within government and for the expansion of public relations bureaus in
corporations after the war. After the war, there were too many wartime information ofcers,
most of whom were journalists prior to the war effort, for the number of available positions in
the Federal government (Brown 1984). These well-trained and experienced public relations
ofcers moved in to the private sector and in to consultancies. In the Federal government,
the term public relations ofcer replaced the term publicist during the war, to be later replaced
in the 1960s with the term information ofcer. The number of public relations ofcers grew
in the Canadian government through the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and in to the early 1980s as
government after government introduced new or improved existing social service programs
such as universal pensions and health care. The role of the information ofcer typically was
restricted to promotion of a program after a decision was made to implement.
The rst review of government public relations was conducted as part of the Glasco
Commission on Government Organizations mandate in 1962. Donoghue, a government
public relations manager at the time, reports that the Commission was quick to recognize
the importance and visibility of the public relations role though the Commission was
critical of the term public relations (1993). The Commission also recommended among
other things that the role of information ofcers was to inform rather than impress
and the establishment of clear communication policies, guidelines, and training in public
relations for government communicators (Johansen & Ferguson 2005).
The Commission supported the continued decentralization of information activities located
in individual departments rather than the alternative of centralization of government
information dissemination in to a single department. Interestingly, centralization was
attempted in later years, with Information Canada in the early 1970s, the Canadian Unity
Information Ofce in the late 70s and with Communication Canada in the late 1990s. But,
all were disbanded within a few years.
By the 1980s, information ofcers had their own well-entrenched classication program (IS:
Information Services) a formal career path and manpower guidelines. And in 1988, the rst
Government of Canada Communications Policy was approved. This formal policy followed
a set of principles approved by Cabinet in 1981. The principles addressed a Canadians
right to full, accurate and timely information and the governments responsibility to provide
that information as well as to learn the concerns and views of Canadians (Donoghue
1993 P. 181). The impact of the new policy direction was signicant, adding a strategic role
to the sole technical role previously enacted as media liaisons, writers, editors, exhibition
designers, speech writers, and in other creative positions (Johansen & Ferguson 2005):
This document was a key development, transforming the work of the government
communicator into a strategic management function. The new policy required
communication ofcers to research and analyze the public opinion environment, engage
in planning, perform an advisory function, and manage communications. Public relations
specialists across the government registered in a massive retraining effort to prepare for
their new strategic roles and responsibilities.
The goals of the new communication policy were to set out basic principles of communication
within the context of representative government, encourage transparency and the
free ow of information between government and citizens, highlight the importance of
communication in achieving government objectives, establish a framework for government-
wide management of communication, and provide guidelines for implementing a range
of communication activities such as advertising, publishing, public opinion research, and
media relations (Johansen & Ferguson 2005).
The new policy introduced the concept of shared responsibility wherein the policy, program
and operational branches of a government department or agency shared responsibility for
determining the need, conceptualizing and planning for communication programs, activities
and products with the communication branch. The intent of the policy was to integrate the
communication branch in to the corporate, strategic policy planning and decision-making
processes to be present at the table (Government of Canada 1992). Up to this point,
communication branches were relatively well-funded creative and technical units housing
a full complement of writers, graphic artists, exhibit specialists, A-V experts and desk top
publishers; some even had their own TV studios. Though they had media relations and
issues management expertise in-house, the communication branches of this era were
mainly production houses taking and fullling orders for communication campaigns,
activities and products from the other branches after legislative, regulatory, policy or
program decisions had been made. The budget for creative and production rested with
them; their services were not an expenditure budget line for the client in another branch.
It may have been a policy of the Government of Canada, but acceptance and implementation
of the 1988 Communications Policy was neither quick nor complete. Even with a concerted
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effort from the Communications and Consultations Secretariat in the Privy Council Ofce,
2

adherence to the new policy was still a hit or miss four years later (Government of Canada
1992). Some departments introduced the policy fully and wholeheartedly; some cherry
picked among the new requirements; and some ignored the policy entirely. By 1992, heads
of communication, through their own self-funded organization The Federal Communications
Council,
3
set up four working groups to examine the introduction of the 1988 Policy and
plot future steps leading to its universal acceptance and full implementation (Government of
Canada 1992). Their work was bolstered not only by a survey of heads of communication
on the status of implementation but also by the work of the Excellence Project and in
particular by a presentation in Ottawa by James E. Grunig.
The work to further the adoption of the 1988 Policy carried out by the FCC as well as
by the Communications Management Practices Group in rst the Privy Council Ofce,
Communications and Consultations Secretariat and then the Treasury Board Secretariat
was short-lived, as it like the government communications community as a whole - ran
in to three major roadblocks. First, all communication branches as well as all branches in
every department were hit with across the board cuts in 1991. This was followed in 1992 by
a $75 million dollar cut to the operating budgets (non-salary) of communication branches,
reducing monies available for creative and technical work (Government of Canada 1992).
Finally, in the 1994-6 period, the government of the day initiated a major decit reduction
exercise called Program Review. Central staff functions were targeted and by the late 1990s,
communication branches were shells of their former selves. Not only had they lost the
operating monies that kept their creative and technical service areas funded but they also
lost salary dollars and thus employees. Cuts were made to the communication specialists
exempt staff in the Ministers Ofce as well, forcing public servants to be assigned to
these ofces and to take on some of the non-political communication duties (Delacourt
1993). By the end of the 90s, the services offered by most communication branches were
restricted mainly to media relations and issues management. The hope that had come
to the communication community with the 1988 Policy had long faded. Even the bodies
that had promoted the 1988 Policy and attempted to develop a sense of community for
communication specialists such as the FCC, the ISI and the Communications Management
Practices Group were long gone.
By the turn of the decade, the federal government decit had been slain and budget surpluses
were at hand. Though it took to the mid 2000s for the size of the public service to match the
pre-Program Review size, growth in this decade of government programs, expenditures
and public servants was constant scal year to scal year. The need to communicate and
the renewed desire by government to communicate forced communication branches to
ramp up as well as broaden their service offerings and the resources and expertise required
2 As noted previously, the Privy Council Ofce is the department that supports the Prime Minister and Cabinet directly and is the
primary central agency of the public service. The Communications and Consultations Secretariat had responsibility for drafting
the new policy and for selling it across government.
3 The FCC was funded through taxation. Each head was taxed a certain amount to fund an Executive Director and the work of
the small unit. Any EX (executive) working in a communication branch could be a member. For non-executives, communication
ofcers could join the Information Services Institute (ISI). These groups acted as small associations though the inadequate fund-
ing model limited their activities and made them dependent on volunteer effort.
to deliver those services. The following are some of the major developments in the past ten
years:
The Government of Canada approved a new communication policy. The 2002
Communication Policy continued the language around the purpose of government
communication rst enunciated in the 1981 principles and then in the 1988 Policy
but, most importantly, it described in very explicit terms the authorities, roles and
accountabilities for communication branch heads and their staff. The head, who was to
report directly to the department head, was assigned full accountability on behalf of the
department head for the management of the departments communication function,
whether sub-functions and activities were being carried out at the headquarters
communication branch or in regional communication branches or in any other
departmental branch (Government of Canada 2002);
The Communications Community Ofce (CCO) also was created in 2002. The CCO
assumed some of the interests previously pursued by the Federal Communications
Council, The Information Services Institute and the Communications Management
Practices Group. The CCO is a community of practice, a creature of the heads of
communication branches. It is not an institution of government. Heads make up the
CCOs steering committee and pay a yearly voluntary tax to support an executive
director and staff. The CCO has focused not on communication policy development
but on community development. The CCO has funded the benchmarking studies of
communication branch management practices, four collective stafng exercises having
a primary goal of bringing talented communication specialists in to the public service,
student outreach events at university campuses across the country, an initiative for
leadership development titled the Coach-Assisted Mid-Level Mentoring Program,
competency proles for each classication level and regular conferences (Seymour
2010);
While the salary and operating budgets of communication branches were cut drastically
in the mid 1990s, the budgets of departmental program and operational branches
were not to the same degree, resulting in these branches by the end of the 1990s still
able to fund their own communication activities and either going directly to contractors
to do so or they hired their own communication specialists. In many departments,
there were a series of satellite communication units, independent of the designated
communication branch. A major preoccupation of heads over the decade was the
repatriation of these satellites (Likely 2001; 2003; 2008);
Recruitment was a necessary focus of communication branch heads throughout
the 2000s. In the early part of the decade, there was a large pool of terms, casuals,
freelancers, students and freshly minted consultants left over from the downsizing
period of the 1990s to ll everyones needs. By the end of the decade, there were far
more permanent positions available than there were employees to ll them. In the latter
half of the decade, retention became a problem as a shortage of talent created a churn
effect as communication specialists moved from position to position and department
to department, and advanced in to higher-level positions, with ease. (Government of
Canada 2008; Lahey 2008; Likely 2001; 2003; 2005 and 2008; Seymour 2010);
th
On-line e-communication grew to be the communication channel of choice for the
publication of information, requiring new skill sets among communication branch
employees (Likely 2008); and
In the last half of the decade, nal approval for all government communication activities
and products (such as announcements, events, speeches or replies to reporters
enquiries by Cabinet members, MPs of the party in power or by civil servants) was
centralized in the Prime Ministers Ofce and the Privy Council Ofce. Heads had to
set up elaborate processes and mechanisms to track approvals, both as a go-ahead
for the development and production of an activity or product and as a sign-off for the
nished product (Akin 2010; Blancheld & Bronskill 2010; Davies 2010; Kozolanka
2009 & 2006; Rudnicki 2009; Staneld 2009; Thomas 2009).
LITERATURE REVIEW
Government PR/Communications
Though various researchers have commented on the paucity of study on communication in
and by governments and the management of that communication (for example: Clemons
2009; Glenny 2008; Lee 2008; Liu & Horsley 2007; Fairbanks, Plowman & Rawlins 2007),
the 2000s did see a urry of research activity. Some of it was country specic (such as
Australia: Glenny; Canada: Kozolanka, Johansen; India: Kour; Netherlands: Vos; United
Kingdom: Gregory; United States: Clemons, Fairbanks, Lee, Liu & Horsley). Much of it was
research on roles of government communication specialists (for example: Clemons 2009;
Edes 2000; Gregory 2006; Liu, Horsley, & Levenshus, 2010; Liu & Horsley 2007; Thomas
2009; Vos 2008 & 2006), with special attention to specic practices such as information
dissemination by communication specialists (for example: Edes 2000; Fairbanks, Plowman
& Rawlins 2007; Gelders & Ihlen 2009; Gelders, Bouckaert & van Ruler 2007; Lee
2001a; Lee 1999). Rather than saying there is limited interest in research on government
communication, it is perhaps better today to state that while critical mass has not yet been
reached there is, in fact, a substantive parade developing in the parade grounds. That
said, a distinct model for government communication, particularly one that is comparative
across countries at various political levels (national; region/state/province; and municipal/
local) has not been developed and tested. Different analytical frameworks in use are ones
that compare the public sector to the private sector (Fairbanks 2005; Gelders, Bouckaert &
van Ruler 2007; Liu, Horsley & Levenshus 2010; Liu & Horsley 2007). Or, they suggest that
similar models may be applied to both (Grunig & Jaatinen 1999). Liu and Horsley (2007)
have conceptualized what they consider a distinct model for public sector communication,
though they acknowledge its potential constraints:
We recognize that the decision wheel, like all other models, has limitations. First, the wheel
was developed from the literature, and both the model and the resulting propositions need
to be tested empirically. In addition, the wheel can only be applied to democratic countries
based on federalism principles, such as the United States. Despite these limitations, the
wheel provides a useful tool to help government communicators select the most effective
means of communication based on the situation, environment, and available resources.
The wheel also provides an initial framework for reconceptualizing how public relations is
practiced (Liu and Horsley 2007: P. 391).
The model, indeed, does require examination. Simply for example, while the United States is
democratic and a federation, it is also a republic. Canada is a democracy, a federation but a
parliamentary democracy with an appointed Senate not an elected Senate or upper house.
Can the decision wheel be truly applied to all democratic countries based on federalism
principles or is its possible utility singular to the United States? The importance here is
that while there are many common factors inuencing public sector communication there
may be others unique to each country or level of government. Liu et al have found some
resonance in their model; there are factors that make public relations practice in government
different from that in the private sector. But, they also found many similarities. (Liu, Horsley
& Levenshus 2010; Liu & Levenshus 2009). At this point, it is difcult to determine at what
level of analysis the decision wheel can be applied. Grunig and Jaatinen (1999; P. 1) made
the statement that the principles of public relations for government are the same as for
other types of organisation, but that the specic conditions to which the principles must be
applied are different. Does the decision wheel identify principles or conditions or perhaps
both? Gelders, Bouckaert, & van Ruler (2007) identied four conditions: a more activist
environment; a greater legal and regulatory umbrella; more formal processes; and greater
diversity in stakeholders and thus communication objectives. There appears to be overlap
between these conditions and the decision wheel models characteristics.
The majority of government communication research, thus, is on roles, practices and the
behaviours of communication specialists particularly as spokespersons. Little has been
produced on communication management in the public sector, with the exception of a
handful of works such as Grunig & Grunig (2001), Killingsworth (2009) and Vos (2008).
Global Public Relations Theory: Generic Principles
The Excellence Study researchers dened generic principles as that in an abstract sense,
the principles of public relations are the same worldwide (Grunig, Grunig & Dozier 2002).
J. Grunig (2009) listed the generic principles as:
empowerment of public relations;
integrated communication function;
a separate communication function;
headed by a strategic manager rather than a communication technician or an
administrative manager who supervises technical services;
involved in strategic management;
two-way and symmetrical communication;
diverse; and
ethical.
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These eight he called essential, noting that: the generic principles have been described in
different ways in different publications (2009: P. 2). Originally, the nine principles, derived
from the 14 characteristics of excellent public relations programs identied in the Excellent
Project, were described as follows (Vercic, Grunig & Grunig 1996):
Involvement of public relations in strategic management;
Empowerment of public relations in the dominant coalition or a direct reporting
relationship to senior management;
Integrated public relations function;
Public relations as a management function separate from other functions;
The role of the public relations practitioner;
Two-way symmetrical model of public relations;
A symmetrical system of internal communication;
Knowledge potential for managerial role and symmetrical public relations; and
Diversity embodied in all roles.
Subsequently, the generic principles have been tested in Slovenia (Grunig, Grunig, & Vercic
1998), Korea (Rhee 2002), Singapore (Lim, Goh & Sriramesh 2005) and Bosnia (Kent &
Taylor 2007). A tenth principle - ethical - was added post Slovenia (Grunig, Grunig & Dozier
2002 P. 545). The study in Singapore followed the strategy of the Korea study and limited
the number of principles to four: involvement of public relations in strategic management;
empowerment of public relations in the dominant coalition - direct reporting relationship;
use of the two-way symmetrical model of public relations; and knowledge potential for
managerial role and symmetrical communication. Rhee (2002 P. 166) restricted her research
to the principles related to the core concept of strategic management of public relations
in the excellence theory.
Of these four studies, only Lim et all (2005) included public relations practitioners from
government ministries in their survey sample though they were not broken out as
a separate category for detailed discussion in the ndings of the study. Interestingly
enough, none of the researchers who have demonstrated an on-going research interest
in government communication have sought to examine the global theory and generic
principles in a public sector setting. It appears only Killingsworth (2009) has married a
study of government communication with a test of the generic principles. Her study was of
a municipal government in Canada.
Research Questions
To evaluate whether communication branches in the Canadian Federal Government
evolved over the course of the decade to be managed strategically, the following research
questions were developed for this study:
RQ1: To what extent is the head of the communication branch empowered?
RQ2: To what extent is the communication branch separate from other departmental
branches?
RQ3: To what extent does a head lead an integrated communication function in the
department?
RQ4: To what extent is the head of the communication branch a strategic manager rather
than a communication technician or an administrative manager who supervises
technical services?
RQ5: To what extent is there diversity within the communication branch?
METHODOLOGY
In this descriptive study, ndings from three benchmarking studies of Canadian
government communication branch management practices, commissioned by the
Communication Community Ofce, were re-analysed. Only the 2001, 2003 and
2008 reports involving headquarters communications branches were used. Sixteen
communication branches were selected. These 16 were represented in all three studies.
Although the total number of communication branches participating in each study was
greater than 16 (28 in 2001; 29 in 2003; 35 in 2008), only these 16 participated in all
three. Some departments and thus communications branches were amalgamated in this
period. On the ip side of the coin, a number of new departments and new communication
branches were created later in the decade. Or, in some cases, when the benchmarking
study was in the eld, a communication branch was between heads and therefore did
not participate in a given study. Therefore, a non-probability, purposive sample was
employed. To respect the protocols established for the re-use of the benchmarking study
data, individual government departments, communication branches and heads are not
identied by name in the ndings and discussion that follows. Of the 16 departmental
communication branches in the sample, they represent departments in all elds of work:
policy; regulatory; program; and operational. The communication branches vary in FTE
size from small to very large.
Each of these studies employed the same methodology. First, heads were e-mailed a
questionnaire and asked to report on various statistics concerning topics such as reporting
relationships, composition of their management team, number of approved permanent
and term positions and number of employees, classication levels, salary and operating
budgets as well the number of and source of new hires. Second, heads were interviewed
in-person for between one and two hours and asked about the challenges they faced and
the changes they made, such as to the overall structure, organization and reporting, to and
within various sub-units, to the Branch budget and resource allocation situation, to working
and management relationships, to Branch policy, planning and performance measurement
systems and to the HR management program. Heads were also asked to explore how they
saw their leadership role in the Branch, in the department and across the communications
community. These were semi-structured interviews, with heads receiving an interview
guide with a list of interview themes a week or so before the interview. Questions pertinent
to this research, taken from the questionnaire and interview guide for the 2008 study, are
found in the Appendix.
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The questionnaire and interview data were analysed separately in the reports but their
implications were drawn together in a conclusions section. For the questionnaire questions,
the data was presented directly in tables. For the qualitative stage, the data went through
three stages: data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing and validation. First, the
data in the interview transcripts was coded for evidence that answered the primary research
questions. During the second stage, checklist matrices were created to summarize the
codes that emerged from data reduction. Finally, during the conclusion stage, the matrices
were reviewed to identify the meanings that emerged from the data. These were then
presented in the report.
For this paper, only the questions that provided evidence relevant to the ve research
questions were re-analysed. Data gathered from organizational charts and government
policies was used to corroborate the evidence from the three reports. To ascertain if there
was an evolution towards a greater degree of strategic management over the ten-year
period, where possible, tables were developed to plot data taken from each of the three
reports in series.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
RQ1: To what extent is the head of the communication branch empowered?
Vercic, Grunig and Grunig (1996 P. 37) described empowerment as the senior public
relations practitioner executive usually becomes part of the dominant coalition. Rhee
(2002 P. 164) also portrays empowerment in that way but includes an or or by a direct
reporting relationship to senior management.
Questions in each of the three benchmarking studies of Canadian Government
communication branch management practices asked heads to report their reporting
relationships and whether they were permanent members of the highest level executive
committee in the department. Data are presented in Tables 1 and 2 following.
Table 1
Communication Branch Heads Reporting Relationships
BRANCH 2001 2003 2008
A DM
1
DM DM
B DM DM DM
C ADM DM DM
D DM DM DM
E ADM ADM DM
F DM ADM DM
G DM DM DM
H DM DM ADM
I DM DM DM
J DM DM DM
K DM DM DM
L DM DM DM
M DM DM DM
N ADM ADM ADM
O ADM ADM ADM
P DM DM DM
TOTAL 12 DM / 4 ADM 12 DM / 4 ADM 13 DM / 3 ADM
1. DM is a Deputy Minister, the typical title given the public servant who is the most senior executive in a department or agency.
An ADM is an Assistant Deputy Minister, an executive who reports to the DM and who is in charge of a major part of the depart-
ments business.
Table 2
Heads as Permanent Members of Highest Level Executive Committee
BRANCH 2001 2003 2008
A Yes Yes Yes
B Yes Yes Yes
C No No No
D Yes Yes Yes
E No Yes Yes
F Yes Yes No
G Yes Yes Yes
H Yes Yes No
I Yes Yes Yes
J Yes Yes Yes
K Yes Yes Yes
L Yes Yes Yes
M No Yes No
N No Yes Yes
O No Yes Yes
P Yes Yes Yes
TOTAL 11 Yes / 5 No 15 Yes / 1 No 13 Yes / 3 No
The 2002 Government of Canada Communications Policy denes the head of
communications as the senior ofcial designated to support the deputy head (Deputy
Minister; head of the department or agency) in co-coordinating and directing their
institutions implementation of this Policy. Heads of communications are members of senior
management and report directly to deputy heads. They are accountable to deputy heads
for managing the communications function (Government of Canada 2002). There are
grey areas in the application of the Communications Policy. Where in Table A it shows
that the head of communication reports to an ADM, the head of communication still has
been assigned primary responsibility for coordinating and directing their institutions
implementation of this Policy and for managing the communications function. But even
so, they as Director Generals report to ADMs with communication in their titles, such as
ADM of Regions and Communications, of Corporate Services and Communications or of
Policy and Communications. In some cases, while communications reports to an ADM,
the head of communication works directly with the DM and sits on executive committee
(as noted by the examples in Table 2). That said, four of the heads of communication
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are themselves ADMs, the rest being Directors General. These four ADMs have other
responsibilities besides their main responsibility of communication, such as: ministerial
correspondence, consultations, parliamentary affairs and/or stakeholder relations. To a
great extent, these are complimentary services to communication.
Considering the Communications Policy was introduced in 2002, empowering the role of
head of communication in policy, there were only slight bumps in reporting relationships and
membership on the highest management committee. At the end of a decade, are heads
more empowered now? The answer would be slightly more so from an average of 75-
80% of heads to 85-90%, based on these two criteria. That said, in the 2008 benchmarking
study, the following statement was made about how heads saw their leadership position in
the dominant coalition:
Heads suggest that the community has made signicant gains in enacting a leadership
role. They see more Heads at the table. They also see Heads, through personality and
competence, gaining credibility while at the table. They appreciate this even more so since
they feel it is a difcult, risk averse environment for the communications function currently,
where managerial implementation skills seem to be valued more than leadership, strategic
or advisory skills. (Government of Canada 2008)
That comment brings the discussion of RQ1 back to the denition of dominant coalition in
a government. Thus far, dominant coalition is presented as the executives or senior leaders
in the neutral, non-partisan public service and does not include a governments political
leadership. Certainly, it does not include the Minister and the Ministers advisors (his or her
senior political exempt staff) with whom the head of communication would have regular
and sometimes direct contact. Though other authors have commented on this relationship
(Akin 2010; Blancheld & Bronskill 2010; Government of Canada 2009; Kozolanka 2009a,
2009b & 2006; Stanbury 2009; Thomas 2009), the benchmarking studies did not address
the question of political or the government in power empowerment.
In summary, by 2009, it can be said that there is a fair degree of empowerment of the
communication function within the Canadian public service.
RQ2: To what extent is the communication branch separate from other departmental
branches?
The evidence presented in RQ1 also suggests that the communication branch is separate
from other branches. In only a limited number of departments is the communication group
part of a larger branch that includes functions other than communication. Even in these
cases, the head of the communication groups works directly with the most senior executive
and in approximately half the situations sits as a permanent member of the top management
committee along side her or his direct supervisor.
Between 1999 and 2009, the number of heads of communication branches in the ADM
classication (a step up from the typical Director General classication) increased from
one to six within this group of 16. As noted above, the ADM, Communication position
came with a larger branch a branch made larger by the addition of other, complimentary
services. The trend was to increase the size of the communication function, through
additions of complimentary service lines, through adding new communication services
such as e- and on-line communication and/or through integrating existing communication
service lines existing in other branches (see RQ3). The tables that follow illustrate the growth
in communication branch size, as a separate function:
Table 3
Communication Branch Budgets from Fiscal Years 2000-01 to 2007-08
Department/
Agency
2007-08
Total
A-base
2

Budget
2007-08
Salary
Budget
2007-08
O&M
Budget
2003-04
Total
A-base
Budget
2003-04
Salary
Budget
2003-04
O&M
Budget
2000-01
Total
A-base
Budget
2000-01
Salary
Budget
2000-01
O&M
Budget
A $21.3M $13.2M $8.1M $18.8M $6.0M $12.8M $26.2M $5.4M $20.8M
B $20.4M $11.8M $8.6M $17.3M $7.4M $9.8M $5.1M $3.3M $1.8M
C $14.8M $10.8M $4.0M $7.8M $5.2M $2.6M $16.8M $3.6M $13.2M
D $9.9M $5.1M $4.8M $3.9M $2.2M $1.7M $5.0M $1.9M $3.1M
E $12.4M $10.5M $1.9M $3.4M $2.0M $1.3M $5.4M $3.0M $2.4M
F $7.7M $5.2M $2.5M $5.8M $4.0M $1.8M $4.6M $2.7M $1.9M
G $8.2M $4.5M $3.7M $5.7M $3.7M $2.0M $5.4M $3.2M $2.2M
H $7.4M $4.8M $2.6M $7.1M $4.6M $2.4M $6.4M $3.2M $3.2M
I $12.6M $7.7M $1.3M $7.1M $3.2M $3.9M $7.0M $2.5M $4.5M
J $4.7M $4.0M $700K $5.8M $5.1M $700K $3.2M $2.7M $500K
K $6.6M $4.3M $2.3M $5.2M $3.6M $1.6M $4.2M $2.6M $1.6M
L $6.9M $4.1M $2.8M $4.8M $3.6M $1.2M $4.0M $1.3M $2.7M
M $3.6M $2.8M $800K $3.7M $2.6M $1.1M $3.0M $1.9M $1.1M
N $3.7M $3.0M $700K $2.0M $1.6M $400K $1.8M $1.4M $400K
O $3.1M $2.4M $900K $2.9M $1.9M $1.0M $2.3M $1.2M $1.1M
P $4.8M $3.2M $1.6M $3.4M $2.3M $1.1M $4.8M $2.1M $2.7M
TOTAL $148.1M $97.4M $50.7M $104.4M $59.0M $45.4M $105.2M $42.0M $63.2M
2 The A-base budget is the approved on-going base budget. B-base budgets are add-on funding that will sunset.
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Table 4
Communication Branch Number of Approved Positions and Number
of Employees in Those Positions
DEPARTMENT/
AGENCY
Total Number of Approved Indeterminate
3
and Term Positions
Followed by Total Number of Indeterminate and Term Employees in
Communications Branches Involved in All Three National HQ Studies
2008 2003 2001
A 260 / 260 272 / 273 193 / 150
B 178 / 180 182 / 171 81 / 87
C 208 / 171 206 / 140 121 / 105
D 170 / 134 67 / 67 27 / 32
E 158 / 120 53 / 42 52 / 52
F 140 / 115 68 / 62 63 / 66
G 111 / 96 73 / 73 49 / 53
H 99 / 92 76 / 76 54 / 55
I 111 / 75 126 / 87 62 / 62
J 72 / 66 70 / 65 59 / 55
K 71 / 60 54 / 56 49 / 50
L 70 / 56 52 / 52 55 / 53
M 58 / 46 59 / 42 43 / 46
N 43 / 43 28 / 39 26 / 26
O 54 / 42 28 / 38 26 / 34
P 41 / 39 47 / 44 43 / 45
TOTALS
Positions
1844
Employees
1595
Positions
1461
Employees
1327
Positions
1003
Employees
971
3 An indeterminate position is a fully and on going funded permanent position.
Communication branch budgets grew in this period because salary budgets grew absolutely
and as a percentage of the total budget. None of these 16 communication branches are
sublimated to any other branch within their departments, even thought some report within a
branch that combines other functions. Overall, these 16 communication branches operate
as separate functions able to move communication resources from one strategic public
to another (Vercic, Grunig & Grunig 1996 P. 38; Rhee 2002 P. 164; Grunig 2009 P. 2). The
evidence presented in RQ3 next supports this conclusion.
RQ3: To what extent does a head lead an integrated communication function in the
department?
J. Grunig (2009 P. 2) describes integration as all public relations functions into a
single department or the coordination of the departments responsible for different
communication activities. Only integration allows makes it possible for public relations to
develop new communication programs for changing strategic publics that is, to manage
strategically (Vercic, Grunig & Grunig 1996 P. 38). From RQ1 and RQ2, we learned that
the Canadian governments 2002 Communications Policy assigns communication branch
heads accountability for managing the departments total communication function, or in
other words: integration.
Evidence from the benchmarking studies demonstrates how heads worked through out the
2000s to integrate the function. In the Background section of this paper, a point was made
that at the end of the 90s, program and operations branches in many departments had
invested in their own communication units. These units were created for publishing, internal
communication, marketing communication and/or outreach/public education purposes.
They were separate from similar units within a communication branch and independent of
communication branch authority and accountability.
In the 2001, 11 of the 16 communication branches included in this study reported that
there were independent satellite communication units in their department. Four of the 11
said there was somewhat of a semi-formal, functional relationship between the satellite(s)
head and the communication branch head. The rest did not have a working relationship.
Branch heads described being either in the process of conducting or planning to conduct
a review of satellite units, primarily to get a handle on the department resources given
to communication activities carried out outside of the role of the communication branch.
By 2003, four of the 11 had repatriated the satellite units in their department in to the
communication branch. Another three were repatriated between 2003 and 2008, leaving
only four of the 16 with independent satellite units. Even with the remaining four, there
were steps taken toward functional reporting driven by new government requirements for
business planning and performance reporting across all departments. Though regionally
based communication branches were not part of this study, the same trend appeared, both
in terms of repatriation of previous independent regional communication ofce to become
units within the communication branch and with regard to greater functional reporting.
Certainly, it can be said that by 2009, in any given department there was greater integration
of the communication function. The 2002 Communication Policy provided the authority.
Towards the end of this period, as noted previously, the centralization philosophy of the
government in power also fueled the need to integrate the communication function. The
centralization of approval processes in the Privy Council Ofce and the Prime Ministers
Ofce, both for giving the green light to any communication initiative and for the signing
off of communication products, forced all communication units in a department to follow a
single approval format.
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RQ4: To what extent is the head of the communication branch a strategic manager
rather than a communication technician or an administrative manager
who supervises technical services?
Likely (2004) examined the data from the 2001 and 2003 benchmarking surveys to determine
the roles that heads of communication enacted. He discovered that heads enacted three
roles: technician; manager; and leader. He argued that the leader role was different than
the manager role, be it as an administrative manager or as a strategic manager. Talking
about all heads that participated in the 2001 and 2003 studies (not just the 16 portrayed
here), he stated that:
The executive leader role takes many of the activities described as part of the enactment
of the manager role to a higher level of conceptualization. Where the manager, for example,
developed goals and objectives for the branch, managed the branch budget, managed
people or planned public relations programs, the executive leader repositioned the branch
(vision; direction; purpose), identied, acquired and re-allocated resources, developed a
comprehensive HR regime and developed an integrated planning framework. The executive
leader also designed organizational structures, developed learning and training programs,
created centres of expertise and formalized relationships with clients. From the evidence,
this conceptualization of a higher level role is more than simply a fuller depiction of the
manager role. (Likely 2004 P. 143).
The evidence from those studies suggested a daily juggling act, as heads moved from one
role enactment to the next:
Regardless of the size of the communication function, heads reported in interview that they also
enacted the manager role. A number stated they were active as technicians as well. Drawing
items from Brooms 24-item set or variations thereof to describe manager role enactment (D.M.
Dozier in J.E. Grunig, 1992; D.M. Dozier and G.M. Broom, 1995; D.M. Dozier, E.L. Toth, S.A.
Serini, D.K. Wright and A.G. Emig, 1998; L.A. Grunig, E.L. Toth and L.C. Hon, 2001; L.A.
Grunig, J.E. Grunig and D.M. Dozier, 2002), each and every head stated that they spent time:
developing goals and objectives for their branch; preparing and managing the branch budget;
managing people and supervising the work of others; making communication policy decisions;
informing and counseling management; meeting with clients and executives; meeting peers;
solving public relations problems; managing public relations programs; implementing new
programs; evaluating program results; being held responsible and accountable for the success
or failure of a public relations program; conducting or analyzing research; and managing the
organizations response to issues. The smaller the size of the communication branch, the more
the head personally participated in department or agency day-to-day issues management
(solving public relations problems; managing the organizations response to issues; informing
and counseling management). All heads stated that they got their hands dirty when the
problem or issue was of major importance and its management involved the Minister and/
or Deputy Minister. Many were involved on a regular basis (brieng; counseling; facilitating
decision-making; etc.). For others, it was on a case-by-case basis. On an irregular basis but
when the importance of the issue demanded it, up to half of the heads claimed they were also
doers: they wrote, edited or produced messages (brieng notes; Q&As; speaking points; media
lines; etc.). That is, they enacted the technician role. This was the only time when they played
this role and their experience and background (coming up through the ranks with experience in
issues management and media relations), not the size of the branch, determined whether they
enacted the technician role or not. (Likely 2004 P. 142).
As the number of service offerings increased and thus the size of the communication
branch grew throughout the 2000s, it became more difcult for heads to juggle these three
roles. Data from the three benchmarking studies describes a reorganization of executive
positions in the branch, a reorganization intended to allow the head to perform higher-
level roles on a more consistent basis. In 2001, seven of the 16 communication branches
involved in this research study had established a second-in-command (2IC) position to
support the work of the head. By 2003, eight branches had this position. By 2008, 15 of
the 16 employed this role.
The 2IC was a position a classication level below the head and one or two classication
levels above the rest of the executives on the management team.4 Evidence from the
three benchmarking studies points to two models for the operation of the 2IC position. The
more prevalent model is to have the 2IC responsible for the daily media relations, issues
management and communication product approval processes. The 2IC would oversee
the media relations unit, the account executive units (communication advisors assigned to
individual internal client units) and the ministerial support communication unit. This portfolio
would handle response to reporter inquiries, issues and ministerial needs (announcements;
speeches; events; etc.) as well as handle the approval mechanisms for communication
products (media lines; Qs & As; media releases; speeches; brieng notes; etc.) through
a long and complicated government approval process. Ultimately, the head is part of the
approval process and would get involved if the issue was deemed serious enough that
the Minister and/or Deputy Minister were also actively involved but the management of
this technical work as well as writing and editing as a technician when required - would
fall to the 2IC. In this rst model, the head has responsibility for the management of other
communication branch effort including research, planning and production activities as well
as leadership activities around human resource development, liaison with clients/heads of
other branches, branch and department business and performance measurement programs
and strategic support to the Minister, Deputy Minister and the departments management
team. For the second model, the roles of the head and 2IC are reversed. By the end of the
2000s, there was only one communication branch employing the second model. The rst
model was predominant. By the end of the decade for the 16 communication branches in
this study, the head enacted both the manager and leader roles but not the technical role.
In support of this statement, heads stated in the interviews conducted for the three
benchmarking studies their increased involvement in business planning and HR recruitment
and retention. In the third study in 2008, heads complained about the time required to
4 There are a number of levels to the Canadian governments classication schema for executives (EX). If the head is a Director
General (DG) at the EX-03 level, the 2IC would be an EX-02 with the rest of the management team at the EX-01 level. If the head
is an EX-04 (ADM), the 2IC would be an EX-03.
th
adhere to the governments new accountability framework and the effort needed to develop
business plans for the branch as well as performance measurement reports. Almost all of the
16 communication branches had a comprehensive HR Plan, most of these integrated with
a business plan and a strategic communication framework and/or plan. Employee turnover
rates in many of the communication branches were approaching 40-60% in the late 2000s
(Government of Canada 2008b). Some of this was from retirements and short-term parental
leaves, but most of the turnover came from the churn within the governments communication
community brought on by a sellers market: there were more available positions than there
were qualied candidates to ll them. The heads role in trying to maintain a critical mass in
his or her cubicles can be summed up in this statement from the 2008 benchmarking report:
Many Heads believe that, in todays market, the No. 1 job of the DG is recruitment. This
is a three-pronged role. First, Heads must create an environment in the branch that will
be attractive to potential hires. This includes an appropriate work/life balance, a sense of
community and great team spirit, and professional development opportunities including the
provision of second language training. Second, the Head cant rely on Human Resources
and must build stafng capacity and capabilities in the branch. Included in building capacity
and capabilities are a living HR Plan, assignment of an EX or IS as a senior stafng lead, and
constantly running competitions. Finally, the Head plays a hands-on role as chief recruiter.
A good amount of time is spent networking, identifying talent and then calling and pitching
potential recruits. Many Heads meet with anyone who sends over an unsolicited CV. A
number visit university campuses. Heads who believe they are successful at recruiting state
that they are constantly doing anticipatory stafng. (Government of Canada 2008a).
In summary then, over the decade, heads moved from a combination of technical and
managerial roles to a combination of managerial and leader roles ensuring the heads were
in a position to be able to manage the branch strategically.
RQ5: To what extent is there diversity within the communication branch?
Diversity is described as the inclusion of: both men and women in all roles, as well as
practitioners of different racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds (J. Grunig 2009). The
practice of excellent public relations and the ability to manage the communication function
strategically is not possible without a diverse workforce one that matches the diversity in
any given society.
Heads of Canadian government communication branches, as with heads of every other
departmental unit, much ensure a degree of diversity within their staff ranks. Each much
match a formula for the number of women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and
members of minorities in their employee mix. This mix must match the workforce availability
percentages of these groups within the Canadian society. For example, the percentages
for 2005-06 were: women 52.2% (average across government 53.5%); Aboriginal peoples
2.5% (average across government 4.2%); persons with disabilities 3.6% (average across
government 5.8%); and members of minorities 10.4% (average across government 8.6%)
(Government of Canada 2006a). Heads must report the percentages in their yearly HR
Plan and establish remedial steps if needed. Evidence from the 2008 benchmarking
study suggests that heads usually were making three or four of their quotas, in the same
situation as any other branch head. There was diversity represented in the communication
branch. The data did not give a breakdown of how this diversity was spread throughout the
classication levels.
In 2008, while the number of women increased to 53.8% across the public service, the
numbers differed per employment category. In the EX category, the percentage of women
was 41.7% (this is a large category from EX-01 Directors to EX-05 Deputy Ministers). The
percentage of women in the communication IS category (IS-01 entry level to IS-06 managers)
was 69.2%. The last gure did not include women in the communication EX or executive
category. That gure was unavailable. But, from the three benchmarking studies it is possible
to determine the number of heads who were women, as the next table illustrates:
Table 5
Gender diversity
BRANCH 2001 2003 2008
A M W W
B M M W
C W M W
D M W W
E M M M
F W W W
G W M M
H W W M
I W W W
J M M W
K M M M
L M M M
M W W W
N M M M
O M M W
P M W W
TOTAL 6 W / 10 M 7 W / 9 M 10 W / 6 M
It appears that as the number of women increased within the communication branch, the
number of women in the head position grew as well. Within the communication ofcer
cadre (Information Services classication) as a whole, 69.2% of the employees were
women in 2008. Within the group of heads of communication, women lled 62.5% of the
head positions in our sample of 16 in 2008. Contrary to the nding of the Excellence Study
that women supervised communication branches of a smaller size than men, that was not
the nding here (Grunig L. et al 2002 P.184). Women were heads of small, medium and
large communication branches.
In summary, there appears to be growing diversity within the communication branch.
th
CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH
This study demonstrated that ve of the generic principles as presented by Vercic et al
(1996) are applicable as a test of strategic management in the Canadian federal government
communication branch situation. The study also showed that Canadian government
communication branches had moved to a position where it could be said that they are
managing the communication branch strategically. This is said with caution since the
sample size of this study only represented a little less than one-half the total number of
communication branches in the last benchmarking study in 2008. The sample, though,
includes a very good representation of the major departments in the government.
The applicability of the other generic principles (involvement of public relations in strategic
management; two-way symmetrical model of public relations; knowledge potential for
managerial role and symmetrical public relations; and ethical) was not evaluated. The data
from the benchmarking studies would require additional analyses to address these principles.
But, since each benchmarking study only dealt with communication management practices
at the public service level, it would be problematic to probe concepts such as strategic
management, symmetrical public relations and ethics without research at the political
government level as well. To more fully understand if the communication practices in the
Canadian federal government can be explained by the excellence theory, future studies
could augment this research by focusing on communication management practices at the
public service political interface.
Finally, we agree with Liu et al (2010 P. 211) that it is time for communication scholars to
catch up, providing a better link between government communication practices, applied
communication research, and theoretical development. We would also add that it is time
for researchers who focus on government communication to utilize the excellence theory
and the generic principles in their studies and for scholars knowledgeable about the theory
and principles to apply them to government communication management practices in
other setting.
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Evidence from Slovenia. In H. Culbertson & N. Chen (Eds.) International Public Relations: A
Comparative Analysis (P. 3166). Mahwah, NJ. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Viteritti, J.P. (1997). The Environmental Context of Communication: Public Sector Organizations.
In Lee, M. (Ed). (2008). Government Public Relations: A Reader. Taylor & Francis Group. New
York. (Originally published in J. L. Garnett, & A. Kouzmin (Eds.). Handbook of Administrative
Communication. Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York.
Vos, M. and Westerhoudt, E. (2008). Trends in government communication in the Netherlands.
Journal of Communication Management. 12(1): 18-29.
Vos, M. (2006). Setting the Research Agenda for Governmental Communication. Journal of
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APPENDIX
Selected Questions Utilized in this Study
Taken from the Original Interview Guides
Communications Community Ofce
The Fourth Benchmarking Study of Federal Government Communications Branches
2007-08 Headquarters Survey Questionnaire
Question No. 1:
Please indicate the number of Ministers, Secretaries of State, Deputy Ministers, Associate and
Assistant Deputy Ministers (or equivalent) in your department or agency.
Question No. 2:
Please indicate the current total number of department or agency-approved positions.
Question No. 3:
Please indicate the department or agency 2007-08 approved budget.
Question No. 4:
Who by title is designated the Head of Communications (as dened in the 2002 GOC
Communications Policy). To whom does the Head of Communications report? Has this reporting
relationship changed in the past few years?
Question No. 5:
Is the Head of Communications a member of the department or agency Executive Committee (the
highest level management committee)?
Question No. 6:
Please indicate if there are one or more department-wide communications committees. If yes,
please indicate the title and role of each committee, who chairs each committee and give an
overview of each committees membership.
Question No. 7
Please indicate the 2007-08 A-base budget allocation for the headquarters Communications
Branch, and describe in general terms how the budget might have changed in the last two scal
years (A-base budget increases; budget reductions; internal reallocations within the budget).
Question No. 8:
Please indicate additional B-base budget allocations over and above the 2007-08 A-base budget
reported in #7, and their source.
Question No. 9:
Please indicate the members of your Communications Branch senior management team, by title
and classication level.
Question No. 10:
Please indicate the number of approved indeterminate and term positions at each classication
level. Please indicate the number of indeterminate and term employees currently employed at each
classication level.
Question No. 11:
Please indicate the number of new indeterminate or term employees hired at each these
classication levels since September 1
st
2005 and the source of their recruitment.
Recruitment Sources:
A = from within the department
B = from within the federal government communications community
C = from within the federal government but from outside the communications community
D = from outside of government
E = from being bridged as a student
Question No. 12:
Please indicate the average number of Coop / FSWEP students per year working in the Branch
from 2004 to 2007.
Question No. 13:
Please indicate the total number of satellite communications units at headquarters (formal
communication units outside of and independent from the Communications Branch), and the type
of unit.
Question No. 14:
Does your department or agency have lead responsibility with Special Operating Agencies (SOAs)
and/or Portfolio Partners? If so, please indicate the number of separate communications branches
with which you have a direct working relationship.
Communications Community Ofce
The Fourth Benchmarking Study of Federal Government Communications Branches
2007-08 Headquarters Interview Topics
Interviews with Heads of Communications
PROPOSED INTERVIEW TOPICS
The purpose of the interview is to discuss your approach to the management and leadership of
your communications branch. Management and leadership topics are listed below. Discussion
of each topic will follow a similar pattern: what changes have you made; what pressures did you
face that necessitated that changes be made; what challenges did you overcome in the change
process; and what new results have you achieved with the changes made. For the purposes of this
interview, management activities and leadership activities are seen as different. Bennis and Townsend
(Reinventing Leadership: Strategies to Empower the Organization. William Morrow. New York. 1997)
offer this difference: The manager maintains: the leader develops. Management (with core activities
commonly dened as (1) planning and budgeting, (2) organizing and stafng, (3) controlling and
problem solving) executes and administers. On the other hand, leadership (with core activities as (1)
visioning and strategizing, (2) energizing, motivating and inspiring (3) aligning and enabling) creates,
th
builds and bridges and guides. Please think about management and leadership differences as you
prepare your answers to the following topics:
1. Please describe any changes made in the overall structure, organization and reporting
arrangements to the Communications Branch since 2004 (or since you became Head).
Structural Models
Organization of Work Groups
2IC
Reporting
Communication Committees/Networks
2. Please describe any changes made to and within these sub-units since 2004.
Head of Communications Ofce
Ministerial Communications
Policy and Planning
Media Relations
Advisory Services/Client Account Executives/Teams
Internal Communications/Change Management Communications
Citizen-Centered Communications/Outreach
Promotion/Marketing Communications
Web/e-communication/Social Media
Issue/Crisis/Risk Management
Creative Services (writing/editing; publishing; audio-visual; exhibits; speeches; etc.)
Advertising
Research and Evaluation (environmental scanning; POR; performance measurement;
consultation; etc.)
Services (translation; distribution; media monitoring; inquiries; etc.)
Other (ATIP; Parliamentary Affairs; etc.)
Administration (nance; IT; HR; etc.)
3. Please describe any changes to the Branch budget and resource allocation situation since 2004.
4. Please describe any changes to your HR management program since 2004.
Recruitment
Competitions
Orientation Programs
Retention/Attrition Rates
Succession Planning (EXs; IS-06s; IS-04s and 5s)
Competency Proles
Learning Environment
Learning/Training/Development Programs
Growing your Own Talent
Coop / FSWEP Students
Training & Individual Employee Learning Budgets
HR Business Manager / HR Plan
5. Please describe any changes made in working and management relationships since 2004.
within your Branch, between your ofce and sub-units or among sub-units
between your Branch and the Ministers and/or Deputy Ministers Ofces
between your Branch and internal clients
between your Branch and Regional Ofces
between your Branch and satellite units in the department or agency
between your Branch and departmental or agency SOAs or Portfolio Partners
between your Branch and various agencies (PCO; TB; other)
6. Please describe any changes to Branch policy, planning and performance measurement systems
since 2004.
Policies, Procedures and Guidelines
Annual Plans (Business; Communications; etc.)
Planning Integration and Involvement (planning unit; strategists; regional ofces; etc.)
Communication Program Evaluation
Communication Branch Performance Measurement
7. Please describe your Branches unique or best practices (what you do better than other
Branches).
8. Please describe how you see your leadership role: in the Branch; in the department; and across
the communications community.
role in the Branch
role vis--vis a 2IC, if any
role vis--vis your management team
role vis--vis regional communications
role vis--vis a department or agency wide Communications Committee, if any
role within the department or agency senior executive team
role vis--vis portfolio partners, if any
role vis--vis central agencies
role within the communications community
role as a leader or an agent of change
9. Please provide demographic information for the Head of Communications.
How long have you worked in the GOC?
How long have you worked in communications?
What were your last three previous positions?
Is your education and training in communications / public relations or in another eld(s)?
Is it your desire to remain in communications?
th
E-government in Romania - Features and Trends
by Maria Silvia Bilaevschi and Adina Liliana Aldea
ABSTRACT
Romania underwent a period of great change and development as a result of the transformations
encountered in the eld of informational technology and communication and also, as a result
of the globalization process in order to adapt to the requirements imposed by the E.U. and
to meet its citizens needs of information. Nowadays, E-governance represents a strategic
element of the national economy both for Romania and for other countries.
This article suggests that Romanian e-Governance initiatives may potentially have major
organizational impacts by the help of communication among the governmental agencies,
ministries, public services and citizens. The entire public service needs to improve its working
methods and to adapt the existing governmental organisation to the new informational era.
In Romania, the e-Government implementation started in the early 2000. Because the
Romanian e-Government system has made a lot of progress since its beginnings led to a
signicant number of international prizes, world wide recognition, a series of pilot projects and
also accomplished and implemented projects.
In order to magnify the e-Governance benets we will discuss about three essential matters:
interoperability, information and interactivity. We observed that the problems regarding the
interoperability matter may be related to the technological level but in the case of information,
especially interactivity, the problems that appear are commonly related to will. First of all, the
governmental agencies or the ministries would WANT to display their services in order to be
available and useful for other agencies. Moreover, the agencies would WANT to readjust the
services displayed by other agencies in order to create and develop new systems. Only after
these stages are completed all these systems are to be used equally by each citizen regardless
the way they interact with e-Governance.
More precisely, the goal of the paper is to analyze how the Ministry of Communications and
Information Society (MCIS), the institution commissioned with the governmental policy in the
eld of electronic communication, mail services, information societies and its services, creates
and implements the e-Governmental solutions. The main goal that determined the elaboration
of a number of e-Governance strategies is to offer public services through electronic means
using the available funds as efcient as possible. Romania, and other member states of the
European Union, could save hundred of billion of Euros from the public funds if they update
their administrations according to the action plan regarding the on-line administration proposed
by the E.U. at the end of 2006.
th
When the European ofcials discuss about reducing the bureaucracy, they refer especially
to e-Administration and e-Government. However, e-Government is mainly developing only
on the promises made by the public institutions without taking into account the opinions and
the wishes of the community members and without citizens knowing all the details about its
activity and purposes.
We also discuss about the vision of the Romanian Ministry of Communications and Information
Society in order to highlight their goals. These goals are the creation of a coherent and
integrated national system for the on-line public services offered for each citizen, for the
business community and for everyone interested.
This article draws on two projects implemented by MCIS: www.e-guvernare.ro and e-Romania
www.romania.gov.ro. One of these portals: www.e-guvernare.ro was considered one of the
best and received international appreciation in 2005. The second, www.romania.gov.ro, is for
the time being still a concept or more a pilot portal.
Our research ndings were inuenced by several studies published in the last years such as
the study Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide (2007): A Longitudinal Assessment
of Municipal Websites Throughout the World.
On this paper we will try to answer to a series of questions as: How useful are these portals?
How do these portals please the citizen regarding the e-Government? How does the citizen
know what information he can access and use from the e-Government system? How often
projects such as e-Government are abandoned and fail, though they provide useful and in real
time information, only because they are not as accessed as the promoter expected?
We will highlight some suggestions for the improvement of the Romanian e-Government such
as: the Romanian authorities should and must support nancially the development and the
extending of these services through electronic means, to stimulate the interoperability between
the national, European and international public services and to establish fruitful and constant
partnerships with the civil society and the private sector.
th
G, B, C OF E-GOVERNMENT
The changes brought by the globalization at international scale gave birth to new
opportunities for all the countries regarding the public and private sector.
In the last several years weve witnessed a revolution of the Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) with consequences that made many countries to adapt their strategies
according to the opportunities offered by the new means of mass communication. In
addition, we agree with Robert Schware who states that the success of ICT-enabled
development (or e-development) will thus not be measured by the diffusion of technology,
but by advances in development itself: economic growth and, ultimately, achievement of
the Millenium Development Goals.
1
From the new media perspective, the main goal of each government is to use the Internet in
order to ease the communication process with the internal and external stakeholders, thus
making the e-Government process more connected to citizens.
Therefore, we discuss about the emergence of new governmental forms that offer the
following advantages, according to the World Bank
2
: better access to the public information
and services of the authorities, reduced bureaucracy, empowerment through information,
transparency and anti-corruption, improved services for business and rapid exchange of
data between the central and local authorities. However, the real benet of e-government
lies not in the use of technology per se, but in its application to processes of transformation
3
.
Nowadays citizens ask for better services, higher security and democracy, while the
business environment asks for the reduction of bureaucracy and an increased efciency
4
.
The success of the e-Government is given by the benets and facilities offered after its
implementation.
In order to magnify the e-Governance benets we will discuss about three essential matters:
interoperability, information and interactivity. We observed that the problems regarding the
interoperability matter may be related to the technological level but in the case of information,
especially interactivity, the problems that appear are commonly related to will. First of all,
the governmental agencies or the ministries would want to display their services in order to
be available and useful for other agencies. Moreover, the agencies would want to readjust
the services displayed by other agencies in order to create and develop new systems. Only
after these stages are completed all these systems are to be used equally by each citizen
regardless the way they interact with e-Governance.
1 Schware, R. (2005), E-development: from excitement to effectiveness, The World Bank Group, Washington D.C., p. XIII
2 www1.worldbank.org/publicsector/egov/index.html (20.01.2010)
3 United Nations e-Government Survey 2008. From e-Government to Connected Governance, United Nations New York, 2008,
http://www.unpan.org/egovernment.asp (25.01.2010)
4 European Commission, 2006, i2010 eGovernment Action Plan: Accelerating eGovernment in Europe for the Benet of All,
Communication form the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Commit-
tee and the Committee of the Regions http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/docs/highlights/comm_
pdf_com_2006_0173_f_en_acte.pdf. (28.01.2010)
Interoperability means the capacity of the informational system of the public institutions
to communicate and exchange data in a consistent and coherent way, according to the
national Laws regarding the interoperability
5
.
Since its emergence, e-Government has been dened in a variety of way. At a rst sight,
e-Government is about the use of ICT and multimedia technologies to improve the access
to and delivery of government services to stakeholders. An interesting idea about the
e-Government, states that e-Government is about using the tools and systems made
possible by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to provide better public
services to citizen and businesses
6
.
Another concept is provided by the World Bank as it follows: e-Government refers to the
use by government agencies of information technologies (such as Wide Area Networks,
the Internet, and mobile computing) that have the ability to transform relations with citizens,
businesses, and other arms of government.
7
.
However, e-Government means much more: it is different from but builds on the
administrative reform policies inspired by New Public Management (NPM) implemented
throughout the EU over the past twenty years. Nevertheless, e-Government goes even
further
8
.
E-government is about a process of reform in the way governments work, share information
and deliver services to external and internal citizens-clients. Specically, e-government
connects information technologies to transform relations with citizens, businesses and
other arms of government.
9
Analogous to e-commerce, which allows businesses to
transact with each other more efciently (B2B) and brings customers closer to businesses
(B2C), e-government aims to make the interaction between government and citizens
(G2C), government and business enterprises (G2B), and inter-agency relationships (G2G)
more transparent.
Government-to-Government (G2G) facilitates the data sharing and electronic exchanges
between government organizations at national, local and county level.
Government-to-Business (G2B) G2B services can include provision of legal and
statistical data, means for online tax payment, submission of information, getting licenses
or paying nes via Internet, etc. The projects aimed at the provision of information for
business support and development, such as informational portals for potential investors,
5 http://www.mcsi.ro/Minister/Comunicate-de-presa/Ghidul-solicitantului-pentru-interoperabilitate-es (01.02.2010)
6 ICT for Government and Public Services, http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/egovernment/index_en.htm
(03.02.2010)
7 Denition of E-Government, http://go.worldbank.org/M1JHE0Z280 (03.02.2010)
8 Leitner, C., (2003), eGovernment in Europe: The State of Affairs, presented at the eGovernment 2003 Conference Como, Italy,
7-8 July, http://www.epractice.eu/egovernment2003 (05.02.2010)
9 Bhatnagar, S., (2004) E-Government: From Vision to Implementation - A Practical Guide With Case Studies, Sage Publications
India Pvt Ltd, p. 22
th
on-line expert consultations, legislation databases or on-line trading platforms, are also
extremely important
10
.
Government-to-Citizen (G2C) - according to Milena Head and Eldon Yu-zen Li
11
this
model has three instances: m-communication, m-transactions, and m-voting.
In the paper Demand for online government services: Case studies from St. Petersburg,
Anastasia Golubeva and Irina Merkurzeva, identify other stakeholders, than those mentioned
above, that can benet from the opportunities offered by the e-Government services, such
as employees and non-prot organizations (G2N).
Government-to-Employees is about the use at different hierarchic levels communication
tools between governmental institutions and their employees. Creation of integrated
information systems in order to gather, transfer, process and store internal agency data
provides foundations for further elaboration of government electronic services offered to
external users citizens and organizations
12
.
Government-to-Nonprot Organizations nonprot organizations frequently act as
cooperating partners in e-government projects and therefore in many cases can be
considered as experts in this eld.
E-GOVERNMENT STRATEGY IN ROMANIA
At the beginning of 2001, Romania made its rst steps towards e-Government. One of its
rst attempts its considered to be the high school entrance exam, in the summer of the
year 2001 when 203,000 pupils/candidates were distributed at their chosen high school
and the competition results were published on the internet.
As a result of this success, the Romanian Information Technology Initiative (RITI) has
been created with the aim to promote policy and regulatory reform and to create enabling
environments for ICT, including e-commerce, e-Government and an open and secure
Internet.
In order to reach some goals of e-Government, such as reducing the bureaucracy,
costs, increase the transparency of the public institutions, in March 2002 the Romanian
e-Procurement system was launched. In January 2006, the electronic payments between
the government and citizens have been amended and that meant the development of the
electronic payment via bank cards. www.epractice.eu Home Factsheets
10 Golubeva, A., Merkuryeva, I. (2006), Demand for online government services: Case studies from St. Petersburg, Information
Polity, IOS Press, Volume 11, Number 3-4 / 2006, pp. 241-254
11 Head, M., Li, E. Y. (2009), Mobile and Ubiquitous Commerce: Advanced E-Business Methods, Premier Reference Source
12 Ibidem
In March 2006, the early e-Auction portal was extended to manage the on-line auctions of
over 1000 public authorities and more than 82 product categories
13
.
The ofcial e-Government portal was launched in September 2003, providing a one-
stop shop to central and local public services and forms online
14
. Users can register
for interactive and transactional services. As for the services provided by this site,
as will discuss later on this paper there are several fully online interactive services and
approximately 700 administrative forms which can be downloaded, lled-in, signed and
electronically submitted to the appropriate authority. This portal is known as Electronic
National System, and provides non-stop access to information from central and local
government institutions, ofcial forms and interactive services.
In November 2006, a new step regarding the improvement of online government has been
made when the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) launched
the Virtual Payment Ofce, www.ghiseul.ro as to facilitate the interaction between citizens
and public institutions by offering online services such as the payment of taxes, nes and
other nancial obligations via bank cards. The rst service provided on the Virtual Payment
Ofce was the online payment of trafc nes.
A new agency functions since June 2007, Agency for the Information Society Services (ASSI),
that acts, according to its initial regulations like a Government CIO Ofce, taking over the
specic e-Government General Inspectorate of Communications and Information Technology,
abolished in April 2007. Its main tasks have been the implementation of e-Government
and administrative services at national level. As for its responsibilities well briey mention:
the operational development of the www.e-guvernare.ro portal, the administration of the
electronic public procurement portal (www.e-licitatie.ro) and the IT system for the electronic
assignment of road transport authorisations (www.autorizatiiauto.ro).
A breakthrough in the Romanian e-Government, as the Minister for MCI Kroly Borbly said,
was the release, in February 2008, of the Knowledge-Based Economy project that enabled
business people to register their businesses and apply for permits and other documents
on-line
15
. This new updated system desires to provide information and services to public
authorities, citizens, small businesses, schools and public libraries.
Following the enactment of the Decision no. 198 in February 2008 contracting authorities
are compelled to use electronic means for at least 20 % of public procurement and in order
to respect the Manchester Declaration and the E.U objectives, the Romanian Ministers has
to have at least 50 % of public procurement above the European thresholds to be carried
out electronically by 2010.
An important project is the platform for the integration of e-government services in the
National Electronic System (SEN) with the aim to increase the quality of e-Government
13 eGovernment Factsheet - Romania History, http://www.epractice.eu/en/document/288404 (03.02.2010)
14 eGovernment Factsheet - Romania - National Infrastructure, www.epractice.eu/en/print/288409 (03.02.2010)
15 www.epractice.eu Home News
th
services provided by the central public administration for citizens and business by
introducing the Point of Single Contact (electronic) and the One-Stop Shop concept in
e-Government. As to achieve all the mentioned promises, measures were taken such
as: the implementation of the One-Stop Shop concept for the electronic governance, for
users - basically Romanian people and rms - to interact in a single electronic point with the
Public Administration in order to exchange documents and information and procedures as
to ease the access to a remote service by electronic means.
16
.
Not only through laws, regulations and decisions the e-Government system has been
improved but through training sessions on Electronic Public Procurement at which
participated over 700 trainees by June 2009. 52% of the participants were representatives
of contracting authorities that use e-Procurement services, whereas 48% were
representatives of economic operators, as the ASSI stated. These training sessions desired
to offers better access to public contracts, and simplies tendering procedures for both
suppliers and contracting authorities. Since November 2009 the points of single contact
are operational as a part of the e-Government portal, and through them it is desired to ease
the procurement of online authorizations required to conduct activities in Romania for the
E.U. citizens.
Another interesting project, from governmental perspective, its the e-Romania portal
launched on June 2009 that comprises two dimensions: an informational one containing
general facts on Romanias history, geography, and administrative structure; and an
operational dimension with real time online services for citizens and companies, tax
payment, issuance of legal documents, criminal records and certain authorizations. This
pilot project its desired to help decentralize services, elevating the government efciency
level and reduce administrative costs.
AWARDS
The Computerized Admission in High Schools and Vocational Schools (ADLIC) received the
Best Practice award at the International e-Government conference, Brussels in 2001. As a
recognition of the e-Government one-stop shopping concept, the Romanian project was
the only European project chosen to participate at the World Summit on the Information
Society at Geneva (December 2003), as to be given as an example in an international tour
(2 years), together with other four projects from the whole world.
Hereby, since 2001 till today SEI (IT Based Educational System) gathered some awards and
international recognition such as: the eLearning in Praxis award given by the American
Chamber of Commerce in Slovakia for the best solution for eLearning, Good Practice
Label- European e-Government Awards 2009, European IT Excellence Award 2008, Frankfurt
- eLearning AeL, Best Practice in eGovernment 2007 award given by the European
Commission for the Educational Database, International Project Management Association
16 Courses on Electronic Public Procurement, http://www.epractice.eu/en/news/292103 (05.02.2010)
Gala Awards 2007, in February 2008, in the European IT Excellence Awards 2008, category
Independent Software Vendors (ISV) - Vertical Market, Cracow - SEI was considered one
of the most important accomplishes from the whole world in Project Management, World
Summit Award 2005, Tunis Best eLearning Content in the World for the AeL interactive,
Honorable Mention for e-Government 2005, Manchester, and other acknowledgments
17
.
BEST PRACTICE
Today, e-Government is a part of the strategy created by the Information Society,
focusing mainly on back ofce infrastructures and services
18
. The political responsibility
belongs to the Ministry of Interior and Administrative Reform (MIRA) while the executive
control belongs to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
(MCIT). The Agency for Information Society Services (ASSI) is a part of MCIT and it is
responsible for implementing and managing at national level electronic systems related
to e-Government such as the following portals: e-Government (e-guvernare.ro), the
electronic System for Public Procurement (e-licitatie.ro), the Virtual Payment Desk
(www.ghiseul.ro), and the IT System for the electronic attribution of international on
transport goods (autorizatiiauto.ro)
19
.
INTERNET ACCESS
According to Benchmark Measurement, November 2009 report, Romania has made
some progress on Information Society indicators, such as internet access and broadband
availability.
In e-Government, online availability of public services has increased, but usage by business
is stalling. According to the same report, Romanias e-Government organizational strategy
falls into a wider Information Society policy which aims at modernizing Romanias
administration and the economy.
The National Electronic System (SEN) offers information, online forms, access to legislation
and other services needed by citizens. Furthermore, by October 2009 SEN comprised
11.581 public institutions and another 1231 public institutions were added by the end of
that month; the raise was about 11%.
Following are the data collected by the Benchmark Measurements for 2009:Information
Society Indicators.
17 Finalists and Good Practice projects, http://www.epractice.eu/en/awardsnalists2009 (07.03.2010)
18 Smarter, Faster, Better eGovernment. 8th Benchmark Measurement, http://www.epractice.eu/en/library/299159 (10.02.2010)
19 eGovernment Factsheet - Romania Actors, http://www.epractice.eu/en/document/288407 (07.02.2010)
th
According to the Internet World Stats, in September 2008, Romania had 7,430,000
Internet users as of Sept/08, 33.4% penetration, per GfK. 1,949,100 Internet broadband
connections as of Nov/08, per ITU, 8.8% p.r. Population 21498616.
The use of internet rose up since the year 2000 by 828.8% according to New Media Trend
Watch
20
.
A survey made by S. E. Colesca & L. Dobrica
21
in which they used a 30 questions
questionnaire regarding e-Government on 530 Romanian citizens results that 42.20% (203
persons) use e-government services, at national or local level. 34% of those who dont
use e-government services are generally old or poor persons. As for the frequency, the
study discovered that only 1.97% of e-Government users use it daily, 15.27% say they visit
several times a week, 34.48% visit several times a month, and 48.28% say they visit just a
few times a year.
Regarding the use of e-Government portal 86.21% of the activities were: searching for
information such as materials about public administration, databases, documents and
businesses, followed by downloading forms (60.59%), but the percent of citizens that
initiated an on line transaction with a public institution was of only 3.45%.
20 Markets By Country, http://www.newmediatrendwatch.com/markets-by-country/10-europe/80-romania (10.02.2010)
21 S. E. Colesca,L. Dobrica (2008), Adoption and use of e-Government services: the case of Romania, http://www.ejournal.
unam.mx/repojs/ojs/index.php/jart/article/viewFile/4791/2595 (12.02.2010)
The UN e-Government survey conducted in 2008
22
, placed Romania under mid range
countries by utilization of e-Government online services (percent of utilization 41%). This
indicated that Romania e-Government strategy needs to increase its efciency in order to
attract more potential users to use the online e-government services.
Regarding the e-Government, and especially e-Commerce, only 3% of all individuals in
Romania had used internet for ordering goods or services in 2008. This low attendance is
due to the fear one may have about online transactions, considering them to be risky. The
use of debit/credit cards online is not very extended for buyers. According to a study made
by Gemius in October 2009, about a half of internet users are suspicious about buying
goods or services online.
23

At this stage, it is important to mention that the authorities assigned with the public
information regarding e-Governments services have to plan out the promotional campaign
in order to catch the attention of its future users more thoroughly.
E-GOVERNMENT AND E-ROMANIA PORTALS
At the present time, according to the Government Resolution no.12/2009, the Ministry
of Communications and Information Society (MCIS) is the institution assigned with the
governmental politics regarding the electronic communication, information technology
and the services of the informational society. In agreement with public statements of the
authorities, the main objective of this institution is to accomplish the e-Romania online
services together with its strategic component of e-Government.
The term of informational society refers both at the interaction between authorities and
citizens through the increase of operational efciency and at the increase of competitiveness
in the business eld through the complex use of Information and Communication Technology
(TIC). All the MCSIs objectives concerning the e-Government eld must be elaborated in
the line with the current necessities and realities of the Romanian society, keeping in mind
the exigencies imposed by the European Union.
In attempt to implement the e-Government system, MCSI tried to take into account all
the involved stakeholders in order to action more efciently at organizational, nancial
and administrative level. Thus, as to reduce the bureaucracy through the e-Government
strategies, both public administrations: central and local together with private companies
must be involved in order to dene a coherent framework. The use of the newest
communicational technologies is intended to allow the citizens and the businessmen to
communicate efciently with the public authorities 24 hours per day.
22 United Nations e-Government Survey 2008. From e-Government to Connected Governance (2008), New York, http://cata-
logue.nla.gov.au/Record/4555384 (15.02.2010)
23 Online shopping in Romania more popular but still considered risky, http://www.gemius.pl/pl/news/2009-10-28/01
(15.02.2010)
21498616
7430000
1949100
Population
Internet users
Internet
broadband
connections
th
Because 47,3% of the Romanian population lives at the country side and has no access to
Internet, through the implementation and development of the e-Government system, the
authorities desire was not to reduce or renounce at the traditional institutional ofces but to
stimulate the use of cost-free, easy to use services. At this stage, it is important to mention
that many countries opted for an executive agency to handle the development, roll out and
management of shared services and infrastructures: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Greece,
Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, and Sweden.
WWW.E-GUVERNARE.RO
According to the structure of the portal www.e-guvernare.ro, it is structured on two sections:
One-dimensional Interaction the rst section -Online forms allows downloading the
les and the documents used in many different public institutions which can be printed,
lled in and sent by classical means of delivery (post ofce) to all allocated institutions.
The number of the available documents will be in continuous development. At this time
a number of approximately 150 forms are available for download. These forms may be
signed electronically according to the legislation in force and sent to the addressed agencies
through electronic means that guarantee the delivery. The purpose of this section is to
inform the citizens regarding legislation and the regulations associated with the interaction.
The names of the documents and the names of the public institutions are ranged in
alphabetic order in order to be more easily identied. The access to the documents does
not require any previous logging in as user. Within the section of Online documents, there
is an internal section whose purpose is to provide the required information necessary under
attendance and one meant to access the administrative portal web. The most important
online administrative forms belong to: Ministries, Inspectorates and Departments of
Education, Local Councils, Cultural Institutions, Institutions Coordinated/Subordinated by/
to the Prim Ministry, Hospitals, Town Halls, Autonomous Institutions and so on.
Bi-dimensional Interaction the second section is dedicated to the on-line services which
ask for an online ll-in of a series of documents meant to solve some problems related
to the administrative part, without being necessary to come to the inquiry ofces. Since
June 2009, the online service has been active as a result of prioritizing the functionality
of the existing system. Through the Unique Form System there are six services online
available at present, and their number will be progressively extended through Government
decisions. The system is available at the moment, to more than 650 companies, the
most important contributors and large tax payers from the entire country, and requires
initial registration. The following services are available at present: Declaration submitted
to ANOFM (National Agency for Employment), Declaration submitted to CNAS (National
House for Health Insurance), Declaration regarding the payment obligations towards social
insurance budget (National House for Pension and other Insurance Rights), Declaration
regarding the prot tax (Ministry of Finance), Deduction regarding VAT (Ministry of Finance)
and Declaration regarding the payment obligations towards the general consolidated
budget (Ministry of Finance).
Under the Online Services quick access one may also access links regarding: The electronic
system for issuing licenses for international carriers (www.autorizatiiauto.ro), The Virtual
Payment Ofce (www.ghiseul.ro), Public Procurement Electronic System (www.e-licitatie.
ro), Romanian cyber crime center (www.efrauda.ro), Online customs declarations, Visa
Online (www.e-guvernare.ro).
There are also quick access sections to external portals: Government of Romania, The
Senate of Romania, Chamber of Deputies, Presidency and intern quick access: Public
administration on the Internet, Public institutions registration, Enrolled Public Institutions,
Public Institutions - Login.
Though we repeatedly accessed the external and internal links, some of them werent
functional or the access had been restricted.
WWW.ROMANIA.GOV.RO
Given that in June 2009 the main priority of the MCSI was the interoperability of the existent
Romanian systems at central, regional and local level the e-Romania application has been
launched. This project is meant to be a national system included within the public online
services, in the best interest of any citizen, business environment and any local and central
administrative institutions.
MCSI promises that by the end of 2010, they will have implemented the entire system of
services included within the e-Romania program. The sum of 500 million Euro estimated
in order to implement the strategy approved by the Government will be funded from the
following sources:structural funds at our disposal from the European Union budget, other
types of non-refundable funds etc.
th
The Romanian strategy implies more than a simple web portal, as it has been speculated.
It is also about the internal relation of the public administration, both central and local so
that we can afliate to the requirements of the entire world. We meet the claim of the citizen,
helping him not to loose any time or money coming in our institutions. By transparency, we
save both the public money and we reach the level at which everything can be accessed
no matter where, no matter when. More importantly, everybody can do it for himself.
said
The Minister of Communications and Information Society of Romania, Gabriel Sandu.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Society of Romania (MCIS) will play an
integrating role in the intercessory with all institutions from the public administration involved
in implementing the e-Romania strategy.
The e-Romania strategy has three types of services in view: electronic (e.g.: setting up
companies, approvals for construction, changing the address, paying the taxes and the
imposts); to inform on-line (e.g.: transport, justice, agriculture, tourism); online support
(e.g.: log in, electronic billing).
According to the memoir drawn up by the MCIS, the e-Romania strategy (www.romania.
gov.ro), with its essential component connected to e-government, has the following
objectives:
The rst Group of objectives , related to the public institutions
The second Group of objectives, related to the European recommendations and the
legislative provisions specic to Romania
These objectives regard especially strategies that are concerned with the efciency in
communication between the public administration and the business environment. There
are a series of strategies meant to reach the target of objectives based on policies like:
establishing a web portal with online documents to help the citizens interested in setting up
a company to make all the necessary intercessory online, sending the wage grid online,
establishing a web portal to facilitate how to solve the problems at the customs taking
into account the international legislative environment, processing the public auctions
(including the presentation and evaluation), the online presentation of any petition meant to
get the necessary approval for constructions, ordering online the necessary documents
or administration orders, changing the address online, implementing the election system
online (for the citizens from abroad), creating an international geo-portal meant to have
access to different aspects from the interactive map, presenting online the declarations of
VAT and on income.
The third group of objectives related to e-Romania web portal: MCIS promotes the portal
through a double perspective: the citizens one and the one of the business men. The web
portal is consolidated under the form of an integrated system of many online services. It is
based on the principle of the single point access.
The web portal has a hierarchical structure sending the information from the national
(president, Parliament) to the local system (The Prefecture and County Council). These are
just some of the promises that MCIS has already made and they claim everything will have
been accomplished by the end 2013.
Among the elds supported by the web portal, the following ones can be mentioned:
e-Health, e-Environment, e-Transport, e-Agriculture, e-Justice, e-Education, e-Culture,
e-Church, e-Tourism, e-Associative, e-Sport, e-Participation. At present, the project
e-Romania is just at the level of a concept which can be clicked on at the following address:
www.romania.gov.ro.
Although in June 2009, according to a report published by the European Commission,
Romania occupied the last place in the European chart regarding the broad band use of
the Internet. The Romanian Government allocated approximately 500 millions Euros for this
project in order to nalize it by the end of 2013. This large sum of money stirred up a lot
of controversies, and negative reaction appeared immediately arguing that in the present
economical context its too much to spend.
However, e-Government is mainly developing only on the promises made by the public
institutions without taking into account the opinions and the wishes of the community
members and without citizens knowing all the details about its activity and purposes. Thus,
the online users have a very important role in the development of the public services.
On the other hand, on March 2010, through a press release the Romanian Government
announced that the e-Romania portal has been launched as a concept project and not as a
denitive portal that can be access at www.romania.gov.ro. Thus, the information provided
by this portal may change over night, but its hoped that in the near future a solid portal to
be developed in order to offer coherent and integrated information.
th
CONCLUSIONS
In our paper weve taken into account a number of European studies such as: Digital
Governance in Municipalities Worldwide (2007): A Longitudinal Assessment of Municipal
Websites throughout the World, in order to acknowledge how the e-Government services
are understood by the citizens. Therefore, this study analyzed the ofcial websites of more
than 86 countries, highlighting the most important aspects such as: privacy/security,
usability, content, services and citizen participation.
Accordingly, Bucharest, the capital of Romania, occupies rank 36 from the 86 analyzed
countries in Overall E-governance Rankings (2007). As for the investigated aspects that we
mentioned above, Bucharest occupies rank 19 in a European chart made on 36 European
countries, as it follows:
In addition, according to this study as for Privacy/Security Bucharest occupies rank 37
(score 3.6), as for Usability the capital occupies rank 18 (the same position as Brussels
with score 14.38). As for Content it occupies rank 36 and rank 33 for the online provided
services. A low score is registered regarding the Citizens Participation, occupying rank 60.
However, e-Government is mainly developing only on the promises made by the public
institutions without taking into account the opinions and the wishes of the community
members and without citizens knowing all the details about its activity and purposes. At
the same time, the online users have a very important role in the development of the public
services.
We can asses that according to the study results of Wauters, P., and Nijskens, M., and
Tiebout, J. (2007), 35% of the services in Romania are fully available online
.
PUBLIC SERVICES FOR CITIZENS
MAXIMUM
STAGE
ROMANIA
STAGE/
LEVEL
WEBSITE
Income taxes:
declaration, notication of assessment
5
2
(~40%)
www.formulare.e-guvernare.ro
www.ghiseul.ro
www.formularunic.e-guvernare.ro
Job search services:
Standard procedure to obtain job
offerings as organised by ofcial labour
ofces, no private market initiatives.
4
4
(100%)
www.anofm.ro
Social security benets:
Unemployment benets
Child allowances
Medical costs
(reimbursement or direct settlement)
Student grants
5
2-3
(~55%)
www.mmssf.ro
www.anofm.ro
Personal documents
(passports / drivers license)
5
1-2
(~40%)
www.pasapoarte.mai.gov.ro
www.pasapoartebucuresti.ro
www.mae.ro
Car registration
(new, used, imported cars)
4
4
(100%)
www.autorizatiiauto.ro
www.drpciv.ro/info-portal
Application for building permission 4
2
(25%)
-
Declaration to police 3
1
(30%)
-
Public libraries 5
1
(~15%)
www.biblacad.ro
www.unibuc.ro
www.bcu-iasi.ro
Certicates 4 0 www.mai.gov.ro
Enrolment in higher education 4
1
(~45%)
www.edu.ro
PUBLIC SERVICES FOR
BUSINESSES
MAXIMUM
STAGE
ROMANIA
STAGE/
LEVEL
WEBSITE
Social contributions for employees 4
4
(100%)
www.formularunic.eguvernare.ro
Corporate tax 4
4
(100%)
www.formularunic.eguvernare.ro
VAT 4 4 www.formularunic.eguvernare.ro
Registration of a new company 4
1-2
(~45%)
www.onrc.ro
Submission of data to statistical ofces 5
5
(100%)
www.insse.ro
Customs declaration 4
4
(100%)
-
Environment-related permits 5
2-3
(~25%)
www.mmediu.ro
th
Public procurement 4 4 www.e-licitatie.ro
Announcement of moving 4
2
(25%)
www.mai.gov.ro
Health-related services 4
2
(~45%)
www.msf-dgf.ro
The sophistication level in Romania scores 57%. Of note is the low level of citizens
services interactivity, whilst services for business have an average of 84% at a transactional
level. The statistical service attains a pro-active stage 5 level. The social services Child
allowance and Student grants are also at a pro-active level 5.
24

The national portal (www.gov.ro) provides information on governmental regulations, but no
direct access to the basic public services and no personalized access for business and
citizens. The scoring is thus rather low at 20%.
This leads to the conclusion that, whilst business online services score very well, particular
attention is required to develop online citizen services. Romania presently stands in the
lower quartile of the EU27+.
In conclusion, we tried to give an answer, based on our present study, regarding the
usefulness of these portals. As we previously observed, some of the links/quick access
from the www.e-guvernare.ro portal are either restricted or inexistent. From the citizen point
of view we observed that the users of the Internet services heard of the e-Government
portal and some of them used its services. Though these e-Government services arent
used frequently, a rise of the online transactions with the public authorities took place
in the last few years. The main accessed sections of this portal are those that comprise
information such as materials about public administration, databases, documents regarding
businesses, downloading forms.
From the governmental perspective, e-Government helps reducing the bureaucracy, the
costs, the wages of the public functionaries, stimulates administrative reform and so on.
The businesses are also advantaged because the time spent on the internet is signicantly
reduced, and one can access more forms or services than in everyday routine. The main
obstacle is that without a coherent regulation, the ofine/ofce bureaucracy will be moved
on the online area. Since now, the Romanian government opted for the pilot project
formula. The problem is that the data gather by these portals havent been analyzed and,
in consequence, Romania doesnt have a back-ofce application. Together with these
aspects, Romanian is also confronted with the reorganization of some public departments,
thus the reduce number of public employees active in e-Government strategy and with the
decayed mentalities of some citizens over 60 years old who dont use the internet.
Another question needs and answer: how does the citizen know what information he can
access and use from the e-Government system? As we previously shown, the structure
24 Smarter, Faster, Better eGovernment. 8th Benchmark Measurement, http://www.epractice.eu/en/library/299159 (10.02.2010)
of the www.e-guvernare.ro website its quite simple to use. One can discover either the
services or forms he desires to consult or use simply. For the Romanian users there is also
a full documented Guide in order to help them ll out the online forms, to register on the
website and other useful information. The main problem its represented by the number of
public institutions registered online. Some institutions are missing, other appear only with
their name, without any forms or services to offer.
Only the implementation of these projects isnt enough. Both citizens and the functionaries
that use these portals may benet from the provided services. A large number of the
Romanian people still use the classic way of paying their taxes due to the lack of information
or trust, preferring the public counter over the internet.

We briey analyzed the local newspapers and online forums in order to nd out how people
feel and understand the e-Government services. As we previously stated, many citizens
dont know what services they can access through the Internet because the MCSI hasnt
realized a coherent campaign to inform them. The Romanian government promised that by
the end of this year, the companies may upload their tax records through the e-Government
portal. On the other hand, many companies avoid the use of e-Government services
because they consider that the processing time of their forms (such as nes) is to slow.
We will highlight some suggestions to improve the online e-Government services. Thus,
Romanian authorities should continue to support nancially the development and the
extending of these services through electronic means, to stimulate the interoperability
between the national, European and international public services and to establish fruitful
and constant partnerships with the civil society and the private sector.
We recognize that Romania is currently facing serious economic, social and environmental
challenges, but in order to accomplish its promises, Romanian Government must be more
open, exible and collaborative in their delivery of public services across the country.
Learning from the experience of other European countries, Romania has to implement a
consistent communication strategy according to the individual and collective objectives.
This process starts from Government to society, together with the businesses, civil society
and individual citizens directly involved in this development.
This process has to start from Government to society, together with the businesses, civil
society and individual citizens directly involved in this development in order to succeed.
th
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(accessed 12 February 2010)
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2010)
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2010)
th
Government Public Relations in West Africa: Propaganda or
Development Tool The Case of Ghanas Ministry of Information
by Kojo Yankah
INTRODUCTION
In this presentation, I propose to examine public relations as conducted by Governments
in West Africa, dene propaganda as used in pre-independence and post colonial contexts
and relate them to current practices which profess that public relations is being used as a
developmental tool. A closer look will be taken at the public relations role Ghanas Ministry of
Information plays in the developmental process.
Government Information Ofcers in West Africa, even under colonial rule, were very effective in
the days of single radio and television channels. Communities watched Government newsreels
via battery-charged projectors, with scripts translated into local languages. They were intolerant
of opposing views. Over time, and with the introduction of multiparty systems of government
and media plurality in Africa, the Ministries of Information are groping for more effective ways
of reshaping their functions as well as performing their propaganda roles.
In my conclusion, I propose that it is time for Government Public Relations to facilitate
information across party lines and forge unity among the people around developmental issues.
Concentrating on defending Government at all cost, and acting as a propaganda tool, tends
to sharpen tension between Government and the Opposition Parties and therefore promotes
division among the people. It makes it extremely difcult for Government to succeed with any
serious campaign, on such issues as National Unity, National Discipline, Clean Environment etc.
Developmental issues mostly social and economic are most times interpreted under political
lenses by political parties which invariably take hard and entrenched positions. I recommend
that Government Public Relations could be refashioned to make more tangible contributions to
national development at the same time as it maintains its professional character.
th
PROPAGANDA
Propaganda has not enjoyed a standard denition. Garth Jowett and Victoria ODonnell,
in their book PROPAGANDA AND PERSUASION, 4th ed. Sage Publications, p.7,
dene Propaganda as the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions,
manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the
desired intent of the propagandist. This denition has achieved some recognition
as workable because it gives propaganda a neutral colour which can be seen as
positive or negative depending on the perspective of the person using it. This denition
focuses primarily on the communication process itself and does not lend itself to any
ideological connotation.
However, there are other views that portray Propaganda generally as appealing to
emotion, not intellect. This perspective claims afnity to advertising and public relations
which promotes a commercial product or shapes the perception of an organization, a
government or a brand.
Propaganda, in the early 20
th
century, was used by the founders of the public relations
industry, but Harold Lasswell in an article "The Function of the Propagandist", in International
Journal of Ethics, 38 (no. 3. pp. 258-268) was quick to explain in 1928 that public relations
was used as a term to shield the profession from the ill repute increasingly associated
with the word propaganda. He wrote : "Propaganda has become an epithet of contempt
and hate, and the propagandists have sought protective coloration in such names 'public
relations council,' 'specialist in public education,' 'public relations adviser.'
By the time of the Second World war, the public relations industry began to avoid the word
propaganda because it had gained a negative pejorative connotation.
Long after the War, and as late as 1996, Richard Alan Nelson, in A Chronology and Glossary
of Propaganda in the United States, 1996, describes Propaganda as a systematic form
of purposeful persuasion that attempts to inuence the emotions, attitudes, opinions, and
actions of specied target audiences for ideological, political or commercial purposes
through the controlled transmission of one-sided messages (which may or may not be
factual) via mass media and direct media channels.
Propaganda therefore is noted to have much in common with public information campaigns
by governments, which are intended to encourage or discourage certain forms of behavior
(such as keeping the City Clean, not smoking in public places, and so forth). In most
cases, this form of propaganda takes the form of leaets, posters, TV and radio broadcasts
and can also extend to any other medium. Which means, therefore, that propaganda in its
original sense is neutral, and may also refer to uses which are generally held to be relatively
benign or innocuous, such as public health recommendations, signs encouraging citizens
to participate in a census or election, or messages encouraging persons to report crimes
to the police, among others.
Although, there appears to be some incoherence in its denition, Propaganda is generally
accepted as a form of communication that is aimed at inuencing the attitude of a community
toward some cause or position. Perhaps, as opposed to impartially providing information,
propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to inuence an audience.
It often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular
synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response
to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the
subject in the target audience to further a political agenda.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Is Public Relations any different? Basically it aims to improve public image of organizations,
governments and individuals. It paints a positive side of the organization so it can
inuence attitudes and emotions of target audiences. Admittedly, the worldwide denition
is acknowledged: "the art and social science of analyzing trends, predicting their
consequences, counseling organizational leaders, and implementing planned programs
of action, which will serve both the organization and the public interest." (The rst World
Assembly of Public Relations Associations, held in Mexico City in August 1978).
Traditional tools used in Public Relations include press releases, radio and television
jingles, media kit, brochures, newsletters and annual reports. Increasingly, companies are
utilizing interactive social media, such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook, as tools in their PR
campaigns. Unlike the traditional tools which allowed for only one-way communication,
social media allows the organization to engage in two-way communication, and receive
immediate feedback from their various stakeholders and publics. With the way that the
industry has changed, many organizations now maintain a website with a link, "Press
Room" which would have online versions of their messages.
PROPAGANDA IN PRE-INDEPENDENCE SETTING
The Ministries of Information in most West African states derive their origin from the British
Ministry of Information. The use of cinema by the Information Services Department of the
Ministry of Information is therefore a direct heir to the British experience."The story of the
British cinema in the Second World War is inextricably linked with that of the Ministry of
Information.", says the UK National Archives. Formed on 4 September, 1939, the day after
Britain's declaration of war, the Ministry of Information (MOI) was the central government
department responsible for publicity and propaganda in the Second World War. It was the
Ministry's function to "present the national case to the public at home and abroad".
The Ministry of Information (MOI) of the United Kingdom, headed by the Minister of Information,
was a government department created at the end of World War I and again during World War
II. It was the central government department responsible for publicity and propaganda.
th
In the 1930s communications activities had become a recognized function of government.
Many departments had, however, established public relations divisions, and were reluctant
to give this up to central control.
By early 1939 there was concern that the next war would be a war of nerves involving the
civilian population, and that the government would need to go further than ever before with
every means of publicity utilized and coordinated, as it fought against a well-funded and
established Nazi machine.
The Ministry was responsible for information policy and the output of propaganda material
in Allied and neutral countries, with overseas publicity organised geographically. American
and Empire Divisions continued throughout the war, other areas being covered by a
succession of different divisions.
For home publicity, the Ministry dealt with the planning of general government or
interdepartmental information, and provided common services for public relations activities
of other government departments. The Home Publicity Division (HPD) undertook three
types of campaigns, those requested by other government departments, specic regional
campaigns, and those it initiated itself. Before undertaking a campaign, the MOI would
ensure that propaganda was not being used as a substitute for other activities, including
legislation.
The MOI was dissolved in March 1946, with its residual functions passing to the Central
Ofce of Information (COI), a central organization providing common and specialist
information services.
The Central Ofce of Information (COI) is commonly referred to as UK governments
marketing and communications agency.
The British Colonies, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, the Gambia, included, were not only
targets of the British Ministry of Information public relations and propaganda; they also
inherited a system and structure that has characterized their activities till today.
Environment: West Africa
Today, democracy is a growing trend in most of West Africa. There are still instances
of instability in countries such as Guinea, Cote dIvoire, Togo and Guinea Bissau, but
Liberia and Sierra Leone which went to war for 14 years now have democratically elected
governments. Nigeria, Liberia, Gambia and Ghana are cited here for reference.
GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS IN WEST AFRICA
NIGERIA
The stated mission of the Ministry of Information of Nigeria is to provide the citizenry with
credible and timely information on government activities, programmes and initiatives, while
creating an enabling technological environment for socio-economic development of the nation
Its vision is to create a proactive technology driven public information hub, with effective
feedback mechanism as well as telecommunications transformation in line with global best
practices.
The Ministry of Information has the mandate to proactively inform, enlighten, and educate
the citizenry on the activities, actions, policies and programmes of government and to
initiate and supervise telecommunications policies in Nigeria.
Among other things, the functions of the Ministry include :
To serve as the Federal Public Information outt responsible for professional policy-
making, planning, gathering, processing, packaging and dissemination of essential
and vital information which will enhance and facilitate democratic governance of Nigeria
as a Federal Republic.
To provide professional information services which will project the image and reputation
of the Federal Government and her people as a responsible society.
To develop, design, institutionalize appropriate and generally acceptable public
information and communication policies which will promote information management
and control in a democratic society.
To initiate action programmes, policies, rules and regulations which will ensure the
existence and maintenance of civilized and orderly information and communication
systems in Nigeria consistent with acceptable cultural and conventional norms and
ethics of the Nigerian people and world community.
To provide broad and specic guidelines for development management and operation
of print and electronic media for education, public enlightenment, entertainment and
socio-economic and political development and orientation. In this respect, the Ministry
maintain appropriate relationship with he Press and the Government.
To conduct research, surveys and studies which will enhance better understanding
of the relevance,impact and approach to public information and their implications for
public policies and programmes.
To provide general printing and publishing services to all ministries for effective public
administration and to educational, business and international organizations for their
use.
To represent Nigeria at International level for conferences on information.
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LIBERIA
The Ministry of Information was established by an Act of Legislature in 1965, and endorsed
by executive law of 1972, as the source of information on government activities. Its Public
Affairs Division, according to Minister of Information Laurence Bropleh, serves as the
nerve center of government information and dissemination. It registers and accredits
foreign journalists working in the country.
The New Liberia newspaper established in 1978, is an arm of the Ministry, with a policy to
promote, interpret, analyze and explain government policies, programmes and activities for
public understanding and acceptance, and to publish the views, comments and suggestions
of the public for governments attention and action, and countering misinformation,
distortions and negative propaganda about the government and its functionaries.
GAMBIA
The Ministry of Information in the Gambia is coupled with the portfolio of the Communication
Infrastructure and therefore has an expanded role. According to Minister Alhaji Cham, the
Ministry has been committed to supporting the growth of the ICT industry in the Gambia
and ensuring that every Gambian is connected. And one of the best used tools is the
Ministrys Website which is used to inform and provide access to information regarding our
structures, policies, programs and achievements, particularly in the ICT sector.
GHANAS MINISTRY OF INFORMATION IN MULTI-PARTY DEMOCRACY
On attaining independence from British Colonial Rule in March 1957, Ghana established
the Ministry of Information as the mouthpiece for government information. The Information
Services Department, which the colonial government had used to project its programmes,
activities and messages to the people, was maintained with an even more active mission.
From a one-party rule (1960-66), through a string of military governments,(1966-79) an
attempted multi-party system (1979-81), to a revolutionary government (1981-92), the
Ministry of Information played a more propagandist role actively inuencing the minds of
the people to accept the new dispensation. Whatever rubric the Ministry existed under, its
stated mission was always to play a key role of communicating government policies and
programmes to the people.
Signicantly, despite the changing systems of government throughout the pre-1993 period,
the Ministry had to contend with a growing private media which offered opposing views
against what the government had to say. There were trying moments where the press
resisted attempts at manipulation of information by the Ministry of Information.
From 1993, when the people of Ghana voted in a referendum to practice multi-party
democracy, the political situation has stabilized and the Ministry of Information has had to
enhance its own role.
Ghana currently boasts of some 150 private radio stations, 10 private television stations,
and about 40 private newspapers. This is in addition to one state-owned radio and television
station (Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) with countrywide transmission reach and two
publicly-owned newspapers, the Daily Graphic and the Ghanaian Times. The editorial
positions of majority of the newspapers are anti-government but a signicant proportion
supports the current Government. The private television stations tend to portray a neutral
role, but a couple of them are clearly identied with opposing political traditions.
On the political landscape are two major political parties, the left-leaning National Democratic
Congress and the right-leaning New Patriotic Party both of whom have had a chance to
rule Ghana since 1993. In between, there are three other parties which have representation
in parliament and are therefore signicant.
In an environment where Freedom of the Press is fully guaranteed by the Constitution,
with a National Media Commission legally instituted to insulate the public media from
Governmental control, the only avenue for Government to disseminate information on
its policies and programmes without hindrance is the Ministry of Information. It is the
Ministry which conducts Governments Public Relations. Unlike in the Gambia where
the Ministry of Information is charged with responsibilities for Information Technology,
Ghana has a separate Ministry for Communications. (At some point in the history of the
ministry, it has been renamed from Ministry of Information and Culture, Ministry of Public
Relations, Ministry of Communications, Ministry of Information and Presidential Affairs,
Ministry of Information and National Orientation to the present Ministry of Information).
Although past Ministries of Information have professed to play public relations role for
government, their vision and mission statements have not been the same. Currently,
the public relations role of the Ministry is clearly dened and weighed toward the use of
development communication.
VISION
The stated mission of the Ministry is the attainment of a free, united, informed and prosperous
society with good governance through development communication (emphasis mine).
MISSION
Its mission is to facilitate a two-way free ow of timely and reliable information and
feedback between Government and its various publics and to assist in the development
and coordination of policy; to monitor and evaluate the implementation of programmes and
activities by Sector Agencies of Government.
OBJECTIVES
The Ministry has set itself the following objectives:
1. To strengthen institutional capacity for effective policy formulation and execution.
2. To ensure free ow of public information in pursuance of the open Government policy.
3. To effectively and efciently monitor and evaluate public responses to Government
policies, programmes and activities and provide timely feedback to Government.
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4. To project the image of the country in collaboration with other agencies to attract
foreign investment in consonance with Government policy.
5. To co-ordinate activities of the Presidency towards ensuring uniformity and focus in
executing policies, programmes and activities.
The major shift in the functions of the Ministry as opposed to the past and others in the
region is the reference to open Government policy and the projection of the image of the
country in collaboration with other agencies to attract foreign investment in consonance
with Government policy. The open Government policy has been dictated by forces of
globalization, democratization and information technology growth.
However, what is of further interest here is how the Ministry is structured to play its public
relations and/or propaganda role.
ADMINISTRATION
The Ministry of Information has a general administration headed by a Minister of State
and two Deputies. They are assisted by a line of civil servants referred to as directors and
assistant directors and other secretarial and administrative staff.
It is the Ministry that issues government press releases, responds to media and public
criticisms and comments about government programmes and policies and organizes Press
Brings. Most prominently these days, under the term MEET THE PRESS, the Ministry offers
the platform for other agencies of government to inform the public about their operations.
Although sections of the public refer to these sessions as government propaganda the
press uses the opportunity to ask pertinent questions about the work of particular agencies
of government.
INFORMATION SERVICES DEPARTMENT (ISD)
This is the Department that still carries the character of the old colonial propaganda
machinery. It is established to operate as the main public information and outreach arm of the
Ministry. Under its mandate to create awareness about government policies, programmes
and activities, the ISD operates a eet of cinema vans, manned by trained commentators,
to travel round the districts and communities and explain government policies in local
languages. The cinema vans carry newsreels and lm coverage of government activities
and show them to particularly the rural population. With time, this Department is lacking in
resources, unable to meet its operational costs, and is heavily being crowded out by private
and public radio stations which are now heard countrywide. The challenges become greater
particularly as governments own budget for Information keeps dwindling. The question
arising from this development is : Is the propaganda role of the Ministry declining ?
The ISD also has the function to promote Ghanas international marketing agenda. In the
past, the Ministry paid for advertising and editorial space in leading international newspapers,
magazines and television bulletins, but again the dwindling budget of government coupled
with the rapidly increasing popularity of social media make it difcult for this role to be
effectively performed. Add to this the growth of other agencies like the Ghana Tourist Board
and the Ghana Investment Centre which periodically send delegations outside Ghana to
market Ghanas potentials. If in the past, such advertising space was used to further
the propagandist role of the Ministry, current developments in the international media
landscape have undermined it.
Providing Public Relations support to Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Ghanas
Missions abroad meant that the Information Services Department seconded its own staff to
those various ministries to man their public relations departments. Instead of the Ministries
themselves employing appropriately qualied public relations ofcers, the Information
Services Department posted their own ofcers. The challenges being faced today relate to
the quality, capability and resourcefulness of the staff sent out of the department. This has
resulted in most of them being side-stepped by the Ministers when it comes to Speech
Writing, Newsletter production, Organising Press Conferences and generally providing
Public Relations advice. Increasingly, these seconded staff of the Ministry of Information
are becoming irrelevant and ineffective and with time will fade out to allow the Ministries
to recruit their own staff. Part of the frustration of the PR staff sent out of the Ministry also
relates to the fact that these professionals are treated and remunerated as civil servants
and therefore are de-motivated. Is it a sign that these professionals do not t into the Civil
Service mode ?
The other function of the Information Service Department (ISD) is to get feedback from the
public to government for policy reinforcement or redirection. The Department retains a unit
which collates feedback from the public using the information ofcers and commentators in
the districts and communities. This role is waning because of the lack of resources to gather
information at the speed of light to inform the Ministry. The idea may be plausible, but the
reality is that there have grown new and more sophisticated channels of communication
that can offer feedback reaction much faster than the information ofcers are equipped
to do. Again, until the Department is well resourced to gather information on the eld
must faster that the current realities offer, the continued role of this unit of the Ministry of
Information is questionable.
GHANA NEWS AGENCY
At a time when access to information was limited, Government of Ghana, and other
governments in West Africa, established News Agencies that would gather news and
information and distribute them among news organizations. The West Africa coordinating
body was called the West African News Agency (WANA) while the continental body came to
be called PAN AFRICAN NEWS AGENCY (PANA). The Ghana News Agency is technically a
wing of the Ministry of Information, but the Agency, like its counterparts in the rest of Africa,
is limping. It could not match pace with the rapid growth in information technology; its staff
resigned to take up positions in newly emerging private media houses, and there is barely a
skeleton staff at Ghanas News Agency nding creating ways of staying above water. Once
again, one wing of the Ministry of Information is giving way.
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GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION (GBC)
This was referred to years ago as the Voice of Ghana. Without doubt, the GBC was until the
liberalization of the airwaves the only source of information in Ghana broadcasting outside
the borders of the country. Now facing a competition among 150 odd private radio stations
and 10 television companies, GBC is not the same. Apart from competing for qualied
personnel in a competitive environment, GBC has the added challenge of carrying both
the public programming content and its commercial obligations to advertisers. Salaries of
staff are still subsidized by Government and all attempts at restructuring the corporation
have faced opposition from the staff. Currently there is debate about maintaining a Public
Service Channel funded by the public separately from a Commercial Service Channel
competing with the private commercial stations. Whatever the outcome of this debate, a
strong National Media Commission is in place to ensure that Government does not interfere
with the operations of the Corporation. Again, the Ministry of Information is losing one of its
propaganda wings.
Ghana institute of journalism (gij) and National lm and television institute (nafti)
The Ghana Institute of Journalism(GIJ) and the National Film and Television (NAFTI) are
two professional training institutions, one for journalists and the other for lm and television
producers which have been listed under the Ministry of Information. They used to be funded
by the Ministry and the directors were appointed by the Minister. Currently the GIJ has been
brought under the Ministry of Education and NAFTI is the next to go. If this happens, the
Ministry will not have any direct control of any media training institution.
PR and development communication
There is no doubt that the liberalization of the airwaves, the new environment for Freedom
of Speech and Expression, the constitutional guarantees for Freedom of the Press, and
the rapidly increasing growth of the new media and social media are impacting the original
public relations roles of Government. What is discernible from the Ghana situation is that
despite the incredible expansion of the media scene, a larger proportion of concentration of
the mass media is urban-centered. About a dozen community radio stations for a population
of 22 million, covering 138 districts, supported by private radio stations which are based
in the regional capitals and going more commercial. Apart from ensuring that the urban
centres are provided with accurate, timely and reliable information, Government will be
concerned about the large rural population holding more than 65% of the populace which
have access to less than 30 per cent of newspaper circulation and have disproportionate
number of television sets to watch what is going on.
The private radio stations, which disseminate information to the districts do a lot more
political reporting and news than development journalism. Issues on the environment,
climate change, health, education and sanitation are scarcely discussed, unlike how the
community radio stations do. The Ministry of Information believes that it is its responsibility
to ensure that all those citizens are INFORMED on developmental issues as part of its
public relations duties. In the words of the Minister, Hon. John Tia Akologu, to enable the
Ministry of Information play the role of lead communicator for government, it has identied
the need to develop a coherent outreach strategy for urgent implementation.
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND/OR PROPAGANDA
The Ministry of Information, in its present set-up, cannot be impartial in its presentation of
information to the public. Government is seen more as an entity created by the winning
party in power and therefore has an obligation to its supporters to ensure that they stay
in power. It is clear that most of the wings of the standard Ministry of Information as seen
across West Africa are being clipped with time; but it is a reality that Government must
maintain a Public Relations structure to inform the citizenry, protect its image, provide
advice and monitor expectations . Whether it is in providing its platform to other sector
agencies to canvass support for their programmes, or in explaining Government position
on issues, there will be a high level of partiality, and therefore propaganda. Also, with the
commitment to an Open Government policy, Government needs to nd more creative
and professional ways of reaching the large mass of people who have no access to all the
available private alternate media.
RECOMMENDATIONS
In a country polarized by partisan politics and the opposition perceived to be an enemy,
Government public relations must aim at reaching all the people with impartial messages.
The Ministry of Information of Ghana sees in its vision a united country to be informed
and educated through development communication. This is laudable on paper, but the
frequency with which members of the Opposition see every statement coming from the
Ministry of Information as a pack of lies or negative propaganda speaks volumes about
the perception people have of government public relations. In attempting to use its platform
to inform and educate the people, the Ministry will gain more credibility if it responded to
criticisms of government with constructive and persuasive communication.
The use of Information Service vans to educate the people on social and developmental
issues should be continued and the staff should be well trained and motivated to play clear
public relations roles.
CONCLUSION
Propaganda, in its original context of providing impartial information, cannot be divorced
from the practice of public relations. Coloring information and defending at all cost despite
facts to the contrary cannot be countenanced in an environment where no one person
or agency has monopoly over the truth. Government has a right and the obligation to
inform its people and contribute to educating them but such roles should be performed by
professionals who know the boundaries and the ethics associated with the practice. With
most of its wings falling off, the case for maintaining a fully-edged Ministry of Information,
in Ghana as in any part of West Africa, rather than an Ofce of Public Information, will soon
become a matter for public debate.
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REFERENCES
1. Nordic Journal of African Studies 16(2): 221243 (2007)
Second World War Propaganda, Imperial Idealism and Anti-Colonial Nationalism in
British West Africa
BONNY IBHAWOH
McMaster University, Canada
2. Ministry of Information, Ghana website (www.ghana.gov.gh)
3. Ministry of Information, Nigeria website (www.fmic.gov.ng)
4. African Development Vol.XXX, No 3 & 4, 2000
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Future-Proong a Strategic Communication Team for a Major
Australian Government Entity
by Donald Alexander, David Cameron and Peter Simmons
ABSTRACT
This paper reects on the development and implementation of a program for a new strategic
communication and marketing team (SCG) at the Australian Taxation Ofce (ATO), one of
the Australian Federal Governments largest departments. The program also had to meet a
Federal Government requirement for a vision of a connected and responsive government.
The paper details a six month curriculum delivered to a new group of communicators whose
function was to assist with the development of an organisation-wide sustainable and strategic
communication strategy. The creation of the new group was because the ATO had identied
a number of issues that required attention, such as a lack of an overarching communication
direction, not having agreed evaluation measures and resources not being well planned to
meet a rapidly changing external environment. The group also needed to be concerned with
knowledge and reputation management, stakeholder engagement, and project management
in a contemporary corporate environment. Three key areas identied were:
Cohesion of the SCG as a group of professionals
Effective strategic planning and programming
Integrated communication and social media
The strategic planning and programming component combined in- house planning models with
communication theory and applied conceptual frameworks. The integrated communication
and social media component reviewed conceptual models and case analysis. The program
supported research into, and the formation of, communities of practice and learning occurred
through residential schools, workshops, guest lectures, individual assessments and real group
projects.
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INTRODUCTION
How does one of the largest government departments in Australia plan and implement
a new top level communication strategy designed to develop an integrated approach
for ve business units that dealt with every taxpayer in the country and also provide all
communication staff with a understanding of the rapidly changing external political, business
and social media environments?
One of Australias leading communication teaching universities, Charles Sturt, worked
with the ATO to develop the initial framework of an educational and training strategy that
was created to future-proof a newly formed communication team by providing them
with tools and approaches that would support them to develop as a team and leaders in
communication in a large and otherwise conservative organisation which was facing major
technological and societal pressures. Another outcome for the University was that the
curriculum would also lead to a graduate qualication.
The learning / knowledge /practice continuum was integrated through a multistrategy
delivery and action-research model (Proctor and Kitchen, 2002; Peng and Litteljohn, 2001;
and Pryor, Anderson, Toombs and Humphreys, 2007) developed by Charles Sturt University
academics who had backgrounds and specialised expertise in corporate communication,
employee communication, social media, and communities of practice.
The strategic planning and programming component combined in-house ATO planning
models with contemporary communication theory and applied conceptual frameworks
developed by the University academic staff.
BACKGROUND
Annually, the ATO processes tax returns for 11 million personal taxpayers, and two million
businesses and non-prot organisations. In the 2006-07 tax year the ATO handled over
10 million telephone enquiries, over 25,000 email enquiries and over 700,000 visits to Tax
Ofce shopfronts, and 87 million visits to the ATO website. With over 23,300 employees,
the ATO is the second largest employer in the Federal Government public service.
NEED FOR CHANGE
In 2006 in response to a wide ranging review of its operations (The Buchan Review), the ATO
identied that the function of marketing communication with the ATO was unsustainable
into the future. The Review identied the following issues:
There was no overarching organisational communication strategy for the ATO;
The scope and quality of strategies varied from very good to marginal;
Some communication strategies were never implemented;
Branding needs to move from a function and rules focused regime to the next stage
(:ie promotion of brand ownership and exibility);
There was a need for a stronger research foundation;
A need was identied for agreed evaluation measures to be applied across all
communication activities;
There was no quality assurance of strategy; and
Resources were not well planned and difcult to marshal.
Strategies were separated functionally and geographically and operated in silos which
impacted on the effectiveness of the department.
To address these issues, the Review recommended the creation of a Strategic
Communications Group (SCG) and for this group to be the centre of expertise that leads
and manages the integrated design and delivery of priority marketing communication
strategies for the ATO. (Australian Taxation Ofce, 2007. Strategic Communication Group
(SCG) Proposal Unclassied Draft 31 January 2007 p4.)
Designed to function as an internal consultancy, the SCG was to provide direction and
support to all ATO communication staff within ATO business units and to work within the
existing federated model and move communication from tactical to strategic. SCG
staff were recruited internally from senior communicators within the ATO and also externally
from other government departments (for example, Education, Science and Training;
Treasury); governmental institutions (Australian Sports Commission, Australian Mint) and
private enterprise. Nearly all had undergraduate university qualications in public relations,
public administration, journalism, marketing, science, business administration, and seven
had Masters qualications or were completing Masters Degrees. The SCG was also
geographically dispersed with staff in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra.

Their charter was to provide a quality assurance role to ensure corporate integration,
consistency and integrity of strategy design and implementation (SCG business case,
31/01/2007). They also needed to work with a very large, process-driven corporate entity
with myriad complex cultures and entrenched existing processes and relationships.
The process to be adopted by the SCG was based on an integrated administrative design
(IAD- ATO,2007) that assessed high risk compliance strategies , corporate and campaign
strategies and a business as usual approach. A disciplined strategy dial process
was the foundation for this work, and this incorporated a scoping phase (eg issues,
constraints, reporting and governance); research (internal intelligence, market research);
strategy development (collaborative development for key stakeholder and peer review);
implementation planning ( developing project plans); execution phase (as projects were
the responsibility of line businesses, the SCG had the task of providing assurance through
monitoring); evaluation phase (testing the effectiveness of the strategy against the agreed
objectives and nding key outcomes), and closing (record keeping).
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SOLVING THE PROBLEM
The rst steps were a series of brainstorming sessions held among the CSU
academic staff and the following concepts were initially developed:
A contract was required for the project between the University and the ATO that
would resolve issues of Intellectual Property; and
The curriculum content was to run over six months (this became eight months due to
ATO work pressures).
The ATO had developed a series of communication background documents that
centred on the organisations overall communication strategy for 2007 to 2010 and a
Communication Strategy Dial that set out a framework for scoping a project. It was
the primary objective of the University team to provide the basis for understanding the
context of the framework and to introduce the SCG team members to new ideas and
concepts relevant to the contemporary operational environment.
A MODEL
The academic team decided to use an action research based approach to developing the
programme (Kemmis 2007). The key elements of this approach were based on a Spiral of
Action: Plan, Action, Observe, and Reect. The key factors identied that needed to be
addressed were:
How to deal with change, adapt and overcome problems. Develop and implement a
training program for a new strategy.
Create a relevant curriculum and suitable presenters
What were the internal drivers: a new team that needed to integrate, adapt, innovate,
obtain organisational knowledge, and work to a shared vision
The SCG were dropped in on top of existing communication structures which
would create cultural issues in a huge department.
Three main objectives were identied for the training program conducted in the second half
of 2007.
Objective 1. Enhance the cohesion and effectiveness of the SCG as a unit of professionals
Objective 2. Support campaigning and change communication, within ATO and the SCG
policy framework
Objective 3. Improve the capacity to integrate and innovate in communication leadership
OBJECTIVE 1.
Enhance the cohesion and effectiveness of the SCG
as a unit of professionals
The rst objective was approached from a communities of practice (COP) (see Note
1) standpoint (Wenger, 1999) where reective practitioner research, developed from
Bourdieus (1999) discourse that identied that practice shaped by discourses of the
profession, could be applied to setting up a COP network within the SCG. The aim was to
create a foundation for a COP focussed on an epistemology of practice based on Polyanis
(1967) tacit knowledge which develops from Knowing-in-action through Reection-in-
action into Action research based on the future proong of communication strategies that
already existed within the organisation. The aim was to build a COP that responded to the
new technologies of social media and digital communication through a reexivedialectical
process of research that would provide an insight into evolving new forms of communication.
The focus was for narrative research that dealt with the analysis of the COP as a group
of reective practitioners examining how professionals think in action, Schon (1983) and
reect on critical communication incidents as they related to the introduction of new
communication technology and narrative cultural analysis of the internal corporate culture
operating within the ATO.
Process and delivery
The COP process encouraged them to use corporate cultural narrative as research. These
are the stories that corporations tell themselves to maintain their identity in the face of rapid
changes in communication technology. This was done so the COP could use the narratives
as a medium for understanding the strategies that contributed to the construction of
organisational reality within the organisation.
Such narratives supply a framework of meaning for employees. Cultural narratives play
a role in dening expectations and supplying ways of thinking about the organisation. As
Goffman stated, in large organisations such as the ATO, the codication and restricted
communication practices meant that Reality is being performed (Goffman 1990) within
the organisation despite the changing external reality of evolving digital technology and the
architecture of participation existing within social media applications such as blogs and
wikis.
The aim of this new COP was to prepare messages, identify participants and their online
haunts; must create dialogue, distribute information and erect online forums that help
present the company as a transparent, frank participant in the crisis. (Moore and Seymour
2005, 155)
The issues canvassed as part of the future proong strategy were;
Campaign issues (i.e. compliance, new tax laws) that needed to be addressed much
faster than in the past;
More rapid external problem recognition was required due to new social dialogues;
Individuals and lobby groups have more power in a more transparent electronic
community and information is demanded by clients, Governments, the media and tax
payers.
The effectiveness of responses to marketing campaigns depends on ensuring that
Business uses technology as deftly and loosely as other crisis participants (Moore
and Seymour 2005, 96);
The splintering of audiences creating micro communication environments which
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needed to be acknowledged and factored into all communication strategies;
Shift to all-way communication the ability of millions of individuals to reach in all
directions for data, views and courses of action (Moore and Seymour 2005, 98);
Reframing the message for mobile communication and social media with the
interactivity of social media (text messaging, SMS, email) playing a role in new
message development;
The COP was to be constituted as on a distributed model as it aimed to future- proof itself
by utilising the architecture of participation that exists within social media and produce
user-generated content that would allow leadership to emerge from the group expertise.
OBJECTIVE 2.
Campaigning and change communication, within ATO and the SCG
The second objective was to support the new communication teams effectiveness in
campaigning and change communication. All SCG individuals had extensive and diverse
experience in a range of organisations, mostly from the public sector. As strategic
communicators there was an expectation that they would consider and address all
stakeholder interests, including other government departments, internal audiences and
taxation and nance professionals. The CSU communication program sought to support
the SCG in two ways:
a. Familiarise the SCG recruits with the strategic communication group policy framework
and tools; and
b. Explore frameworks for conceptualising change and change management.
Prior to the program starting, participants were issued with background readings on the SCG
strategy model and templates, the principles underpinning voluntary compliance model for
administering a taxation system, and communication and relationship management.
a. ATO communication policy environment
The program was designed to raise understanding of the ATO brand as a platform for
effective communication, and to support the use of the ATOs Strategy Dial guide.
Although regulatory authorities have power to enforce laws and punish disobedience, the
high costs of surveillance, enforcement and prosecution make coercion an inefcient way to
obtain compliance (Wenzel and Jobling, 2006). The ATO has increasingly shifted towards a
more efcient voluntary compliance approach to the payment of taxes, and has invested
considerably in developing a brand platform that supports voluntary compliance. People
behave more cooperatively when they feel they have been treated fairly and respectfully. The
ATO brand encourages staff behaviours and a level of professionalism that presents the ATO
as trusted advisor, fair administrator, and professional adviser and educator. (Australian
Taxation Ofce, 2005. Brand Navigator and Platform Statement. Copy held by authors).
These qualities are intended to underpin the ATO interactions with Australian taxpayers.
Because the community are aware of the far reaching powers of the ATO should they need
to use them, the fourth dimension to the ATO brand platform, the rm enforcer of the
law, is deliberately made less apparent in ordinary transactions and communication. The
sequence of the workshop program and learning topics was designed to approximate the
stages of the strategy dial described earlier.
The strategic communication and change component of the workshop training focused on
the strategise and plan stages. The workshops aimed to normalise among the SCG an
understanding of change as a strategic process that is not necessarily linear, and which
requires planning and intervention at individual, system and cultural levels. It emphasised
alternative conceptualisations of change and change strategy, and the political dimensions
of change.
b. Change frameworks
Most change management models include rational analysis, a sequence of planning and
management stages, and promote an upbeat and prescriptive tone (Dawson 2004). Others
emphasise stages in individual change (Prochaska and Di Clemente 1982), or interventions
for cultural change (Kotter 1996) or capabilities for change (Turner and Crawford 1998).
But they tend to overlook competing narratives and agendas, conict negotiation, coercive
power, obstructive behaviours and retelling of histories to justify (Dawson 2004). Alternative
conceptualisations explored the concept of opposing pressures, where communicators aim
to diminish status quo pressure or increase change pressure to break equilibrium and facilitate
change (Dawson 2004), and two models for conceptualising effective change inuence as a
simultaneously multilayered, multi-strategy endeavour were introduced to the analysis.
The workshops focused on exploring two change management case studies through
change frameworks analogous to the requirements of the SCG. The rst involved the
introduction at CSU of a new university wide Web 2.0 technology system for online subject
delivery (Sakai, known at CSU as Interact). The second was a public health campaign in
the Australian Capital Territory that sought to improve the quality of the communitys diets
in line with nutrition guidelines.
The analysis reected on, and dissected, the cases using a cultural change framework
that emphasises simultaneous consideration of interventions at structural, systematic
and symbolic levels to effect change (Stace and Dunphy 2005). The Ottawa Charter for
Health Promotion (OCHP) (1986) was also used as a model for change adopted by health
promoters internationally. It emphasises the importance of simultaneously addressing ve
dimensions of change such as public policy, sustaining a supportive environment, strong
community action, developing personal skills and ensuring the organisation can support
the new changed direction.
The SCG recruits were required to reect on the OCHP (1986) commitment to advocacy,
enabling mediation through the involvement of all entities and sectors in a position to
inuence the desired change.
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OBJECTIVE 3.
Improve the capacity to integrate and innovate in
communication leadership
The third key objective of the training was to assist the SCG develop strategies to provide
greater leadership and innovation for projects and campaigns than had previously taken
within the ATO. During the iterative design phase of developing the curriculum, the area of
new and emerging media technology particularly highly participatory forms now commonly
referred to as social media - was identied as a focus for exploring the impact of media
technology on government communication, and opportunities for innovative approaches to
the activities of the SCG.
Two sessions examining online media were provided to the SCG. The rst was focused on
introducing participants to some of the new media forms and their features, especially the
shift from passive audiences to active participants in the construction and distribution of
content. The second session took a more practical approach to providing members of the
SCG with some useful tools that might be used in their day-to-day activities, as well as for
strategic communications within the ATO or with external audiences.
Session 1: Social media and user-generated content
At the time of the rst training session, stories appeared in the Australian media claiming
staff working for the then Prime Minister, John Howard, were editing Wikipedia entries
to remove unfavourable comments about the government. Journalists had used a new
software tool called WikiScanner (http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/) to trace individual edits back
to computer addresses in government departments. This provided an interesting initial
talking point.
Although the Wikipedia story was prominent in the news that day, most of the SCG staff
were unaware that there was a Wikipedia page for the Australian Tax Ofce, and noted that
there were no policies or procedures in place to guide staff in this new online form. The
aim of this rst session was to create awareness of some of the key differences between
traditional communication channels and the new and emerging online forms. The session
focused on the participatory nature of online media, particularly the concepts of user-
generated content and self-publishing. Features relevant for government communicators
were summarised as:
Participation
The blurring of content creator and consumer. People contribute out of curiosity rather than
a deep commitment. Are the few still creating content viewed by the many?
Openness
Content is there for anyone to share, respond to, re-use, and develop. This is most apparent
in the mash-up approach that blends data sources to create a new application. Some
recent advertising slogans: rip, mix, burn (Apple) and create, connect, consume (Nokia)
are evidence of this. Can communicators let go of control of their content?
Conversation
This is not a lecture or broadcast model. But can governments learn to really listen to their
publics? What are the risks in people forums for conversation e.g. aming and moderation
of content.
Community
These applications allow like to nd like. Organisations need to work on a trust economy
in order for their messages to be heard and shared. Can this be seeded or must it emerge
naturally?
Connectedness
Organisations cant limit peoples ability to go elsewhere for information they need to
use online media links to thrive & survive as online content producers; a willingness to
let people link to their resources is vital in order to gain critical mass as an authoritative
source of information.
Part of the session was also devoted to considering the risks to government in using these
emerging media forms as communication channels. This was summed up as the dangers
of anti-social media and loser-generated content.
The lack of clear social media policies and guidelines for all staff within the ATO became
apparent during this discussion and the potential risk that informal or personal opinions may
be confused with those of the organisation were canvassed. At the time of this session there
were few examples of such policies, though they are now more common in both government
(for example those provided by the Australian Government Information Management Ofce:
http://webpublishing.agimo.gov.au/Online_Consultation_Guidelines) and private organisational
settings (for examples see http://laurelpapworth.com/enterprise-list-of-40-social-media-staff-
guidelines/). The potential impact and use of other media forms such as 3D virtual worlds and
mobile media were other communication channels that the ATO could consider.
However it was apparent that the ATO had until that time taken a fairly typical bureaucratic
approach in banning access to these sites from department computers. The SCG staff
questioned how they could monitor references to the ATO in these sites, let alone develop
effective communication through them, when they could not be accessed. It was clear that
issues regarding security and access would need to be resolved with the departments
IT managers if the SCG was to be able to develop effective strategies for using new and
emerging media.
Session 2: A social media toolkit
The second session focused on using technology to enable members of the SCG to
conduct desktop research - theoretical/conceptual research- based mostly on gathering
secondary information from online sources, though the increasing availability of raw data or
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primary source material via the Internet does allow for some original research.
It was identied that desktop research could:
be cheaper and faster than gathering original data (do you mean traditional means?)
use existing research, and prevent re-inventing the wheel
be customised to suit individual projects within the ATO
help to familiarise team members with the resources available within the ATO
be supported by basic computer/online access.
The Social Media Toolkit developed for the ATO communication staff was based on
Calishains 2007 book on information trapping. The session was based around ve areas:
1. Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
RSS technology allows you to see when Websites or services have uploaded new content.
It can be used to subscribe to content such as blogs, news services, and pod casts.
You can even use it to monitor edits to selected Wikipedia articles. The ATO staff were
encouraged to choose a news reader or aggregator program. This is the software that will
track and show the content of the feeds you subscribe to. Some examples are:
Bloglines, http://www.bloglines.com/
FeedZilla,http://www.feedzilla.com/
2. Web-based page monitors
As not all sites or services provide RSS feeds as a means of monitoring new content, SCG
staff were next encouraged to consider using page monitors. This software will compare
versions of a nominated Web page, and then notify the user when some content has been
updated. Two examples are:
Watch that page, http://www.watchthatpage.com
Dapper, http://www.dapper.net/
3. Conversation traps
Calishain (2007) describes the value of being able to tap into the conversations that
take place in online publication spaces such a forums, bulletin boards and blogs. SCG
members were asked to consider the benets of a dialogue approach to marketing and
communication in the world of social media, requiring a need to nd, monitor and participate
in conversations with internal and external ATO stakeholders. Some examples of tools to
assist in conversation tracking are:
Technorati,www.technorati.com/
Del.icio.us,del.icio.us
4. Multimedia monitors
Calishain (2007 164), notes that it is difcult enough keeping track of text-based online
conversations, let alone the multimedia world of images, sound and video. SCG members
considered some of the tools they might use to monitor non-text online media content
relevant to ATO activities. Some examples of multimedia monitoring resources are:
Get a pod cast, getapodcast.com/
Yahoo pod casts, podcasts.yahoo.com
OUTCOMES
At the conclusion of each session a detailed evaluation form was completed. This was to test if
the material being delivered was meeting the expectations of the group, and also to assess if any
changes were required for future sessions. Negatives were that some of the material was too
theoretical, that case studies should have been more reective of the ATO environment, and that
some external presenters did not understand the culture of the ATO. Overall, the feedback was
very positive with most sessions ranked highly for extending knowledge, providing a framework
for issues related to the new work and the skill levels required. A survey of all participants was
undertaken before the sessions commences and they were seeking team building, strategy
development, communication case studies from external organisations and new and rigorous
approaches to communication and problem solving.
In the nal discussion all participants rated the communities of practice, social media, and
understanding the principles of strategic planning as the most valuable.
a) Communities of Practice
Although the community of practice approach had support from the SCG leadership and
recruits, and it was formally embedded in the SCG strategy manual, it proved not to be
effective. This was not the organisation model for a large governmental bureaucracy and
the ATO had misgivings about the ability of the organisation to cope with a radically new
form of communication approach even within the forward thinking elite group they had
established to deal with technological change.
b) Social Media
A key outcome was the development of a very thorough report on the potential applications
of these media to the ATOs channel strategy entitled New and emerging media: Research
review into use in the ATO operating environment. A draft was prepared in early 2008
by Communication Strategists in the SCG and provided a detailed guide on appropriate
applications and use.
Overall, the review found that like any large organisation, the Australian Ofce faced
an enormous challenge making use of new media to improve its internal and external
communications. It found that there had been some exploratory use of new media, but
that growth in its use would become particularly important in light of greater government
accountability for service, responsiveness and the requirement to balance the needs of
different groups (2008, p.51).
It concluded by stating that the two-way communication approach possible in these new
media forms required the ATO to prepare a participative model for new media where users
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can choose appropriate and useful tools to interact with the Tax Ofce. This means new
media tools cannot be prescribed but rather offered for consideration (2008, p.51).
By early 2010, the ATO had adopted some social media tools ostensibly as part its goal of
promoting tax compliance as a characteristic of citizenship in Australia, particularly among
young people and recent immigrants who are seen as presenting a fresh opportunity for
such messages (ATO, 2010). A social media presence has been established using Face
book (http://www.facebook.com/ATOetax) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/ato_gov_au),
though these currently seem limited to a channel for announcements rather than promoting
a dialogue with citizens about taxation issues.
c. Whole of government alignment
The Australian Governments commitment to a national broadband network will see greater
public demand for a stronger and more functional government presence in the online media
space. The opportunities for data and service sharing between departments and agencies
are also increasing.
The role of communication strategies in promoting a whole of government message, and
the contribution of new and emerging media is an area for further research.
d. Privacy and security
As more government communication moves into the networked digital space, issues of
privacy and security will grow in importance. This ranges from issues of internal access and
security of private data, through to questions about the ownership of content that might be
published by government using privately owned online applications and tools.
e. Measurement
A key question for any private or public organisation seeking to make greater use of these
new and emerging technologies is how to measure their effectiveness in terms of the costs
involved in implementing strategies through these applications. While a range of metric
tools are being developed, there is still scope for research into the return on investment. An
alternative view may be to consider the return on engagement, that is, the ability of these
media forms to provide a more engaging and personal experience for individual users that
enhances the success of marketing and communication messages.
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(Note 1) A community of practice is a specic group with a local culture, operating through
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through a common repertoire of knowledge, ways of addressing shared problems and
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Government Communication and the Mass-Mediated Climate Debate
Decision Making, System Integration and Public Communication
by Holger Sievert and Markus Rhomberg
INTRODUCTION: CONFUSED STARTING SITUATION AND TRIPLE
GOVERNMENT MANDATE
Much has been written about government communication and also about climate change
and its consequences. With this paper, we aim to put these two perspectives together and
ask how government communication can contribute or, at worst, even be an obstacle to a
reasonable approach concerning the treatment of global warming. We also view this as an
interesting example to better understand general decision making and system integration as
function of public communication.
The fascinating thing about government communication is that many different perspectives
exist on this subject. Within the German-speaking academic world, (upon which we will focus
here for reasons of space) the two main lines come from administration science and law on
the one hand, and from social sciences, especially communication and political studies on the
other hand. In this paper, we will look at both of these and try to crystalise what is of current
importance for issues relevant to climate change.
We are convinced that this kind of research makes sense because the issue mentioned is one
of the major challenges for modern society. And PR has one of the key roles therein as one
of the causes of debate (especially as a loudspeaker for the different protagonists) as well
as a contributor of possible solutions (e. g. as successful multiplier of problem-solving ideas).
Therefore, various interdependencies, constellations of actors and uncertainties manifest
themselves in the climate-debate (cf. Prins & Rayner 2007a, 2007b). In this paper, we will
argue that nation-state governments have one of the key roles in tackling climate change,
whether they like it or not. This role is differentiated in various aspects:
First, the government has to take decisions regarding which strategies are to be
used to tackle climate change. The government is dependent on scientic uncertainties.
The research on climate change and its ndings are often particularly preliminary and
hypothetical (cf. Weingart et al. 2000, 2002).
Secondly, the government has to integrate various (sub)systems like the economic and
the scientic system into the decision-making process. This is only possible with successful
communication including, but not restricted to media relations. Therefore, government
ofcials have to put together different logics and attempts to tackle climate change to form
a strategy. Much of these communication is not internal, but public. Each system realizes
its own kind of PR on the issue and the simpler the story appears, the easier it is to tell.
The government is one of these actors struggling for attention.
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And thirdly, the government has to communicate the possible impacts of climate
change to the broader public beside the subsystems directly concerned. We are also
interested in understanding what kind of strategies are neglected in politics and the
mass media, whilst other approaches are being prominently discussed (cf. Boykoff
2004, 2007; Carvalho 2007; Corbett & Durfee 2004; Palfremann 2006; Tolan & Berzo
2005; Zehr 2000).
The aim of this paper is to understand what kind of positions concerning climate change
are dominant in the public debate, and why this is so. We also aim to show that the only
successful opportunity to establish a real change is the consequent use and application of
modern crisis communication. However, our aim is not to judge which solution to climate
change is right or wrong, but which communication is appropriate or not and how the
theory of government communication as well as the practice and research of PR in general
can contribute to this important subject.
Hence, our paper is organized as follows: we will rst analyze the two afore-mentioned
perspectives on government communication and how they apply to the issue of climate
change. Following that, we will examine the climate debate itself in more depth, with
particular focus on the way the issue has been communicated thus far. Building on this,
we will suggest how the issue could be communicated differently and what contribution
could be made by modern PR theory. In order to sort our theoretical framework, we rely on
Becks concepts of the Risk Society and the World Risk Society (cf. Beck 1992). And
within PR sciences, it is a good opportunity to test different new and established theories
about Public Affairs and Crisis Communication (cf. Balzer et al. 2009; Bauer 2006;
Harris 2009; Henry 1989; Hoppe 2010; Mahony et al. 2010, Morrison 2009; Nixon et al.
2010; Pedler 1995).
ANALYZING THE CONTEXTS OF GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION
AND THE CLIMATE DEBATE
Government Communication
Law and administrative science perspective
As mentioned above, there are many different perspectives on government communication,
with the main ones in the German-speaking academic world being administration science
and law on one hand and out of communication science on the other hand. A key gure in
the rst of these disciplines is Hermann Hill, who has written an extensive, ve-volume work
on this topic.1 According to Hill (2004: 1), the literature on communication in the public
1 The remark from Hill regarding the history of government communication is interesting in this context. Hill notes that the roots
of state publicity work lie in the middle ages and the disputes between the Kaiser and the Pope. The Prussian government
was also aware of the importance of state publicity work and image maintenance abroad. In the time before World War I, for
example, it was important to mobilise public opinion to develop the German eet. During World War 1, the importance switched
primarily to the campaign for the sale of war bonds. After World War II, it was particularly desirable for the new democratic states
to distance themselves from the National Socialist propaganda, especially that represented by propaganda minister Joseph
sector has become so extensive that it is difcult to understand. He comments that the
term state communication can refer to all communicative relationships of government
bodies, both internal and external. It can also be extended to areas of publicity work,
political marketing and PR.
This paper purely is about the area of government communication. Parliamentary
communication, party communication, administrative communication in the strictest sense
and specic questions regarding election campaign communication will not be dealt with.
Hill, whose roots lie in constitutional law, lays great importance on describing a clear change
in the role of government communication.Whereas previously, a difference was drawn
between the production and the representation of communication of politics, the view is
now gaining increasing prominence that political communication is not only a side-effect
produced before or after the politics itself, but political communication is itself politics. The
classical function of political or government communication was to observe and inuence
public opinion, whether by using information, clarication, image cultivation, persuasion
or justication. This aimed to enable each citizen to exercise his or her democratic rights.
Through understanding and insight, credibility and trust, the legitimization of the state's
actions was to increase and the integration of each citizen in the state was to be achieved.
Alongside the involvement-oriented or participative function of the communication, it
also had a politically pedagogical function, which aimed to promote the education and
development of each citizen.
New approaches are no longer based on approval or acceptance management, but
on the aim of promoting responsivity or resonance with the attitudes or opinions of the
electorate. They also emphasize the procedural nature of political communication as
part of a communicative political development. Instead of communication from above
or politicians' politics, they use consultation and feedback mechanisms as well as
reciprocal dialogues. Communicative measures aim to build relationships and manage
interdependencies. The role of the state thereby primarily involves of the organization or
leadership of societal communication and the maintenance or management of networks.
This is certainly possible on a local and maybe also a regional level that is to say, where the
politics happens close to the citizens. Whether this organisatory role is genuinely dominant
on a national and, particularly, international or global levels, especially regarding topics such
as climate change, will be examined critically and, as far as is possible, answered below.2
Communication and political studies perspective
Alongside the legal and administrative science perspective, there is also the previously
mentioned political and communication science perspective. The starting point for this
perspective is that todays daily life cannot be imagined without media and mass media
in particular. They are omnipresent in politics, economy, education and arts as well as in
the public and private spheres. We spend most of our time using the mass media. The
Goebbels, and develop a new political publicity policy.
2 Hill goes on to focus in more detail on the strict legal conditions for government communication, as they are dened by, amongst
other things, the judgments of the German Constitutional Court. This, however, is not the topic of the present article.
th
concept of media society and its process of mediatization argue that the media are a
societal phenomenon penetrating all areas of modern, globalized societies (Saxer 1998,
2007). Hjarvard (2008: 105) suggests, that the media may no longer be conceived of
as being separate from cultural and other social institutions. () They have become an
integral part of other institutions operations, while they also have achieved a degree of self-
determination and authority that forces other institutions, to greater or lesser degrees, to
submit to their logic. Therefore, mediatized societies act more and more according to the
logic of the mass media. However, the mass-mediated picture of the world isnt a mirror,
mediating real climate events and debates. Instead, it is in particular a construction by the
media and their mechanisms of selection and presentation styles. This fact is especially
obvious for topics that are not part of our direct and primary experience (McCombs & Shaw
1993). If we turn to the more narrowed eld of government communication, Baumgarten
offers a good overview (2010: 53-80). She too begins by breaking down the topic: Many
denitions of political communication are very broad and formulated very generally. Schulz,
for example, denes communication as political if it relates to the exchange of messages
among political actors (Schulz 2008a: 3671). Based on the denition of politics as the
process of producing and implementing generally binding decisions, Jarren and Donges
dene political communication as the central mechanism in the formulation, aggregation,
production and implementation of collectively binding decisions (cf. Jarren/Donges 2006:
22). McNair denes political communication as communication practised by or aimed
at political actors, or communication that contains political actors and their actions (cf.
McNair 2007:4) Political communication is too broadly dened here for it to be of use for
empirical research. We therefore need to specify things somewhat. This is done here by
focusing on the government as an actor. Based on the denition of McNair, the focus is
placed on the government as a potential actor within political communication. Government
communication is then understood as a form of political communication, in which the
government is dened primarily as recipient and initiator in public communications
processes conveyed by the media. Political communication, and thereby government
communication as a form of political communication, is furthermore not only understood
as a means of political, but as politics itself (cf. Sarcinelli 2009: 17f.; Jarren/Donges 2006:
22; Jarren 1994: 663f.). With Korte and Frhlich, political communication is not seen as
an attribute of politics, but more as a central, constitutive condition for the effectivity and
success of government policy. Some authors in the tradition of Deutsch even speak of
politics as communication, i.e. the identity of politics and communication (cf. e.g. Deutsch
1969; Meadow 1980; Schulz 2003: 459).
With specic regard to the position of the government, Baumgarten writes (2010: 53):
Government communication as a form of political communication follows its own,
institutional-organisational logic and particular, normative rules, which differentiates it from
the politifcal communication of other actors, e.g. parties or NGOs. The difference between
actors within and outside the political system implies that the political communication of the
different actors is conducted fundamentally differently. Connected to this, Bentele notes the
difference between functional PR and organised PR (cf. Bentele 1998: 136). Functional PR
is conducted by individual actors. It is usually connected with the appearance of a politician
who only conducts publicity work as part of his role.
Organised PR, however, is conducted primarily by political institutions such as countries.
This publicity work is institutionalised and is implemented by professional PR specialists or
press and publicity departments (cf. Bentele 1998: 136). Jarren points out that political PR of
the government, parliament and administrative departments tends to follow an institutional-
organisational logic and, additionally, is greatly restricted and determined by the normative
rules (cf. Jarren 1994: 659). Brggemann continues this line of thought when he speaks
about the PR of public institutions (cf. Brggemann 2008: 72). The PR of institutions such
as the government is an individual section of political PR, and is subject to its own particular
communications conditions such as the states duty to serve the general good and the
potential comprehensive jurisdiction (cf. Brggemann 2008: 73)
In this section, we have seen that government communication is subject to strong changes.
The issue at hand seems, at least in theory, to offer an ideal eld of application for a
stronger role of the state as an organiser and leader of societal communication. Against
this background, however, stands the development also described above, that government
communication is today no longer primarily the conveying of previously approved content
(if, indeed, it ever took this pure form), but is often rather presented as politics itself. In the
following sections, we will analyse critically whether this intrinsically positive development
really has happened. On the basis of our prior considerations, we could instead fear that
government communication runs the risk of using the topic of climate change as yet another
chance to show itself off. If this is the case, a particular way of dealing with a topic would
almost automatically gain the upper hand. In the rest of the paper, we will investigate, based
on secondary analyses, whether this is the case.
Climate Debate
Science and Risk Communication
The eld of science and risk communications is actually full of subjects that we cannot
experience personally. Instead, we depend on mass media coverage to get a picture of
scientic debates and certain risks. For example, the concept of agenda-setting assumes
that the issue-presentation in the mass media has impacts on the perceptions of these
issues in the public and the political system (McCombs et al. 1997). Issues that are
highlighted prominently in the news become important for the public. Modern risks are, in
many respects, neither directly visible nor directly tangible for our knowledge. These risks
and their potential to endanger modern societies are therefore constructed via the mass
media (Beck, 1992, 2007). Modern society thus notices the climate basically through a
socially dened lter, which is articially constructed and not a mirror of the real climate
(Boykoff & Boykoff 2007; Carvalho 2005; Smith 2005; Stehr & Von Storch, 2009). In addition
to this, the social denition of risks is dependent on scientic uncertainties. The research on
climate change and its ndings are often particularly preliminary and hypothetical (Weingart
et al. 2000, 2002).
Modern societies produce ever more complex problems, which require scientic
interpretations. Science therefore increasingly becomes the basis for both social action and
political decision-making. Scientic ndings, however, are often used without any ostensive
appraisal, for a particular reason, namely to justify positions. This implies that the political
th
system and the government are not dependent on scientic ndings. It only uses them to
justify decisions it had already taken. You can always nd an expert opinion in one direction
and an equally expert opinion in the other direction to suit your interests. In a network
analysis on transnational policies on the ozone hole, Grundmann (1999) refers to the political
instrumentalization of scientic ndings. Government will not give up his power of decision-
making, at least not in the public perception. One can actually observe the tendency of
political communications to inuence the scientic debate. Weingart (2001, 2003) suggests
a politicization of scientic research: by discussing differing scientic expertise in the political
system, these debates are extended into the scientic sphere and politicize the scientic
debate too. Beck also describes a mediatization and politicization of the scientic system
as part of the modernization process in his concept of risk society: until the rst half of
the 20th century, scientists were engaged in inventions about nature, human beings and
the society. Since that time, however, they have been tied into a new frame: in a reexive
phase of research, science has to deal with its prior ndings and its consequences. Since
then it has been confronted with its own products and defects. This has also inuenced
the relationship between science and its environment. Whilst science was previously
celebrated by the public as a successful eld, it has lately been confronted by political
actors, the media and the public with its faults from the past, which became obvious as
follow-up problems. As a consequence, the science lost its monopoly as key dener of
risks. This is ambivalent: on the one hand, a modern and complex society requires more
research for its social progress, but on the other hand, because of the public perception
of scientic uncertainty, science has lost its unique position to dene social problems and
risks in modern societies. Other social actors, formerly the receivers of scientic ndings,
became active deners. So, new denitions are no longer classied purely according to a
scientic coding, but are the result of a social denition process. Therefore, the quality of
a risk is based on two aspects, namely its scientic and its social construction. Especially
risks that are withdrawn from our direct cognition, like radioactivity, harmful substances
and obviously the consequences of climate change, are based on the causalities of their
scientic and social construction (cf. Beck 1992).
The social construction is the result of a public debate that is principally structured by the
mass media. They are the gatekeeper for the selection of coverage, they decide whom
to give speech, and to what extent (cf. Allan et al. 2000; Gamson 1989). Hjarvard (2008)
also argues that mass media play an important role in the production and circulation of
knowledge and interpretations of science. Weingart (1998) points out that with the growing
importance of the media in shaping public opinion, science and perception on the one
hand and a growing dependence of science on scarce resources and thus on public
acceptance on the other, science will become increasingly media-oriented. As early as
1985, Atwater (1985) took reference to the original distinction of agenda-setting research
between obstrusive and unobstrusive issues: obstrusive issues, like the economy, could be
directly experienced by the people, whereas unobstrusive issues are characterized by little
or no direct experience by the public.
Global Warming as a Threat?
Science has established that processes of human origin are inuencing the climate that
human beings are changing the global climate (Von Storch 2009). The emerging consensus
among climate scientists posits a non-trivial risk of considerable climate changes (a global
average temperature regime above 4.5 degrees celsius pre-industrial conditions) much
sooner (within the next few decades) than expected based on past research (cf. Parry et
al. 2009). Signicant changes in climatic conditions are in evidence already but are likely
to become more severe in the future (cf. Parry et al. 2009). Climate changes in the form of
more frequent and more intense weather extremes, for example, will impact both natural
and man-made environments. And, even if global efforts to slow climate change during
the coming decades should be successful (reduction of ow), climate change will continue
because of the build-up of the stock of emissions in the atmosphere and therefore affect the
living conditions of modern societies for decades to come. Von Storch (2009) suggests that
in almost all localities, at present and in the foreseeable future, the frequency distributions of
the temperature continue to shift to higher values, the sea level is rising, amounts of rainfall
are changing, some extremes such as heavy rainfall events will change. This scientic
construct of human-made climate change has been comprehensively formulated by the
UNO climate council, the IPCC.3
But, as Anderson (2009:166) indicates, there is considerable disagreement () how best
to tackle the problem and who needs to be involved. Parry and colleagues (2009) assert
that even the most restrictive emission policies, thus the reduction of greenhouse gases,
leave a sizeable chance that signicant climate change will occur over the next several
decades, probably surpassing the 2c warming target adopted by the European Union and
held by many as dangerous limit beyond we should not pass. In the past decade, climate
policies in North America, in the European Union and in most countries around the world
have almost exclusively focused on mitigation, that is, how best and at what cost to limit
global climate change through reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases (Grothmann
& Patt, 2005: 199; see also EC 2005, 2007a and 2007b, also IPCC, 2007). Mitigation is
essential. However, it cannot remain the only strategy to develop human capacities to live
with palpable climate risks. Therefore, adaptation aims at prevention. We essentially have
the choice between two ways of dealing with climate risks: we can try to manage such risks
or attempt to avoid them. Each strategy generates its own risks.
Although adaptation has not been neglected (cf. the 2007 EC Green Paper on Adaptation;
the 2009 EC White Paper on Adaptation; EC 2007c; IPCC reports), Gwyn Prins and Steve
Rayner (2007a:35) argue that adaptation has consistently been the poor and derided
cousin of emissions reduction in the history of the climate regime. News coverage also
emphasizes mitigation issues rather than adaptation (Boykoff & Timmons 2007). Climate
science is a hotly contested area. Scientists, industry, policymakers and non-governmental
organizations are struggling to establish their particular perspectives on the issue in the
mass media and the public debate. The mass media also play a crucial role in framing
climate change and its scientic, economic, social and political dimensions.
3 Of course, there is no complete consensus in the scientic community on this scientic construct of human-made climate
change (cf. Von Storch 2009; Anderson 2009).
th
We will focus on the communication attempts of governments and policy makers to perform
in the mass media debate, because a broad range of empirical studies show the leading
role of the political system and policy-makers in the news coverage and public debate on
efforts to tackle climate change.
APPLICATION OF THE ANALYSIS TO GOVERNMENT
COMMUNICATION AND THE CLIMATE DEBATE.
How to deal with decision making and uncertainties
For a long time, debates on climate change were almost exclusively located in the scientic
community. It was only at certain events that the political system became aware of the
issue and got involved for a short time. Such couplings were observable at certain summits,
for example the IPCC-sessions and the World Climate Summits, where scientists and
politicians or only politicians had to struggle for a suitable declaration by the end of the
conference. Anderson (2009: 168) points to the proceedings of the Kyoto Protocol in
1997: Peaks in coverage over this time can be directly related to important policy events
such as the Kyoto Protocol. But despite a huge amount of news media coverage, this peak
was relatively short-lived after the event Kyoto. As Alex Kirby (2001), former Environment
Correspondent for BBC News indicates: Alarming or not, climate change is becoming an
increasingly hard subject to sell in much of the media. () Editors are simply bored with
what they think is an old story they have heard before.
Climate change attracted genuine media attention for the rst time when the political
system made it to its very own issue. Wilkins and Patterson (1991) locate this shift from a
scientic to a political perspective in news coverage in the years 1987 and 1988. Several
case studies have shown that the news media tend to follow the political agenda. News
coverage is closely linked to political agenda-setting. Boykoff and Boykoff (2007) showed
that climate coverage is strongly connected to policy developments. Also Trumbo (1996)
found that political sources replaced scientic sources from the 1980s in the US newspaper
coverage on climate change.
An exception can be seen in the case of Germany. Weingart and colleagues (2002)
analyzed that the scientic system rst triggered media attention for climate change by
using dramatic language to present ndings on the impacts of climate change in 1986:
They named their scenario drohende Klimakatastrophe (threatening climate catastrophe),
which implied potentially great damage and the urgent need for immediate action. The
term catastrophy is more focused on one single event than the newer term of change.
Researchers were surprised by the strong media attention and from then on replaced the
term climate catastrophe with the less dramatic notion of climate change. In that case,
it was the media presentation that triggered the political debate, leading Weingart and
colleagues (2002: 280) to conclude that scientists politicized the issue via the mass media.
But in general, the effect of politicization and afterwards mediatization of issues is the rule, not
only for climate change, as Gelbspan (2005) indicates: Normally the path follows the track
of political reporting, as top editors tend to see nearly all issues through a political lens. As
early as 1978, Stuart Hall and his colleagues drew attention to the ways in which government
ofcials tend to obtain privileged access to the news media and become primary deners
of key issues (Hall et al. 1978). Newell (2000) showed these processes of privilege in the
climate debate. This has several reasons: an issue benets from the publicity and the power-
demonstration possibilities of politicians. Furthermore, the media and audience can then
form stronger links between the issue and politicians who are known from former decisions.
Accordingly, the public gets easier an impression of what to think about this issue, as their
own experiences with certain politicians can be associated with that image. This effect can
also be explained with the empowerment of politics and politicians: issues become interesting
for the media when they are located in a decision-making phase and the duty is to establish
clarity. Journalists primarily tend to ask for statements from people who possess the power to
make decisions. At this point the similarities between the logics of politics (decision-making)
and the mass medias mechanisms of selecting an issue (clearness of a situation, action by
an elite person) become obvious (cf. Kaase 1998; Mazzoleni & Schulz 1999; Scharpf 2000).
Science, on the contrary, makes no decisions. Scientists merely present the fundamentals
for political decisions or rather the basics for justifying a decision. Usually, they are not
interesting for the media. Only if scientists are accepted by political leaders, e.g. as
participants in political consultation circles, do certain experts and scientists become
interesting for the media (Grundmann 2006). By virtue of their position these experts are
assigned to the political system, associated with power and therefore get covered in the
media. As a consequence, they get noticed by the public, are cited, receive invitations to
media events and are asked for their opinions. The spiral of attention starts to rotate around
them: by working with the media, scientists learn the mechanisms of the media and to
use them. This situation is good for both the media and the expert: The media can better
work with a person who understands their wishes and the expert can prot from their fame
and media professionalism in further research allocations. Peters and colleagues (2008)
show that, although negative experiences with the media still dominate the perception
of scientists, they perceive more positive than negative impacts on their career in
communications with journalists. Science and media act reciprocally: in an analysis on the
German climate discourse, Post (2008) showed that those scientists who come into active
contact with the media are often those who hold radical positions, and the media select
mostly those scientists with extreme opinions. The climate debate is thus dominated only
by a few publicly known experts: elite persons in terms of the theory of news-value (Galtung
& Ruge 1965) as well as those holding radical positions (Krauss & Von Storch 2005).
The government has to integrate various subsystems like the economic and the scientic
system in the process of decision-making. Therefore, government ofcials have to put
together different logics and attempts on climate change to form a strategy. Much of this
communication is not internal, but public. Various interests from actors from these very
specic functional systems struggle for attention in the mass media. The government is one
of these actors struggling for attention. The way in which the role political communication is
moving away from the pure communication of political activity and towards communication
as political activity in and of itself was described in detail in the contextual chapter above.
th
Which Public Communication of Possible Impacts of Climate Change is
appropriate?
We have already refered to the domination of mitigation issues in the news coverage and
the neglection of adaptation issues (Boykoff & Timmons 2007). The particularities described
above can be observed in the specic question of why the mitigation of greenhouse
gases is so popular in the public debate while the adaptation on climate change is hardly
discussed. Mitigation appears to be a behavior of virtue in the public debate and the mass
media whereas the possibilities of an active climate policy with foresight are presented
only to a minor degree. Barely any attention is given to the fact that the possible outcomes
of mitigation policy cannot be seen until a long time in the future (Krauss & Van Storch
2005; Stehr 2004). What possible reasons are there for the public monopolizing of the
topos of mitigation by the mass media and politics, especially the government? How is this
specic media construction to be explained? To illustrate how the public debate on these
two approaches to tackling climate change is framed, we refer to the case of the Kyoto
Protocol.
Global climate policy is particularly dominated by the Kyoto Protocol. Prins and Rayner
describe it as a symbolically important expression of governments concern about climate
change (Prins & Rayner 2007a). This treaty deals almost exclusively with questions of
the mitigation of greenhouse gases by the industrial countries, but it pays no more than
token attention to the needs of societies to adapt to existing climate change (Prins &
Rayner 2007a). By focusing on mitigation and reduction strategies, the political system
has subdued the political and public debate on other strategies of climate protection. In
the public debate, it seemed that Kyoto is the only game in town. With the promotion of
mitigation as the only concept facing climate change, however, the politics itself loses policy
alternatives. Furthermore, Kyoto became the only indicator for political success in climate
protection in the public perception, therefore it has been turned into a morality play. By
hinting at alternatives for Kyoto, government would admit that the protocol has failed and
was a political mistake.
Mitigation strategies dominate both public debate and media reports in Germany. German
news media primarily present stories about the reduction of greenhouse gases, such as
codications for emission-trades, emission-taxes, or emission-reducing technologies, but
they hardly report stories on the topic of adaption (Post 2008). Kyoto is linked to mitigation in
terms of the concept of news values (Galtung & Ruge 1965), and one can observe the value
of continuity: people know Kyoto and have a vague idea about the topics (mitigation and
reduction), which were discussed there. Media can therefore refer to this prior knowledge
(Fredin et al. 1996; Price & Zaller 1993).
Furthermore, the Kyoto Protocol is an agreement that comprises the most powerful
industrial nations (elite nations) and that was signed by their government-leaders (elite
persons). Since the actors in the political system made themselves responsible for means
of mitigation, one can assume that strategies of mitigation are more rmly anchored in the
political debate than questions of adaption. Through the elite focus of the media and their
concentration on political instead of scientic debates, Kyoto stays prominently in the news.
The Kyoto Process possesses further media-advantages: It is clear and denite (clarity)
because it is aligned on data and gures: gures of output of greenhouse gases, gures in
a dened space of time, rankings of reducing and condemning etc. Kyoto and its process
hold comparabilities, which are realizable by the media. They can show which countries try
to comply with their reduction guidelines by comparison with other countries. Additionally,
the media have the possibility to identify culprits for these developments and start horse-
race-coverage. One can assume, that German media could show Germanys pioneering
role in reducing but also could point on the defaults and neglects of other countries.
Luhmann (2000) describes gures and the value of quantity as follows: Quantities are
always informative, because any particular number is none other than the one mentioned
neither larger nor smaller. And this holds true regardless of whether one understands the
material complex.
Political action is carried out under uncertainties and with an eye on the next elections.
Furthermore, political action is reactive in most cases, e. g. reacting because of media
claims after certain events (cf. Downs 1991). Mass media work in certain planning horizons,
too. But why do the political system and the mass media react to extreme weather events
not in decision-making mode, but only in symbolic political action?
Mitigation and reduction policies are far sighted, but such treaties also postpone political
actions to horizons after the next election and to future constellations of governments.
These delays are popular in politics. Strategies of adaption, on the other hand, for example
the building of coast dams to protect people from oods or the reorganization of health care
services for auxiliary extreme heat in metropolises, would show effective decision-making
by the political system (cf. Stehr 2004). Those strategies would also adjust to political
decision cycles as well as to the attention span of the media. Moreover, such strategies
would be easier to enforce in the political system and would bring big mitigation topics
forwards against the industrial lobby. Finally, such topics would also suit the mechanisms
of the media, because journalists could make stories out of these issues.
What can modern PR theory, e. g. excellence theory, contribute to issues?
The analysis made so far can be applied to the background of current German and
international PR theories. These can even provide possible ideas of how the issue can be
dealt with differently to ensure a more varied approach. Let us begin with common theories
that attempt to explain PR. Examples from the German-speaking world include Baerns
Determinationstheorie (Determination Theory), Benteles Interefkationstheorie (inter-
enabling theory) and, as a more alternative model, Burkarts verstndigungsorientierte
ffentlichkeitsarbeit (clarication oriented publicity work).
The rst theory maintains that media coverage remains constant despite the variety of
publications, meaning that the PR professionals primarily determine the message produced
by the journalists, as well as the timing of that message.
Benteles theory expands on this rst theory, positing a relationship between the PR system
and the journalistic system in which the two systems adapt to and serve one another on
th
individual, organisatorial and systemic levels and in three dimensions: the factual, time and
socio-psychic dimensions.
Burkart, basing his theory on Habermas theory of communicative action, views PR as a
process of mutual understanding. Communication partners must ideally full four basic
communicative criteria: intelligibility, truth, trustworthiness and legitimacy. When these are
violated, as they inveitably will be in the real world, the communicative parties must resort
to a two-way discourse to repair the problem that has arisen. Once the problem has been
repaired, mutual understanding and agreement can be reached, providing a basis for joint
action.
The issue at hand can be seen as being a conrmation of the rst two theories, although
the inter-enabling as Bentele denes it is, as shown above, dominated strongly by politics.
Burkarts approach, however, whilst being admittedly idealistic and extremely strongly
inuenced by the thinking of the Frankfurt School, could, in a diluted version, offer an
alternative approach to the issue.
Outside the German speaking world, there is one name above all that dominates PR theory:
James E: Grunig. We are particularly interested in three theoretical approaches that are
linked with his name: his four type model including the denition of a win-win corridor, his
excellence theory and the theory of situative partial publics.
The four type model denes four types of public communication, along with their historical
development and current usage. The four forms are publicity, public information, asymmetric
communication and symmetric communication. All these can be located somewhere on
a continuum between a pure assymetric model, where the communication is dominated
by the interests of the sender, and a pure cooperative model, where the interests of the
receiver dominate. In the middle of this continuum, where the interests are mixed, is the
so-called win-win corridor.
The aim of Grunigs excellence theory was to produce a general model for excellent PR. The
theory consists of variable factors from subtheories, based upon which Grunig reached his
conclusions. These were that excellent organisations have participatory cultures, organic
structures, symmetric communication systems and a high level of job satisfaction.
Finally, Grunigs theory of situative partial publics denes such partial publics as groups
of people facing a similar problem or opportunity, with a particular activation level (between
non-active and activistic). This activation level can be inuenced by many PR related factors,
making it very important for PR professionals to recognise potential consequences of their
actions for such partial publics.
How can we position our issue in these three approaches of Grunigs, and what can we
learn from them for our issue? Certainly, the government communication on the topic
of climate change, as described above, represents at best asymmetric communication,
and more probably a public information model with a tendency towards a strong publicity
approach. A real win-win model, which would be situated between asymmetric and
symmetric communication, can therefore not really work. Governments seem to see their
own win, to formulate it in the language of game theory, as coming more from their own
victories as a victory for the whole of society.
As ideas of how things can be done better, we can hold up both the excellence theory
and the situative partial publics. The excellence theory would allow criteria for an excellent
government communication on the topic of climate change to be developed. The theory of
situative partial communication could create more room for contributions which aim for a
stronger role of the state as an organiser and leader of societal communication. This would
work because the various aspects of climate change repeatedly represent the creation of
corresponding partial publics.
,CONCLUSION: THE NECESSITY OF A NEW FORM OF EXCELLENCE
THEORY FOR REFORM COMMUNICATION.
With this paper, we aim to put together the academic perspectives of government
communication and climate change, and ask how government communication can
contribute or, at worst, even be an obstacle to a reasonable approach concerning the
treatment of global warming. Our analysis has shown that government communication
is often more an obstacle than an aid for this issue, but that some knowledge about
government communication can help to improve this situation.
The conclusions for the climate debate state the following: Kyoto is a dominant slogan in
the news-coverage and the Kyoto Protocol deals in particular with questions of mitigation.
Therefore, the audience knows the slogan and has a vague idea about the topics.
Consequently the strategies of mitigation dominate the news-coverage and the public
debate. Internationally, the concept of good governance has also achieved increasing
importance. In concepts of the UN and the OECD, particular criteria such as transparency
and accountability are named. A publication of the Canadian Institute on Governance said
that this concept deals not only with the criteria of how power is exercised and how
decisions are made on issues of public concern but also the question of how citizens are
given a voice. These European and international developments will also impact the future
of national government communication.
For the future, a whole array of interesting approaches emerge from this. Firstly, it is of
great importance that we move away from government communication and towards
societal communication when dealing with long-term, future relevant issues, without falling
into a late-1968 idealism. We are talking about the further professionalisation of political
communication in the form of an excellence development (cf. Sievert/Novy 2007, 2008)
and not in any way improved knowledge of how it is possible to feed the electorate with
meaningless words without real content.
th
What is absolutely necessary is to decrease the delays in implementing reform, not just with
regard to this topic. In order to achieve this, it would be useful to develop an Excellence
Theory especially for government communication, based closely or loosely on Grunigs
theory. This would give society, as well as the government, an instrument to deal with
issues differently, more broadly and yet with a stronger target orientation, in order to achieve
reform solutions rather than reform delays.
To reach this point will be, to a certain extent, possible on an academic level, but hard to
implement on a political level. And the issue of climate change alone cannot solve all the
problems with government communication. The journey to get to this point, however, is
worth the effort, as is shown by comparing the topic with the topic of crisis communication
in the business world. Until the 1980s, industries such as the chemical industry aimed
only to avoid problems and almost never to adapt to the catastrophes that might arise.
This has now changed fundamentally, especially with regard to communication. The two
aspects are now more or less equally important. This is a light at the end of the tunnel for
government communication on the issue of climate change, and in general on the topic of
reform communication.
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Government Reputation as an Intangible Value for Public Institutions
and the Communication of Spanish Local Government.
Proposing a Research Framework.
by Karen Sander, Francisco Diaz Lozano and Mara Jos Canel
INTRODUCTION
The idea that organizations success depends in part on how they are viewed by key
stakeholders has led both academic and communication practitioners to suggest frameworks
and models that prescribe steps towards the strategic use of communication. Hallahan
et al. (2007) dene strategic communication as the purposeful use of communication by
an organization to fulll its mission. They identify management, marketing, public relations,
technical communication, political communication, and information/social marketing
campaigns as being the six relevant disciplines for the development, application and
measurement of strategic communication.
Their work suggests the growing convergence of theoretical interests, methodological
approaches and research themes among communication scholars who have tended
to work in thematic silos bounded by journals, divisional conferences and associational
allegiances. Forthcoming work on political public relations (see Strmbck and Kiousus
forthcoming) and on government communication (Sanders and Canel forthcoming) suggest
that the move by scholars to use approaches developed in cognate communication elds
is gaining momentum.
In this study our aim is to apply concepts developed in the elds of public relations and
corporate communication to the subject of government communication. Traditionally political
communication scholars and political scientists have understandably led the eld (see, for
example, Edwards 2003, Seymour Ure 2003, Kumar 2007). Their contributions have been
signicant but have centered on rhetorical chief executive strategies and news media
management (see Sanders and Canel, forthcoming). As yet there has been a limited contribution
to the exploration of government communication from a public relations perspective (see Vos
2006, Gregory 2006, Fisher Liu and Horsley 2007, Vos and Westerhoudt 2008).
One of the key aims of this study will be to explore how reputation, a leading construct for
the operationalization of the value of intangibles in the corporate world (see Cornelissen et
al., 2006), can be applied in the public sector. A second and related aim is to examine how
reputation is related to the management of the strategic communication function in public
sector organizations. In other words, we intend to apply concepts and theories developed
for the corporate world from a public relations perspective to the public sector traditionally
examined from a political communications or political science perspective. This paper will
th
report the preliminary work undertaken in a long-term project examining government
communication and its relationship to the reputation of 78 of the largest Spanish cities.
1

As public sector organizations have diversied in function and grown in size during
recent decades, the study of reputation has extended beyond the commercial sector
(see Jrgensen et al, 1998; Harisalo and Stenvall, 2003). But exactly what government
reputation is, how it is related to communication functions and policies, and how it should
be measured and managed are issues that have still to be claried. We aim to begin this
process of clarication in this study and, as a necessary rst step, we will rst examine the
concept of reputation as applied to the corporate and public sectors and second examine
the concept of government communication.
EXAMINING THE CONCEPT OF REPUTATION
Corporate Reputation
For the corporate world, there is now a considerable body of research on the subject of
reputation even though, as Barnett et al. (2006: 29) noted: Identity, image and reputation
are still often used interchangeably. Following Carmeli and Tishlers review of the concept
(2005), corporate reputation has been dened as depending on the observers perceptions
and interpretations (Clark and Montgomery, 1998: 65), as being a fragile resource (Hall,
1993: 616), which can change over time (Ching et al., 1992: 291), yet enjoys relative stability
(Barney, 1997: 226), reects cumulative investments (Fombrun and Shanley, 1990: 254)
and exists as a concept distinct from other organizational behaviour constructs (Jones,
1996: 286). Researchers have examined the market benets of a positive reputation in
relation to organizational performance (Deephouse, 2000) competitive advantage (Roberts
and Dowling, 2002) and a range of other economic returns (see Fang, 2005).
An important issue in the study of the notion of an organizations reputation is whether
reputation is purely perceptual or purely experiential. This debate is associated with that of
whether corporate reputation and corporate image are to be seen as synonymous or as
different concepts. Gotsi and Wilsons (2001) review of the concept of reputation examines
some of the elds debates about the distinctions between corporate reputation and image,
reecting diverging understandings of the extent to which reputation rests on perception
and/or experience (through the companys activities and services or products provided).
The latest systematic review of the corporate reputation literature (Walker, 2010) found that
the chief distinctions between denitions of organizational identity, image and reputation
1 Funding for the initial study of the communication function of Madrids Mayoral Ofce or Local Council (Ayuntamiento de Madrid)
has been provided by a grant from the Fundacin CEU San Pablo University, Madrid. The more extensive study of the com-
munication function of Spains city halls together with the analysis of public opinion data and city performance data is funded
through grants from two projects. The rst, titled City Reputation and urban development, is funded by the Spanish Minister
for Education and Science (Ref. CSO2009-08599). The second, titled Proposing a model for communicating institutions (ref
CSO2009-09948) is as well funded by the Spanish Minister for Education and Science. Our thanks to these funding institutions
for making this research possible. Karen: para la justicacin de las subvenciones hay que poner las referencias. No s si pasa
lo mismo con el del CEU
found in recent literature could be made along two dimensions (see table 1): rst the
stakeholder dimension where the issue is which groups of stakeholders are invoked,
internal or external stakeholders? Second, Walker found that researchers differentiated
the concepts of organizational identity, image and reputation according to the perceptual
dimension. Here authors distinguish rst according to whether the perceptions are desired
or are the ones that do in fact exist (actual) and second, they distinguish identity, image
and reputation according to what kind of perceptions may be generated. Can they be
positive and negative or both? Walker suggests that the denitions for identity, image and
reputation respond respectively to the following questions: Who/What do we believe we
are? What/who do we want others to think we are? and, for the case of reputation, What
are we seen to be?
The various reviews of the denitional landscape (Gotsi and Wilson, 2001; Barnett et al.,
2006; Walker, 2010) lead us to underline two key elements in understanding the concept
of organizational reputation.
First, to the extent that reputation has to do with stakeholders overall evaluation of a
company over time, reputation is enduring or continuing (Fombrun and van Riel, 2004: 165-
166) and relatively stable. It is not just a function of market position but of past performance
(Shrum and Wuthnow, 1988). If taken over time, reputation has to do with the companys
behaviour towards stakeholders, through its products and services.
Second, to the extent that reputation has to do with features that make the company
distinctive from other companies, reputation is related to the capacity of a company
to identify its strengths and to communicate them to its stakeholders so that the latter
recognize them.
Table 1. Denitional differences between organizational identity, image and reputation
Organizational identity Organizational image Corporate reputation
Stakeholders Internal External Internal and external
Perceptions
Actual
Inside
Desired
Inside
Actual
Inside and outside
Perceptions Positive or negative Positive Positive or negative
Source: Adapted from Walker, 2010: 367
Drawing on his analysis of the literature, Walker (2010: 369-70) identies ve key attributes
for the denition of corporate reputation:
1. Reputation is based on perception. In other words, it is a socially constructed phenomenon
that is not necessarily completely factual. We would underline that dening reputation
th
as a social construct should not imply that reputation is nothing more than that. In other
words, reputation also implies experience of reality because human beings are embodied
beings with natural and practical as well as social relations to reality (see Archer 2000).
Furthermore, this reading of reputation is implicit in this attribute and also in those listed
below that refer to the experience of time and the existence of standards.
2. Reputation is the aggregate perception of all stakeholders, internal and external, related
to specic issues.
3. Reputation is inherently comparative in relation to other companies, specied standards
or as assessed in longitudinal terms.
4. Reputation can be positive or negative.
5. Reputation is established through time and, although prey to its vagaries, is relatively
stable.
In conclusion, Walker offers a denition of corporate reputation as (2010: 370) a relatively
stable, issue specic aggregate perceptual representation of a companys past actions
and future prospects compared against some standard. We would add, with Gotsi and
Wilson (2001), that this representation is related to a stakeholders experience and to
communication providing information about the companys actions.
Reputation in the public sector
The fact that the efciency and reputation of the public sector are key values is generally
recognized but a number of scholars point to a gap in research on public sector organizations
in regard to their reputation and to stakeholder roles in assessing reputation (Mahon and
Wartick, 2003, Luoma-aho 2006, Wiedmann and Prauschke 2006). For example, Walkers
review of reputation literature found only six articles centered on this concept (see 2010: 360).
In most democracies the functions and responsibilities of public sector organization have
steadily increased. At the same time, their resources are increasingly strained, as tough
economic conditions mean that governments must squeeze public budgets. Public sector
organizations seek to legitimize their activities in order to preserve their existence (Luoma-
aho, 2007: 125). Building reputation can be understood as an intangible resource. According
to Cinca et al .(2003), the public sector has traditionally shown some hesitation in applying
and measuring intangible concepts, believing that the facts should speak for themselves.
However, these same authors argue that intangibles may even be more important for public
sector organizations than for commercial corporations; given that the former have multiple
non-nancial objectives they need to achieve (Cinca et al., 2003).
Reputation formation and measurement have yet to be systematically explored for the
public sector. Given the differences in functions, scope, publics and aims between public
and corporate sector organizations, some scholars claim there will also be differences in
how reputation should be understood in the two elds (see Luoma-aho, 2007). However,
Da Silva and Batistas denition of government reputation as the aggregate of stakeholders
images of government over time. (2007: 595) coincides in several respects with Walkers
earlier cited denition of corporate reputation. Luhoma-ahos consideration of the concept
of reputation in the public sector underlines the inuence of the past and hence, the
inuence of an organizations deeds (see 2008, 449). In her view, Reputation is more
related to deeds than its sister concept image which refers to impressions (Luhoma-aho
2008, 449).
For the purposes of our study, we will adopt a denition of government reputation as
a relatively stable, issue specic aggregate perceptual representation of a governments
past actions and future prospects compared against some standard. In other words,
a governments reputation is partly but not entirely in its hands. Given, however, that
reputation is also grounded in perceptions that are shaped by experiences and realities
and that stakeholders perceptions of an organization will inuence their behaviour toward
it for better or worse, governments have everything to play for in seeking to build reputation,
not least in ensuring their democratic mandate.
A number of authors have suggested that focussing on the building of government
reputation requires strategic change for public sector organizations including (Da Silva y
Batista 2007):
a stronger customer-focused orientation,
a better government performance of day-to-day management and operating
activities,
more efcient and effective communication with the public, and
a greater emphasis on recognition
How perceptions incorporate reality (experience) and the role of communication in generating
perceptions is a complex question but it may be argued that the effective implementation of
strategic communication can be a key driver of reputation enhancement. The development
of a model for government communication based on the denition of standards and quality
objectives would, we argue, help bring about the four strategic changes outlined above.
First, however, we need to be clear what is meant by government communication.
Our starting point for this research is to examine the relationship of strategic communication
in building government reputation. This requires us rst to explore the specic characteristics
of government communication and to provide an initial denition of it.
Public and, more specically, government communication involves considerable complexity
in terms of goals, needs, audiences, denition and resources as compared to the corporate
sector (see Sanders and Canel forthcoming). Government communication operates in a
multilayered and organizationally diverse environment. In relation to the issue of goals, for
example, government communication often has to juggle what appear to be conicting
objectives set by political masters. Communication goals related to persuasion are
considered particularly problematic by many scholars particularly by those working in the
political communication tradition (see, for example, Franklin 2004). In relation to publics,
th
government communication operates on a multilayered level, taking into account a very
diverse group of stakeholders including other politicians, service users, minority groups,
regulatory bodies etc. Political considerations, events and culture structure resources,
personnel and goals. Heads of communication, for example, in government ministries,
agencies and institutions may be appointed on the basis of partisan rather than professional
criteria.
Turning next to a denition of government communication, a review of much of the political
communication literature shows that it is often used to refer solely to top-level executive
communication at the presidential or prime ministerial level (see Canel and Sanders
forthcoming). Indeed the vast majority of political communication research centered on
government communication has tended to examine themes such as media management
and ofce holders rhetoric exclusively in relation to senior national government. But
government communication can also be used to refer to communication undertaken by
executive institutions at regional and local levels. Those few studies examining government
communication at this level are almost exclusively found in the public relations literature (see,
for example, Vos 2009). In order to capture the full range of government communication
possibilities, our working denition of it is:
the role, practice, aims and achievements of communication as it takes place in and on
behalf of public institution(s) whose primary end is executive in the service of a political
rationale, and that are constituted on the basis of the peoples indirect or direct consent
and charged to enact their will.
Our research will focus on government communication at the local or municipality level in Spain.
The Local Council (Ayuntamiento) is popularly elected and seats are allocated by proportional
representation. The members of this Council elect the mayor who appoints an executive
committee, leaving the plenary as a debating and checking body, and thus reproducing the
system of relationships between government and Parliament (Canel, 1994). While in most Local
Councils every member of the executive (city councillor ) appoints a press ofcer, in the case of
Madrid it is the mayoral ofce that appoints members for a press ofce which works both (and
mainly) for the mayor and for the members of the executive committee.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Using a mixed methods design, the research project reported in its early stages here
examines qualitative and quantitative data to explore the following research questions:
RQ1. How are the communication functions of Madrids Local Council organized?
RQ2 What is the evaluation of Madrids citizens of their own city (internal stakeholders)?
RQ3 What are other Spanish citizens evaluation of Madrid?
RG4 How can we establish the linkage between the organization of local government
communication and citizens perceptions of municipal performance?
These broad research questions are directed to bringing together and probing data sets in
order later to develop more precise hypotheses.
As we explain below, responding to question one, required rst the development of a model
to examine the communication functions of a political public sector organization in order to
generate relevant quantitative and qualitative data. This provides the basis for developing an
interview schedule to carry out in-depth interviews with key informants and the collection of
relevant documentation and data regarding communication functions, resources, policies,
strategies and processes. The next stage of the research involves the piloting of this model
in the Local Council of Madrid and its subsequent renement and employment for the
analysis of a sample of the remaining 77 cities included in the project.
Complementing and running alongside this research, we also interrogate the public opinion
and performance data collected in the second wave (2009) of data collection concerning
assessments of Spanish city reputations. This stage of the research involves the results of a
large-N survey carried out in 2009 of 9,000 people from the 78 largest Spanish cities of their
perceptions of public authorities and their policy performance. We use the data referring
to evaluations of Madrid and comparative data referring to other major Spanish cities.
These data are examined alongside measures recording the hard facts of delivery of public
policies together with the use of other data sources for information about environment,
housing, safety, mobility, cultural services, social services, quality of life and infrastructures
in Spains major cities. These data have been used to construct reputation rankings (see
www.merco.info) that rest on the assumption that reputation is more closely related to
the result of organizational behavior (see Villafae, 2004) rather than purely perceptual
(what stakeholders think about the organization). According to this view, an organizations
reputation cannot only be measured through perceptions, but also veried by hard facts
and reality checks. This important theoretical question will be explored by examining data
in reference to Madrid to explore, for example, whether citizens are likely to rate highly
their city even when its services are poor or whether positive real life indicators relate to a
positive rating in the citizens ranking of their city.
How are Madrid and its local council, perceived? A very basic initial analysis of data shows
that internal stakeholders rate Madrid differently from external stakeholders. Madrid was
evaluated in top place by MercoCiudads global ranking of reputation based on public
opinion evaluation, expert views and performance indicators. Madrid was also globally
considered to be the best city in which to study, work, do business and have fun. These
evaluations were at variance, however, with the views of the citys own citizens. When
asked questions such as How would you globally evaluate your city? Or If you could
choose any city in Spain to live in, how likely is it that you choose the one you live in now?,
Madrid was outside the top ten places.
What do these data say about a possible gap between internal stakeholders and external
stakeholders? What do these data say about a possible gap between what the organization
(the local council) perceives of itself (the organizational identity), how it communicates its
identity (organizational image) and how it is perceived by stakeholders? What does this
th
mean about a gap between how Madrid performs and how Madrid is perceived? Data
show that citizens are prone to attribute responsibility for different problems to local council
authorities, even when powers are shared with other authorities (like the central government
and the regional government). But nding responses to these questions requires a thorough
examination of the communication ofce, as we propose in the next section.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Developing a model for the analysis of government communication functions
We rooted our development of a model for examining government communication
functions rst in an examination of political communication literature. Our review found
that the discussion here was mainly founded on normative debates about the impact of
professionalization on political communication in general and government communication
in particular. Originally framed as an Americanization hypothesis, the adoption and
development of a set of practices and attitudes collectively known as professionalization
have often been considered by political communication scholars as driven by developments
in US political communication (see, for example, Negrine, 2008). Scholars are now more
likely to ascribe these developments to modernization, the view that professionalization
results from processes of social differentiation and changes in media systems and technology
(Holtz-Bacha 2004). Within political communication, the professionalization thesis can be
summarized as follows: political actors have been forced to adopt and develop complex
communication practices in order to deal with the exacting demands of the contemporary
news environment. According to many political communication scholars, professionalization
has, however, been detrimental to policy making and to the substance of politics leading
to the de-politicization of politics and the loss of ideological identity. In this scenario image
and communication skills become key; political consultants assume more importance than
politicians and politics becomes a strategic game that in part is responsible for the undermining
of citizens trust in political institutions (see Canel, 2007 and Sanders, 2009 for an overview
of these trends). From the political communication perspective, professionalization has
often been cast in a negative role (Hamelink, 2007), although not all researchers take this
view (see, for example, McNair, 2007 and Negrine, 2008).
What is missing both from the political communication literature is a fully worked out
understanding of what communication professionalism means. For this we turned to the
public relations literature. Here we found that researchers have sought to operationalize
indicators of professionalism in government communication. Gregory (2006) provides
a framework for British government communicators designed to drive up performance
and improve the consistency of the communications function across government. The
framework suggests that effective research, planning, implementation, evaluation and
management processes provide the platform for effective communication activity that
should be underpinned by the acquisition of the appropriate skills and competencies.
A Dutch research team (Vos 2006; see also Vos and Westerhoudt 2008), inspired by
the quality management literature, have designed an instrument to assess government
communication in relation to issues such as required competencies, the priority given to
communication, transparency and accessibility. These studies provide pointers for ways
in which researchers can explore in measurable terms what is meant by a professional
government communication and information service, a necessary rst step in understanding
the efcacy, efciency and quality of government communication.
For these reasons, we have built on this public relations work in order to develop a
framework and set of indicators for assessing communication functions. The development
of this model nds its theoretical rationale in the strategic planning and quality management
literature (see Cutlipp et al. 2000; Gregory 2006; Vos 2006).2 The strategic planning and
quality management approaches nicely complement each other. The rst underlines the
importance of coherent and systematic thinking about and implementation of communication
functions and objectives. As Gregory explains (2006), this resulted in the case of UK
government communication in the adoption of a process approach in which ve process
headings were established to provide the framework for training and development. Actions
and competencies linked to information gathering and analysis, planning, implementation,
evaluation and management were established as the basic framework for assessing training
and development needs for government communicators.
There are a range of models available from the quality management literature but a common
approach is to survey three basic aspects of any organization namely, structure, processes
and results. Structure is the set of conditions in which an activity takes place; processes are
the set of ordered actions oriented towards a specic outcome and results are the outcomes
or consequences of processes. Drawing on the experience of quality implementation in
other institutional settings (one member of the research team is quality director for a leading
Spanish hospital), we developed a model for analyzing government communication (see
appendix 1) that could serve as our route map for identifying the relevant data required from
interviews and documentation in the pilot study of Madrids town hall. In addition, as we
rened the model in team discussions, we drew upon Vos (2009: 365-66) work in clarifying
the three functions of government communication as:
Corporate communication. The communication of the public institution as a whole (in
our case the Madrid mayoral ofce).
Policy communication. Communication related to public policies regarding, for
example, the environment, education etc.
Organization-related communication. Communication related to internal processes.
The communication model we have developed will be used to analyze communication
in each of these areas and we hope it will make a useful contribution to the analysis and
evaluation of government communication functions.
2 The strategic planning approach was used in the establishment of a training and development framework for UK government
communicators known as EVOLVE (see Gregory, 2006) and Dutch researchers have formulated instruments inspired by Kaplan
and Nortons balanced scorecard or the European Foundation for Quality Control to help government organizations to com-
municate more effectively with their citizens (Vos, 2006: 250).
th
CONCLUSIONS
Clearly this research is at an early stage in which our initial tasks have been in the rst place
to develop an appropriate instrument and theoretical approach to examine government
communication functions. In second place, we have begun to probe data to see how
we may construct future hypotheses to test the relationship between reputation and
government strategic communication. In particular, we hope to examine whether there are
linkages between policy and communication priorities and citizens evaluations of the city
as external and internal stakeholders.
As Walker puts it (2010: 369), key questions for corporate reputation research are reputation
for what and according to whom? This is true too for public sector reputation. In this paper
we have set out what Spanish citizens and what Madrids own citizens think about their
city in global terms and in respect to specic issues as well as the model by which we will
examine the operation of the Local Councils communication functions. The next stage of
our research will be to pilot the communication model and, through the results obtained,
together with data related to city policy budgets, develop further our understanding of how
public reputation is constructed.
REFERENCES
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APPENDIX

Ayuntamiento de Madrid
Strategies Planes estratgicos (Hay un punto de vista de
Calidad en la estrategia)
Acuerdos explcitos sobre metas a lograr sobre la
comunicacin
Policies
(Regulacin de procesos)
Leyes relevantes (Legislacin sobre libertad de
informacin;
Informacin reservada;
Privacidad; Ley de Comunicacin Institucional y
Publicidad)
Existencia de politicas propias, escritas, que
guien al Dto de comunicacin
Leadership: autoridad y
responsabilidad
Puesto en el organigrama.
Capacidad para la toma de decisiones en
estrategas/polticas de comunicacin
Reward systems Sistema de promociones, reconocimiento; salarios

A
D
M
I
N
I
S
T
R
A
T
I
O
N

Budgets Cules son los presupuestos para las actividades
de comunicacin incluyendo para la contratacin
de personas/servicios externos?
Technology and equipment Equipment for press office and offices of all units
Infrastructure Existencia de recursos que son soportes para el
trabajo de comunicacin: biblioteca, clipping,
transporte/viajes, sistemas de informacin sobre
agenda, mensajera
T
E
C
H
N
O
L
O
G
Y

Buildings and installations Buildings and installations
Skills Hay definiciones de habilidades requeridas por los
comunicadores?
Knowledge Qu titulaciones/formacin tienen las personas
dedicadas a la comunicacin?
Values Hay valores definidos por la organizacin en
documentos?
Existe un compromiso con la calidad en la
institucin
Codes of conduct Documentos publicados

S
T
R
U
C
T
U
R
E

H
U
M
A
N

Division of functions Existen descripciones de puesto con
especificacin de funciones y responsabilidades
(From organizational chart)
Cuntas personas trabajan en funciones de
comunicacin?
Se contratan personas/servicios externos para la
comunicacin?

Information
gathering
Reuniones formales
Existen bases de datos, registros de documentos,
etc
Informationanalysis Se analiza la informacin para la toma de
decisiones o para realizar recomendaciones
Coordinacin y
planificacin
Se fomenta el trabajo en equipo intra e
interdepartamental y la visin sistemica dentro del
Ayuntamiento.
Hay actividades orientadas a tal fin: informativas,
de coordinacin, etc.
Existe un plan de comunicacin interna que se
revisa y actualiza peridicamente
Implementation Protocolos de eventos, relaciones con los medios
Grado de cumplimiento de las acciones previstas
en el Plan de comunicacin Interna

Interna
Feedback
mechanisms
Anlisis de eficacia de comunicacin a travs de
encuestas, buzn de sugerencias
P
R
O
C
E
S
S
E
S

C
O
M
M
U
N
I
C
A
T
I
O
N

Externa Informacin
gathering
Documentos de agenda
Web: convocatorias a medios, transcripciones de
ruedas de prensa, resmenes de prensa,
Convocatorias a ciudadanos y a otros grupos de
inters
Encuestas, buzn de sugerencias
Coordinacin y
planificacin
Se fomenta el trabajo en equipo intra e
interdepartamental y la visin sistemica dentro del
Ayuntamiento.
Hay actividades orientadas a tal fin: informativas,
de coordinacin, etc.
Existe un plan de comunicacin externa que se
revisa y actualiza peridicamente

Feedback
mechanisms
Surveys, content analysis
Sistemas para identificar las necesidades y
expectativas de los stakeholders
Manifesto objectives Comunicacin de la mision, visin, objetivos y
prioridades a los stakeholders
Risk and crisis Planes de crisis
Planes de asesoramiento de riesgo
Accountability Acciones dirigidas a rendir cuentas a los grupos
de inters (eg. Informacin publicada sobre los
presupuestos)
Presentacin de resultados de analisis de datos a
quienes toman decisiones en el Ayuntamiento o
consejeria
S
T
R
A
T
E
G
I
C

Transparency Acciones dirigidas a permitir acceso a la
informacin (p.ej. la atencin a peticiones de
informacin de los ciudadanos)
Financial controls Control de gastos
Seleccin: procesos de contratacin
Formacin: Programas de formacin

S
U
P
P
O
R
T

Recursos humanos

Evaluacin: Mecanismos de evaluacin del
personal
Informed stakeholders Estudios sobre los conocimientos de los grupos
de inters sobre los objetivos de comunicacin
S
O
C
I
A
L

Citizen participation Interaccin en la web; partipacin en la
elaboracin de los objetivos/polticas de la
organizacin
Stakeholders opinions Estudios sobre las opiniones de los grupos de
inters sobre los objetivos de comunicacin
Efficiency Estudios sobre la consecucin de objetivos en
relacin con recursos
E
V
A
L
U
A
T
I
V
E

Efficacy Estudios sobre la consecucin de objetivos
Government credibility Datos de sondeos sobre la confianza de los
ciudananos en la organizacin y sus servicios

R
E
S
U
L
T
S

I
N
T
E
G
R
A
L

Civic engagement Participacin electoral

th
The Prime Minister in front of The Press
The Development of Government Press Conferences in Sweden
by Larske Larsson
INTRODUCTION
Press conferences are a signicant part of governmental public relations. These sessions
can reasonably be regarded as the most standardized form of group contacts a government
has with the media. Historically press conferences have been the almost exclusive form of
governmental-press relations, alongside the circulating of press releases.
This phenomenon has long been examined by Martha Kumar in her ongoing and extensive
studies of US presidential conferences. Her research serves as a foundation and model for
studies of press conferences at the ofce of national political leaders.
This study, part of a broader research project about Swedish government press contacts and
conferences1, presents the historic development of these conferences in terms of the use and
form of such sessions during the last twenty years at the Prime Ministers Ofce. The study
will compare the four governmental periods (two conservative-led center-right, and two social
democratic) and their prime ministers press relations.
The study aims to nd out what importance these conferences do have for the government
in their communication process. Questions for the study are: What development and what
changes can be identied during the period? What differences can be noted between the four
governmental terms of ofce and the four prime ministers? What are the subjects/topics of the
conferences? What forms did the sessions take and can they be classied? To what degree
are joint conferences held together with foreign statesmen?
1Project Press Conferences as a Public Arena; rebro University, funded by the Swedish Research Council.
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HISTORY
Press conferences were rare events for the Swedish prime minister in the 1940s, and there
is no evidence of any such sessions having taken place earlier. Tage Erlander, who took
ofce in 1946 and stayed at the post for twenty-three years, initially held some few press
conferences, and subsequently at most ten conferences per year, most of which were
with a very limited body of invited chief political editors, often only from newspapers that
labeled themselves social democratic, as he did himself. His conferences had the character
of briengs, or when meeting his own editors, could also have a conversational and
deliberate character
2
.
At this time the press had direct contacts with the prime minister. In 1953, Erlander recruited
a young man to perform all kinds of secretarial duties, among them handling press contacts
a person who later was to become much more well known: Olof Palme. Ten years later
the rst press secretary was appointed, after which (1963) the ministry started holding
normal press conferences, i.e. press meetings for news and political reporters. At the
beginning, two such common press conferences were held per year, with all department
ministers present. These broad conferences did not work well from either the arrangers
or the medias perspective and were rather soon replaced by meetings with the press on
specic questions with a specic minister, usually the prime minister (Bjrk 2008).
When Olof Palme became prime minister 1969, the press contacts changed considerably
in form and frequency, both the organized group contacts as well as the mere individual
ones. Palme was press minded interested in having press contacts and enjoying them,
both in the sense of providing informing and speaking to journalists and playfully interacting
with them. He steadily, and on an almost daily basis met with journalists; in a sense he
lived with the press. In the later period of his career, group contacts in the form of press
conferences increased as the demands from journalists for individual interviews became
too burdensome (Bjrk 2008).
Since the beginning of the 1970s the Prime Ministers Ofce has regularly arranged meetings
with the press on current issues and on the agenda of the government.
The Social Democratic Party lost the general election in 1976, making way for a non-
socialist government led by a Center Party prime minister (Torbjrn Flldin). Compared to
the previous term, fewer press sessions with an international agenda were arranged, due to
his focus on domestic politics. In the 1982 election a new political shift occurred, reinstating
Palme as prime minister, a post he retained until he was murdered in 1986. Ingvar Carlsson,
another of Erlanders boys, was then elected the new leader of the Social Democratic
Party and prime minister. Five years later he and his party again lost the election, being
replaced by a conservative-led centre-right government headed by Carl Bildt. The present
study starts at this moment.
2 Data from Tage Erlanders Diaries 1945-1949; 1950-51; 1952 yearly up to 1959, edited and published by Sven Erlander
2001-2009.
Sweden has in the last twenty years passed through ve governmental mandate terms with
four prime ministers (1991-1994, 1994-1998, 1998-2002, 2002-2006, 2006[2010]). Two
of these governments were social democratic and two center-right with one of the social
democratic prime ministers holding power during two terms (or, more precisely, two-and-
a-half terms, as there was a leadership shift in the middle of the second term 1994-1998).
LITERATURE REVIEW
The relationship between the media and government actors and ofcials is described and
analyzed in a number of studies, both in general and concerning the forms and methods
of this relationship. Government press conferences per se have, however, been studied
in a rather limited way. In some British journalism studies from the 1970s, government
press conferences are briey depicted. Tunstall (1971) found that Whitehall journalists
spend nine percent of their time at communal meetings (e.g. press conf.) while face-
to-face interviews with politicians and ofcials were the most prevalent form of contacts.
Half of the interviewed correspondents spent 1-4 hours a week at press conferences
while the rest spent 5-9 hours a week, or in some cases even more, at those sessions.
Briengs, however, were a more frequent format than press conferences; such sessions
were arranged every weekday at 10 Downing Street in the morning and Whitehall in the
afternoon, the morning meetings sometimes being led by the prime minister himself, but
mostly by a press secretary (Tunstall 1970; Cockerell et.al. 1984).
Government press conferences on US soil, in the dense of presidential press conferences,
are the subject of intense and ongoing study by Martha Kumar. Through the years press
conferences have been used to highly varying degrees by US presidents. Roosevelt gave
on average 84 conferences per year, while Nixon and Reagan gave 6-7 per year, and later
on Clinton and G.W. Bush held 24-25 press conferences per year (Kumar 2007).
Three phases can be identied in the relationship between the president and the press,
according to Grossman and Kumar (1979): alliance, competition, and detachment. During
the alliance phase there exists a silent partnership in which the media look for interesting
stories and personalities around the new administration and in which the president also
easily dominate the agenda. The second phase, in full swing by the end of the rst year,
has a more adversarial style with manipulations from both sides, the reporters looking
for problems, controversies and conicts, and the chief executive attempting to steer the
media and to integrate the reporters in various tactical ways. Still there is a strong element
of cooperation. In the third period, often brought on when re-election is announced,
the relationship is managed in a more controlled and structured manner with the aim of
projecting an image and achieving massive exposure for the president. There is also a
tendency to delegate media relations to surrogates (Grossman & Kumar 1979). Graber
agreed with this phase map, also stating that during the later phases, in an attempt to avoid
adverse publicity for the president, press relations are delegated from top ofcials to low-
level ofcials (Graber 1984).
th
The conferences have changed in other ways as well. One such development can be seen
in the fact that alongside the solo conferences that used to be the norm, joint conferences
are also being arranged, mostly together with foreign leaders. Another change is that
presidents choose to hold short question-and-answer sessions with a smaller pool of
journalists instead of traditional conferences with a range of questions from a large body
of reporters. The reason for these changes has been to reduce the potential negative
impact of these events if the presidents stands alone confronted by many questions of a
problematic nature (Kumar 2007).
The use of press conferences and the forms they take differ from president to president.
The phenomenon should be seen from an individual president-centered perspective rather
than a presidency-centered perspective devoid of political and other contextual factors,
Eshbaugh-Soha (2003) claims. Some presidents favor press conferences, as an instrument
to express policy, while others avoid them, as they dislike the media or prefer other means
of communicating (e.g. Kennedy in the rst case and Nixon and Ford in the other). Carolyn
Smith, dening the press conference as a semi-institutional, quasi-spontaneous, inherently
adversarial public encounter, argues in line with this that the exchanges between the
presidents and the press are based on a fundamentally adversarial relationship. The level
of conict has, not surprisingly, differed between presidents over the years, and has also
changed during the same presidency, with Reagan as one example (Smith 1990).
In the Swedish case, micro studies within our research project indicate a more ministerial-
centered than minister-centered perspective. These micro studies also show a less
adversarial relationship than is found in the US. All the same, over the years Swedish prime
ministers have demonstrated different levels of interest in and approval of press relations,
For instance Palme, as already described, enjoyed having contact with the press, while his
political opponent, and the only one to have defeated him in an election, Flldin, showed a
more restrained manner. Among the four prime ministers in the present study we are also
able to identify varying degrees of interaction with the press. The Swedish governmental
press conferences always are announced as having a special theme or topic; there are no
general sessions for all types of questions.
FINDINGS
The body of information for this study consists of records of press conferences 1993-2006,
registered at the government archive and later archived at the Swedish National Archive,
plus web lists of press releases including invitations to all press conferences 2007-2009.
The records/web lists contain data about dates, places, topics, and participants. This data
has been transferred and coded (SPSS) into the following variables: year, ministry, subject,
type of conference, type of participants, name(s). The subject variable contains 50 items,
collapsed to 15 sector items (e.g. foreign relations, economy, social affairs, education). A
problem has been that the topic is not being announced in a number of press conference
invitations.
PRESS CONFERENCES 1993-2009
The Swedish government arranged in total (by/at all ministries) 2740 press conferences
during the period 1993-20093. At the Prime Ministers Ofce (or prime ministry), the object
of this study, 380 press conferences were arranged in this period, yielding an average of 22
conferences per year4. The number and division of the conferences is described in Table 1.
Table 1. Press conferences at the Prime Ministers Ofce 1993-2009
The frequency of press conferences at Rosenbad, where the Prime Ministers Ofce is
located, varies from 8 to 45 conferences per year. Two patterns appear in the distribution
of sessions. Two particular years, 2001 and 2009, had a much higher frequency of
conferences than the other years. The reason can be found in the fact that during these
years (for half a year each time) Sweden held the chairmanship in the EU, resulting in a
number of conferences and briengs in connection with EU events and meetings with EU
leaders in Stockholm. The other pattern is the dip in the number of press conferences in the
middle of governmental terms, which can be noticed especially in 1997 and 2004.
Sweden has experienced four elections in the period being studied. There is reason to
believe that governments (those leaving as well as those taking the ofce) give more press
conferences than normal in election years. This is the case in 1994 and to some extent
2002, but not in the other election years.
The number of press conferences differs between governments and governmental terms.
In the rst period, the center-right government gave close to two conferences a month. In
3 The Swedish Government Ofces are located next to the Prime Ministers Ofce, and comprise 12 departments/ministries
(e.g. the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture) though they formally make up
one integrated institution (2010) together with the prime ministry.
4 Press conferences at the Prime Ministry (Rosenbad), not sessions with the press in other places, e.g. during ministers travels
in Sweden or visiting the EU (Brussels, Strasbourg).
th
the following three terms with social democratic governments the interest in press meetings
was lower. In the last period the center-right government has arranged more than two
sessions per month. Table 2 presents the number of conferences per month.
Table 2. Press conferences per government term and month
_______________________________________________________
Period Government Conf./month

1991-1994 Conservative-centre 1,95
1994-2006 Social democratic 1,7 (1,5)
2006-2009 Conservative-centre 2,4 (2,0)
_______________________________________________________
More precisely, the rst centre-right government held 1,9 press conferences per month
on average, and the current one has held 2,4 conferences per month, while the social
democratic governments in the intervening period stand for 1,7 conferences per month. If
the years when Sweden has chaired the EU are excluded (2001 and 2009), we nd that the
Social Democrats held 1,5 conferences per month while the last and current center-right
government has held 2,0 conferences on average per month. A tendency of having more
press relations can thus be seen for center-right governments.
What do the press conferences held by the Prime Ministers Ofce deal with? What topics
are brought up at these sessions? Table 3 presents a breakdown of the 380 conferences:
Table 3. Press conference main topics
Prime Ministers Ofce 1993-2009
_______________________________________________________
Subject Freq. Percent
Foreign affairs/relations 160 42
EU-questions 94 24
Domestic politic, economy 67 17
Industry incl. communications 14 4
Environmental questions 6 2
Defense 2 1
Education/social questions 3 1
Other areas/topics 20 5
Subject not noted 14 4
Total 380 10
________________________________________________________
5 Calculated for the period 1993-1994.
Two thirds of the total number of conferences are about foreign policy and EU-topics.
Domestic political and economic issues, including administrative items (e.g. changes of
government agencies and appointments of high ofcials) have been the topic of one out of
six conferences. Except for some twenty industrial, infrastructural and environmental cases
central government hardly ever calls the press for sectoral matters. Accordingly, very few
sessions at the prime ministry deal with educational, social, and cultural questions; these are
mostly matters for the responsible government departments and their ministers. The category
of Other areas/topics includes, above all, migration and gender/equality questions, but also
IT/telecom questions. Seventy press conferences had two or more subjects on the agenda;
mostly combinations with EU affairs and environmental/global-warming questions.
Most of the sessions with a foreign agenda are so called joint conferences (cf. Marta Kumar
2007), i.e. are held together with a visiting foreign president/prime minister or FN/EU-leader
etc., or in some cases also a foreign departmental minister.
Governmental press conferences differ in character and type they can provide information
about decisions taken and about bills sent to parliament, they can include an ofcial
statement on an international event, or they can be briengs on questions the government
is working on. Table 4 shows the division of types:
Table 4. Type of press conference,
Prime Ministers Ofce 1993-2009
_______________________________________________________
Type Freq. Percent
Foreign leader visits 154 40
Briengs 58 15
Information on decisions/bills 25 7
Presentation reports/commissions 34 9
Statements 19 5
Crisis issues 19 5
Government/Parliament strategy 17 4
Seminars at the ministry 21 6
Type not claried 33 9
Total 380 100
_______________________________________________________
Visits by foreign leaders, most of them heads of state, regularly result in press conferences
at the Prime Ministers Ofce. These sessions, joint conferences, constitute the most
frequent type. Attending press conferences with foreign dignitaries is normally a task for the
prime minister, but the foreign ministry has also arranged sessions with visiting politicians
from abroad in 45 cases (in some of these cases the guest has participated in conferences
at both ministries).
th
Briengs are the second most frequent type. In most cases these concern EU matters, for
example giving the media information about how to handle questions in the EU machinery.
Information on decisions taken (e.g. bills being sent to parliament) is mostly about overall
domestic questions and the economy. Reports/commissions that are presented are also
primarily about home questions. Less frequent are statements (brief reactions to important,
mostly international, events), strategy declarations on how to deal with parliamentary issues,
and press meetings in connection with seminars/conferences arranged by the government.
Sessions to address crises are primarily connected with major international and domestic
crisis events, e.g. the Estonia shipwreck (1994), terror attacks in the US (2001) and Europe
(2003-4), the murder of the Swedish foreign minister (2003), and the tsunami catastrophe
(2004/05). A predominant number of the brieng occasions, as well as, not surprisingly,
visits by foreign leaders occur in 2001 and 2009, the years when Sweden held the
chairmanship of the EU.
A comparison with other departments/ministries shows that these ministries arrange many
more conferences presenting decisions, reports, presentation and briengs; 75 percent of
their conferences are of this type, compared to 30 percent at the prime ministry.
Who are the actors at the press conferences at the Prime Ministers Ofce? Apart from
the prime minister, other ministers, as well as secretaries and ofcials have hosted the
sessions. The type of actors heading the conferences are illustrated in Table 5:
Table 5. Actors at the Prime Ministers Ofce press conferences
_______________________________________________________
Actor heading the conference Freq. Percent
Prime ministers 273 72
Department ministers 40 11
Political and press secretaries 32 8
Ofcials, commissioners 22 6
Others/Actor not noted 13 3
Total 380 100
_______________________________________________________
Eight out of ten press conferences at the prime ministry are headed and hosted by a
minister, mostly the prime minister who has chaired the sessions in seven out of ten cases.
Political and press secretaries, together with department ofcials and other ofcials, stand
for most of the remaining sessions.
The four actor categories have different tasks and responsibilities in the sense that they
responsible for different types of press conferences. The distribution of roles is illustrated
in Table 6
Table 6. Actor heading the Prime Ministers Ofce press conferences,
arranged by type of conference, percent
_____________________________________________________________________________
Actors Prime Dept Pol./press Ofcials Others Sum
Type ministers ministers secretaries
Foreign leader visits 40 1 0 0 0 41
Briengs 4 3 6 1 1 15
Presentation of reports 3 3 1 2 0 9
Information on decisions 6 1 0 0 0 7
Statements 4 1 0 0 0 5
Crisis issues 5 0 0 0 0 5
Gov./Parliament strategy 4 0 0 0 0 4
Seminars at the ministry 2 1 0 1 1 5
Type not specied 4 1 1 2 1 9
Total 72 11 8 6 3 100
_____________________________________________________________________________
The prime minister is responsible for almost all press conferences with foreign guests and
he (all four prime ministers during the period studied are men) is also the one who stands
for sessions dealing with information about governmental decisions and political strategy
together with all prepared statements and crisis issues. Holding briengs and presenting
reports are, on the other hand mostly tasks for secretaries and ofcials.
At many, or actually most conferences, other actors take part than the person leading the
session, often probably also acting as a spokesperson. Most often it is a foreign visitor. In
other cases the podium is casted together with another (departmental) minister or such a
minister appears together with an ofcial. The number of actors is presented in Table 7.
Table 7. Number of actors at the Prime
Ministers Ofce press conferences
_______________________________________________________
Number of actors Freq. Percent

1 101 27
2 173 46
3 43 11
4 38 10
5- 20 4
(0)* 5 2
Total 380 100
_______________________________________________________
*For 5 sessions actor(s) not noted.
th
During the period studied a single actor appears at 101 sessions. For the rest of the
sessions 2-5 persons/actors, in some rare cases even more, have participated. Most often,
at nearly every other session, the press has met two governmental actors. At every third
session other ministers besides the prime minister have participated, a common pattern
for the most recent government (2006-2010), in which all four party leaders often share the
stage. Up to ve ministers participate in some cases (and on rare occasions several more,
as when a new government is presented).
The prime minister himself has appeared alone at 63 sessions, or in 17 percent of all press
conferences arranged. On 16 occasions a department minister (including the deputy prime
minister) has received the role of sole governmental representative, and on 22 occasions
an ofcial has had the oor alone, in all cases to present the ndings of a government
commission for which he/she was responsible. When such reports are presented, ministers
seldom participate.
Hence the prime minister has appeared together with one or more other actors on 210
occasions, mostly in the 154 cases of hosting a foreign visitor, as we have seen above. At
such joint press conferences, more then one foreign guest has participated in 25 cases.
Departmental ministers have participated in a total of 100 sessions and ofcials in 86
sessions.
A comparison with press conferences at the other (departmental) ministries shows that
departmental ministers participate to a lesser degree (57 percent) than the prime minister at
the sessions at the prime ministry, while ofcials participate to a higher degree (32 percent)
compared with the ones at Rosenbad, mostly when presenting reports and the ndings of
government commissions.
CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION
Press conferences are a very important way for governments to communicate with the
public and be held accountable via the media. These sessions have come to be regarded
as part of the foundation of democratic government, with ofcials being expected to
show that they are responsible to the public by explaining their policies (Kumar 2007:255).
This judgement, made in the context of the US political system, can also be valid for most
other liberal democracies, Sweden included.
In Sweden the Prime Ministers Ofce conducted 380 press conferences during the period
1993-2009, representing 14 percent of all government (all ministries) press conferences
during this period. Signicant differences can be noted over the years, with rather few
sessions being arranged in the middle years (years in the middle of the governmental
terms), while up to 45 sessions are arranged in the years when the Swedish prime minister
holds the EU chairmanship.
One might expect that election years would result in more press meetings than normal,
as incumbent governments seek publicity ahead of the election. However, there is no
consistent evidence for this presumption; it occurred in only two of the election years during
the period studied (1994 and 2002, but not 1998 and 2006).
Government press conferences in Stockholm always are arranged to deal with a specic
theme and the announcement takes up a dened question; there are no general sessions
where all kinds of questions may be discussed (apart from single questions from individual
reporters after an assembled session).
Concerning the agenda for the conferences, foreign affairs, together with EU matters, are
highly predominant; two thirds of all sessions deal with these themes. When foreign/state
and UN/EU leaders visit the country, the prime minister hosts sessions, not the foreign
minister (though he participates at several of these sessions). Domestic questions including
the economy and defense, stand for one fth of the sessions. Prime ministers only give
press meetings when such questions are especially important, e.g. when a new government
announces the implementation of central campaign promises concerning things like taxation
or basic reforms of the social security system. Questions connected with more specialized
sectors, for instance, in the most recent election, educational changes, are seldom on the
central agenda; they are matters for the different departmental ministries and their press
conferences. Defense questions are very rare at sessions hosted by the Prime Ministers
Ofce (even at the defence ministry), a signicant difference from the situation for American
presidents in particular.
The Swedish government conferences are of several types. Apart from those held with
foreign visitors, one in ve sessions can be characterized as fact giving (for instance
providing information about decisions and bills, reading statements and presenting reports)
and one in ve can be characterized as dealing with ongoing questions (like briengs
and declarations on how to deal with issues in parliament). Briengs are often conducted
by political or press secretaries as is the custom in 10 Downing Street (cf. Cockerell et.al.
1984); however daily briengs about the prime ministers schedule do not take place at
Rosenbad where the prime minister resides.
A comparison with Kumars extensive studies of US presidential press conferences shows
similarities in frequency but also in some format aspects (Kumar 2005; 2007). During the
period 1993-2007, president Clinton and president G.W. Bush gave 344 conferences, on
average 24 and 25 conferences per year respectively, close to the Swedish average of 22
sessions per year (in the same period the Swedish prime ministry held 315 conferences to
which 66 sessions can be added for 2008-09).
Another similarity is the design of holding joint conferences together with visiting leading
top politicians. These are, however, more frequent in the US. While 72 percent of the US
sessions are joint sessions, the corresponding gure in the Swedish case is just under
40 percent. Kumar claims that such sessions should be seen as a strategy to reduce the
presidents vulnerability at his meetings with the press and soften the aggressive climate.
th
The same can hardly be said for Sweden, where the reason for joint sessions is the demand
to inform the press when foreign leaders are visiting the country. These sessions can,
however, be expected to have a less critical and questioning character than other sessions,
like the situation in the US (cf. Banning & Billingsley 2007).
A difference between the two countries is that in Sweden others than the head of the
state hold press conferences at the Prime Ministers Ofce. Other (department) ministers,
and more often ofcials, are responsible for more than one fth of the conferences, mostly
as presenters of governmental reports and inquiries, occasions when the prime minister
normally chooses not to participate.
The last conservative led center-right government has shown a steadily increasing number
of press conferences since its entrance in 2006, with a peak in 2009 while holding the
chairmanship in the EU. The question is whether this trend will continue in 2010 or if there will
be a decline, as previously after the EU chairmanship. The answer is clear: The old pattern
with an EU peak thus stands. As for the rst part of the year, the Swedish government has
only held ve sessions, two of which included all four party leaders and can be seen as the
start of the campaign for the election to be held in early autumn 2010.
The present study gives new insights into the way governments carry out their press
meetings, and how the Swedish Prime Ministers Ofces sessions partly differ from those
of other countries being studied.
A central theme in political communication research is the growing medialization or
mediazation of politics (see e.g. Bennett & Entman 2001; Davis 2007; Meyer 2002). This
study has not found any quantitative increase in medialization in recent decades the
frequency of press conferences has not increased during the period but there are other
indications that the government have become more medialized in its communication. The
question remains whether the government nowadays prefers and focuses on other means
of meeting and engaging the press.
REFERENCES
Banning, Stephen A & Billingsley, Susan (2007): Journalist Aggressiveness in Joint Versus Solo
Presidential Press Conferences. Mass Communication & Society 2007/10:4:461-478
Bennett, Lance & Entman, Robert (2001)(ed.): Mediated Politics. Communication in the Future of.
Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Bjrk, Gunnela (2008): Olof Palme och medierna /Olof Palme and the Media/. Ume: Bora
Cockerell, Michael et.al. (1984): Sources close to the Prime Minister. Inside the hidden world of the
news manipulators. London: Macmillan Publ.
Davis, Aeron (2007): The Mediation of Power, A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge
Graber, Doris (1984): Mass Media and American Politics. Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly
Eshbaugh-Soha (2003): Presidential Press Conferences over Time. American Journal of Political
Science 2003/47:2:348-353
Grossman, Michael B & Kumar, Martha, Joynt (1979): The White House and the News Media: The
Phases of their Relationship, Political Science Quarterly 1979/94:X:37-53
Kumar, Martha Joynt (2005): Presidential Press Conferences: The Importance and Evolution of an
Enduring Forum, in Presidential Studies Quarterly 35:1:166-192
Kumar, Martha Joynt (2007): Managing the Presidents Message. The White House Communication
System. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press.
Meyer, Thomas (2002): Media Democracy. How the Media Colonize Politics. Cambridge: Polity
Press
Smith, Carolyn (1990): Presidential Press Conferences. A Critical Approach. New York: Praeger
Tunstall, Jeremy (1970): The Westminster Lobby Correspondents - a sociological study of national
political journalism. London: Routledge & Keegan
Tunstall, Jeremy (1971/1974): Journalists at work. London: Constable
th
New Public Diplomacy Practices in Public Relations
An Analysis of The Shift Away from the Government Model to a
Non-Governmental Organization Model
by Karen Dwek and Toni Muzi Falconi
ABSTRACT
This paper researches new practices of public diplomacy by examining the current scope
of public diplomacy functions and analyzing the shift from traditional government-level
public diplomacy toward a non-governmental public diplomacy. The overall objective is to
comprehend the practical aspects of how public diplomacy is undertaken by non-governmental
organizations (NGOs), and determines whether their work is currently to be dened as public
affairs or whether, if and when in partnership with governments, they also engage in public
diplomacy to inuence the policy decisions of other governments. This work focuses on
analyzing the work of three non-prot, non-governmental organizations, namely the Open
Society Institute & Soros Foundation Network, Human Rights Watch, and the European Civic
Movement for Patients Right. The research showed that public diplomacy primarily consists
of efforts made by a nations embassies and consulates around the world that enhance and
protect the reputation of the nation in foreign countries and foreign publics. Non-governmental
organizations eld of practice lies principally in the realm of public affairs. However, NGOs
and private corporations often become involved in governmental public diplomacy activities
in two circumstances: rst, governments frequently solicit NGOs involvement in their public
diplomacy programs to increase the credibility and outreach of their messages; and second,
NGOs seek to form partnerships with governments to achieve their goals, particularly in
inuencing foreign public policies.
th
INTRODUCTION
Traditional diplomacy has changed over the last decades. The actors who practice public
diplomacy and the manner in which they conduct it has evolved. Governments are being
joined by inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, which are increasingly
becoming transnational and sub-state actors, as they can inuence international relations
and foreign policies, along with political leaders. At the same time, the growth of large
international institutions and powerful advocacy groups, heightened public awareness
and participation in foreign affairs, media sophistication, and the establishment of new
democracies around the world has transformed the way public diplomacy and public
relations are conducted (Seitel 2007, p. 34-35). As the world becomes globally integrated
and new communication technologies continue to advance, governments as well as
organizations are confronted with a greater need to include, in addition to their own
constituencies, foreign publics as part of their stakeholders.
The prominent role played by non-governmental organizations in advancing the Ottawa
Process (1996)1 and in creating the International Criminal Court (1998) was a signicant
departure from the way that international relations had been conducted for much of the
twentieth century. Governments were then the primary actors engaging in public diplomacy,
which is dened as the way governments engage with foreign publics to defend and promote
the image and policies of their countries (Tuch, 1990). In contrast, private corporations and
non-governmental organizations primarily engage in international public affairs activities,
which refer to the relationships built with foreign publics aimed at inuencing their countries
policies. Both public diplomacy and public affairs are part of public relations efforts, as they
each seek to create, develop and maintain relationships between the organizations and
their stakeholders. Governments and non-governmental actors alike strive to advance their
agendas through different types of public relations campaigns, the former through public
diplomacy and the latter through public affairs.
In this light, international relations are experiencing a shift from traditional government-level
public diplomacy toward a non-governmental public diplomacy. For a number of years,
scholars as well as practitioners have dened and described public diplomacy as specic
governmental public relations. However, public diplomacy is increasingly less state-centric
and scholars seek to better understand and include the signicant contribution of non-state
actorsorganizations, both private and non-protin diplomatic efforts and negotiations,
as these are increasingly recognized for playing a valuable role in affecting the attitudes and
opinions of foreign publics. Within this perspective, non-governmental actors would not
only be practicing public affairs activities, but can also become essential public diplomacy
contributors when they work as partners with governments engaged in public diplomacy
efforts. When non-state actors work independently from governments in trying to inuence
foreign policies and representing foreign publics, they are instead clearly engaged in public
affairs activities.
1 It led to the establishment of a treaty banning antipersonnel landmines.
This paper reviews how non-state actors and governments practice public relations. It
examines the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and determines whether
their work is currently to be dened as public affairs or whether, if and when in partnership
with governments, they also engage in public diplomacy to inuence the policy decisions
of other governments. The analysis contributes to the re-denition of concepts, areas of
practices, and actors in public diplomacy. The overall objective will be to comprehend
the practical aspects of how public diplomacy is undertaken by NGOs, while building
relationships with their foreign stakeholders.
RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY
This study focuses on analyzing the work of the Open Society Institute & Soros Foundation
Network and their contribution to help former Soviet Union countries transition from
communism to democracy, as well as Human Rights Watch. In addition to evaluating their
reports, primary research through six semi-conducted in-depth interviews was conducted
with Carroll Bogert,Associate Director, Human Rights Watch, Peggy Hicks, Global Advocacy
Director, Human Rights Watch, Jonas Rolett, Regional Director for Southern Central and
Eastern Europe, Open Society Institute & Soros Foundation, Washington, D.C., Adrien
Ionescu, Program Director, Local Government and Public Service Initiative (LGI), Open
Society Institute & Soros Foundation, Budapest, H.E. Ambassador Simona Miculescu,
Ambassador of Romania to the United Nations and Former Director General of Public
Diplomacy, at the Romanian Foreign Ministry, as well as Public Diplomacy Professor and
Giovanni Moro, political sociologist, Founder of the European Civic Movement for Patients
Rights and of the European policy program Active Citizenship Network, President of
Fondaca, and Professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences of Macerata University. By
interviewing public diplomacy scholars, as well as governmental and non-governmental
public diplomacy practitioners, the study offers relevant insight for evaluating new public
diplomacy practices.
THEORIES & CONCEPTS
Public Diplomacy as a Governmental Practice
The term diplomacy originally referred to the exchange of formal communication between
governments, with the goal of peacefully solving international divergences while respecting
mutual national interests. Diplomacy, or the practice of international relations by sovereign
states, was exclusively the mission of governments accredited representatives. In 1966,
Deutsch called it the art of conducting negotiations between governments (p. 81). From a
governments perspective, public diplomacy, different from diplomacy, is instead described
as the effort to understand, inform and inuence foreign publics in support of foreign
policy objectives.
2
Over the years, the drastic evolution of means of communication has
changed the way every entity, including governments, communicates. State leaders began
to understand the mutual benecial need to build relationships with publics from other
2 U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacys 2008 Report: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/106297.pdf
[Accessed online on October 6, 2009]
th
nations. They were progressively obliged to communicate not only with their counterparts
and their own national citizens, but also with other non-national groups of publics, within
and beyond their own borders. For example, Tuch (1990) states that public diplomacy is a
governments process of communicating with foreign publics in an attempt to bring about
understanding for its nations ideas and ideals, its institutions and cultures, and its national
goals and current policy.
Public Diplomacy as a Public Relations Practice
Public diplomacy needs be understood as part of the broader public relations discipline.
As stated by Signitzer and Coombs, public relations and public diplomacy share some
conceptual convergences, and seek similar objectives and use similar tools (1992:137).
The scholars explain: While public relations theory may well be suited to explain and to
predict the communication behavior of ordinary organizations in both the prot and non-
prot elds, public diplomacy theories, for now, are better suited to the understanding of
the relationship between a nation-state and its foreign publics (1992:138). Governments
practice public diplomacy with foreign publics with the aim of exchanging information,
reducing stereotypes and prejudices, creating sympathy for their own foreign policy and
society model, reducing misconceptions, self-portrayal, and image-building
3
. Public
relations share these same objectives of providing information, correcting misconceptions,
and constructing image and perceptions. Both countries and organizations, according to
this view, seek to inuence their publics through various public relations methods, but they
have different means for achieving their goals.
Governmental Public Diplomacys Constraints
If a government launches a public diplomacy program in order to explain and defend its
policies to foreign audiences, the fact that it is promoting its own decisions suggests the
subjectivity of its communication. In consequence, its credibility and legitimacy are at
stake, and the effectiveness of its messages affected. This criticism of governmental public
diplomacy has contributed to the exponential growth of other public diplomacy actors and
practitioners. As countries are constantly accused of conducting political propaganda with
the premeditated intention of inuencing public opinion in a biased way, non-governmental
organizations and other non-states actors have emerged to assume the role of representing
the international civil societys interests, relatively unconstrained by national interests.
A New Public Diplomacy Approach
Scholars have advanced the concept of new public diplomacy to enlarge the traditional
notion of public diplomacy by governments and inserts the active role of non-state actors.
This approach states that public diplomacy now includes the activity of public, private and
social organizations both for-prot and not-for-prot which seek to create, govern,
and monitor effective relationships with foreign publics, whether in other countries, in
their respective countries or with migrant communities in their country. Non-state actors
now have now become one of the primary players in international relations along with
governments and international organizations by contributing to shaping public policies
3 Koschwitzs public diplomacy sub-objectives. (1986), in Signitzer and Coombs, 1992: 139)
internationally, inuencing foreign public opinion and raising global awareness of social,
political, economic, human rights and legal issues in countries around the world. Exploring
the interaction of non-governmental public diplomacy in the eld of international public
affairs, Saner (2005) has elaborated upon the concept of Development Diplomacy, which
examines non-governmental actors attempts to inuence development policy-making at
national, regional, and intergovernmental levels by organizations mandated to make these
institutions development policies conform to their own developmental agenda. In most
cases, international actors operate in the international arena simultaneously in order to
achieve an agenda, which is common to governments, public and private organizations and
civil society. However, though actors try to work together, each one is also advancing its
own individual interests, values and ideas, which may conict with those of its international
partners. Within this perspective, Valencia (2005) states that in a Multistakeholder Diplomacy
platform, non-governmental organizations play an important role in facilitating communication
between the civil society, governments, and international organizations, while providing
accountability and transparency to the decision-making process. As she states, The
strength of non-states actors lies in working alliance and in co-ordination of their efforts.
NGO Activism in International Affairs
Scholars discuss how NGOs are successful in driving their causes to the top of diplomatic
agendas. NGO diplomacy and activism has been instrumental in democratizing inter-
governmental decision-making, inuencing national policy-making processes, and
building mutual understanding and relationships with foreign publics. NGOs have become
increasingly active and effective in practicing public diplomacy in order to bring their agenda
and concerns to diplomatic leaders and actors in international affairs. Scholars emphasize
that by organizing awareness campaigns, lobbying across national boundaries, monitoring
national public policies, and publishing policies analysis, NGO diplomacy has become
an international experiment in democratizing inter-governmental decision making by
advancing their agendas and disseminating their messages in international affairs (Zhang
and Swartz, 2009). In order to assess NGO impact during negotiations, Betsill and Corell
prepared a table, reproduced below, which provides qualitative results on the level of NGO
inuence. The authors identied three types of NGO inuence- indicators on the negotiating
process: issue framing, agenda setting, and key actors positioning. Issue Framing refers
to the way NGOs conceptualize an environmental problem during negotiations. Agenda
Setting suggests that NGO activities bring a particular problem to the attention of the
international community before and during the ongoing policy process. Finally, Key Actors
Positioning indicates that NGO diplomats have an inuence in shaping the position of key
states during negotiations.
Symmetrical Public Relations Communications
This paper should be understood in light of the Grunig & Hunt public relations models.
As many communication scholars and practitioners assert, typical communication goals
are to inform, to persuade, to motivate and to build mutual understanding with relevant
publics. In their 1984 work Managing Public Relations, James E. Grunig and Todd Hunt
determined four models of public relations: the press agentry/publicity model, the two-way
asymmetric model, the public-information model, and the two-way symmetric model. In
th
chapter two of their book, the authors explain that the two-way symmetric model is the
preferred model as it stipulates that a two-way communications platform allows public and
corporate organizations to effectively create, develop and consolidate their relationships
with foreign stakeholder publics. The symmetric models characteristics, namely the mutual
understanding and two-way balanced effects, allow the organization to maintain its license
to operate with its public.
CURRENT LITERATURE LIMITATIONS
A large number of studies have been dedicated to analyzing the public relations and public
diplomacy efforts of various countries foreign ministries. Regarding the recent shift from
traditional to non-governmental public diplomacy, scholars are increasingly acknowledging
the role of non-governmental actors in the eld of public diplomacy and have elaborated
theories of NGO diplomacy. However, existing studies and research in public diplomacy
encounter numerous weaknesses. Extensive theoretical and historical research has
been conducted, but little empirical knowledge has been developed. Current analysis
contributed to re-dening concepts, areas of practices, and actors in public diplomacy, but
little attention has been devoted to gaining an empirical understanding of how these new
international actors, such as private and public organizations, concretely implement public
diplomacy programs. Studies have focused on governments collaboration with NGOs, but
without emphasizing or describing the NGOs working process.
ANALYSIS
The Perspective of a Government Representative
Miculescu describes her current position at the Romanian Mission at the United Nations
as the purest form of diplomacy. Clarifying her function as diplomat, Miculescu explains
that she practices traditional diplomacy in the sense that she seeks to promote, persuade,
and inuence a government of another country. She presumes that the best example
of traditional diplomacy is the one practiced within the walls of the United Nations: states
representatives use traditional multilateral diplomacy in order to inuence the opinion of the
other 191 ambassadors who sit at the U.N. According to the ambassador, public diplomacy
is, all the efforts that a government makes to inform, persuade, and inuence the public
opinion in a foreign country. Her work includes not only participating in negotiations and
plenary meetings, but also attending public discussions and events, which are all meant to
inuence both foreign governments and the foreign public. In the ambassadors opinion,
public diplomacy is the dialogue between the government and the public opinion of another
country; it is all the coordinated efforts made by a government to improve the image
of its country abroad. Specifying that governments and diplomats are the only public
diplomacy practitioners, she believes these efforts can include the services or the help of
other entities. As the objective is to address a foreign audience, which may have another
mindset, other cultural patterns and different language, Miculescu believes in the importance
and necessity of soliciting public relations agencies as well as non-governmental, public
and private organizations, which may be better positioned and equipped to contribute to
public diplomacy activities. Miculescu states rmly that NGOs are not public diplomacy
practitioners, but public communication practitioners. By not being bound to diplomatic
jargons imposed to member states, they have the advantage of addressing and touching
the public opinion effectively.
Open Society Institute (OSI): policy advocacy, agenda setting, debate framing roles
As stated on the organizations website, the OSI seeks to shape public policies that assure
greater fairness in political, legal, and economic systems and safeguard fundamental rights.
On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to advance justice, education, public
health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI builds alliances across borders
and continents on issues such as corruption and freedom of information. Over the years,
OSI has been increasingly active in shaping the policy decision-making process of Eastern
European countries, managing to get its voice heard by policymakers. Rolett believes
that the organization has been able to ground its credibility and legitimacy in the eyes of
the international political community based on the three following factors: its worldwide
local institutions, its expertise and George Soros personal reputation. OSI implements a
development diplomacy mission as its objective is to inuence development policy-making
at national, regional, and intergovernmental levels in order to make these institutions
development policies conform to OSIs own developmental agenda.
The 2003 Foreign Affairs publication called Beyond Public Diplomacy recognized the work
done in this respect by the Soros Foundation in the Balkans, together with USAID and
European governments in maintaining democratic opposition. By networking and building
dialogue with decision makers, OSI is very involved in both regional and international
advocacy process. In order to illustrate their policy advocacy role, Rolett describes how
his organization managed to bring the human rights situation in Chechnya back on the
table of politicians in Washington a couple of years ago by working jointly with Amnesty
International. When asked how successful the organization is in shaping the agenda of
policymakers in D.C., Rolett found it very difcult to answer due to the complex interaction
of numerous actors. The ability to inuence policymakers varies according to the campaign
contribution, but Rolett admits that OSI is denitely not the only voice at the table. He
strongly believes that working in consultation or in coalition with other organizations is
an effective way of adding some weight to their advocacy campaign. At an OSI triennial
meeting held in London early October 2009, staff members gathered to discuss together
their performances and coming challenges. OSI employees assessed together their
agenda-setting impact. Rolett says, One issue which there was some consensus about,
was putting Roma on the European agenda, because it really wasnt there when OSI started
pushing it, and it really is there now. OSI has also been successful in changing the frame
of policy debates. While defending the Roma in Bulgaria, for instance, the organization
advocated for a couple of years, that the Gypsies have the same rights as any other citizen.
As this strategy was not very effective, the OSI tackled this issue from a different angle and
conducted a study entitled The Cost of Non-Inclusion, which addressed all the economic
implications related to the Roma exclusion. Switching the discussion frame from a rights
th
perspective to an economic question made a drastic difference, and the country was
then willing to address the Roma situation. Finally, an important component of LGI/OSI
work is to be involved in policy decision-making processes, in order to build democracies
where governments will be accountable for their citizens. In this respect, the organizations
target audience includes not only government ofcials and policymakers, but also the
citizens and the civil society concerned by policy changes. OSI plays a considerable role
in facilitating communications between governments and their citizens. On the one hand,
the organization translates governments public policies to the public. On the other hand,
it also reports and explains the citizens need for public services to the governments. The
population should understand the policy decisions undertaken by the government, in order
to be able to hold it accountable for how they spend public funds. OSI not only helps civil
society understanding how to measure performance, but also teaches the government
how to present the information in a way that is understandable and relevant for the civil
society.
But if OSI seems to be a signicant contributor to public diplomacy efforts in Eastern
Europe, its staff and actors rmly consider themselves outsiders to the political world of
state leaders and politicians. Both Rolett and Ionescu refuse to qualify themselves as
diplomats: they agree they are merely communicators, even if they are actively engaged in
foreign policy-making debates.
Human Rights Watch (HRW): Top-down advocacy mission & human rights diplomacy
Since its creation 30 years ago, HRW has been committed to protecting and defending
human rights around the world. The organizations primary objectives are two-fold: to raise
international awareness of human rights abuses, and to bring to justice those responsible
for these crimes. With ofces located on ve continents, HRW achieves its mission and
values by focusing its work around two mechanisms. On the one hand, experts conduct
and report rigorous, objective investigations
4
directly from the eld. On the other hand,
its international staff actively engages in strategic, targeted advocacy/
5
Hicks provides
her conceptualization of HRWs work: We dene 'Advocacy' at Human Rights Watch as
the process of taking the research and expertise that we have on human rights issues
and translating them into policy changes. It is how we engage with policymakers and
the public, in order to use the information we have to inuence human rights situation
worldwide, and to try to enhance protection of human rights. As the ultimate goal is to
obtain policy changes, publishing reports only serves only as a tool to pressure those who
have the power to stop human rights abuses. Getting the word out and exposing human
rights represent intermediary steps to generate policy changes. As HRW is not a mass
membership organization, Hicks explains that their advocacy strategy tends to focus on
engaging more directly with policymakers, referring to what some people often call top-
down advocacy. As Hicks stresses, I dont see the civil society itself as a target as much
as a mechanism or tool that we use to try to inuence policy changes.
4 Human Rights Watch website.
5 Same.
HRWlike most other NGOsbases its international reputation and credibility on the
following factors: private funding, independence from governments, the quality of its
expertise, and the coverage scope of its reports. Bogert believes that the advantage of
Human Rights Watch lies not only in their reporting, positions, and advocacy skills, but in
the fact that they have experts in the ground with technical expertise, which gather facts
that would not otherwise been known. Explaining the differences between governmental
and non-governmental public diplomacy, Bogert believes that NGOs are leaders in public
affairs, as they have the expertise, and the capacity to bring new ideas. Governments by
their nature do not innovate. Thats the role of the civil society, she says. In other words,
creating the impulse to initiate and drive policy changes is the public diplomacy task of non-
governmental organizations.
Human Rights Watch adopts different types of tactics and reporting according to the
situations they are dealing with. One category of reporting seeks to bring to light and expose
unknown human rights abused to the international community. Other types of work aim at
moving standard processing forward. These types of reports describe the organizations
role in inuencing and setting the agenda of political leaders and policymakers. By conducting
and writing about fact-nding mission, HRW makes the international community aware of
human rights violations, and held abusers and policymakers accountable for their actions
or for their lack of actions. Other reports aim at stressing and bringing up the human rights
dimension of a broader global issue, by tackling global issues with a different angle, which
may not have been initially obvious or apparent to the public or the international community.
Framing the debate implies in some cases using a language, a theme or jargon, which will
resonate in politicians mind.
A citizens perspective: concept of active citizenship
Founder of the European Civic Movement for Patients Rights and of the European policy
program Active Citizenship Network, Giovanni Moro built his thoughts, work and career
on the belief that citizens have the ability to shape and inuence public policies. Moro
describes activism as an exercise of responsibilities of organized civil players in the public
policy making. If they are organized and if they act together, they can effectively engage
with policymakers during the whole cycle of policy-making, including the agenda, planning,
decisions and evaluations. He stresses that this notion of active citizens is relatively new.
Before the 1960s, citizens used to be only involved in public affairs by voting, or being
members of political parties or associations. Now, citizens are recently carrying on their
own public policy agenda, acting in the public realm, beyond the simple exercise of the
right to vote. He believes citizens participation has aroused due to the increase lack of
public trust in governmental institutions and representatives, as well as in political parties,
which failed to provide effective public services to the population. Whether it is, by principle,
governments responsibility to serve its citizens, civil society are increasingly in charge of
building, organizing and delivering public services. In this respect, the concept of active
citizenship implies three rights: to perform general interest activities, to perform advocacy
activities, as well as to participate in policy making. By putting in place collective initiatives,
citizens implement existing rights, take care of common goods and empower citizens.
th
DISCUSSION
Dening tasks, boundaries and overlaps in the public diplomacy profession
Ambassador Miculescu from Romania, as well as the representatives of Human Rights
Watch, the Soros Foundation and the European Civic Movement for Patients Right, all
gave evidence that they are - each with their own particular contribution - engaged in public
diplomacy efforts. These actors use different concepts and terminologies to dene their
work, but they have similar objectives: to bear consequences on specic foreign publics.
Whether states refer to government public diplomacy, non-governmental organizations
practice NGO advocacy, or Giovanni Moro calls its contribution civic activism; they have
the common characteristic of engaging in public relations efforts, as they seek to create,
develop and maintain relationships with their foreign publics and stakeholders.
The government representative states that it is the only public diplomacy practitioners who
are responsible for enhancing and eventually protecting the reputation of the nation in foreign
countries and foreign publics, while welcoming and soliciting the involvement of other non-
state actors. Also, interviewed non-governmental actors did not identify themselves as
public diplomacy practitioners, but rather as public affairs actors, acknowledging as well that
public diplomacy is the governmental representatives eld of practice. NGO representatives
refused to characterize their work as similar to that of governments, as their raison-dtre
is also based on the idea that the civil society does not normally trust governments. The
NGO representatives perceived their mission and work as completely independent from
governments sphere of action. Yet, NGOs are often required to partner with governments
to accomplish their goals and in these cases, they contribute signicantly to the eld of
public diplomacy, particularly in the development of foreign public policy. They effectively
attempt to frame their agendas in a way that would attract policy-makers attention, and get
themselves involved in the policy decision-making process in foreign countries. Generating
policy changes requires a fortiori an interaction between governments and NGOs. Whether
their contact is cordial, conicting or collaborative, a relationship between the two actors
needs to be established for impact and change to take place.
NGOs are sometimes unable to develop a dialogue with certain countries for various
reasons. In those cases, NGOs often seek understanding and support from governments of
other countries who may have a say and the will to exert pressure on recalcitrant countries
or to generate policy changes. Non-governmental actors turn to governments and policy-
makers to achieve their own public affairs agenda. When partnering with governments
or contributing to governmental programs, NGOs continue in their public affairs role,
but also begin to move in public diplomacy circles. They capitalize on their relationships
with governments to inuence the behavior of public diplomacy practitioners and, in
the process, advance their own public affairs agendas. They seek to build and maintain
effective relationships with foreign publics, whether in other countries, in the country they
are based, or with migrant communities in their country. Additionally, representatives of
the civil society builds relationships with national and international governmental entities
with the aim of seeing public policy programs implemented in a region which includes the
territories of those countries. Even if civil societies and private institutions perform a public
service, they are obliged to receive the approval of government bodies to maintain their
license to operate and contribute to public affairs efforts and programs.
Public diplomacy collaboration as a tool for third-party endorsement
Effective public diplomacy practices require joint and coordinated efforts between different
public diplomacy actors. Each interviewee narrated the importance and necessity of
working in partnership with other public affairs actors. Interlocutors expressed extensively
how State and non-States actors collaboration is mutually benecial for the achievement
of respective agendas. By seeking to connect their efforts, public diplomacy practitioners
often welcome a third-party endorsement, which increases the credibility of their work and
improves their access to their publics. On the one hand, government relations strategy
relies on non-state actors third-party advocacy to promote their national interests. On the
other hand, NGOs advocacy strategy solicits governments endorsement of their public
policy activities. Due to the vast number of players in the eld of international relations,
governmental and non-governmental actors are compelled to cooperate. In doing so, they
increase the reach and impact of their messages. While the use of third-party endorsement
is historically at the center of public relations theories, and belongs to public relations body
of knowledge, public diplomacy appears to be referring to the same mechanism in order to
gain credibility and facilitate outreach.
As communication technologies and the global network society continuously facilitate
interactions between people, citizens and international relations actors, the necessity of
third-party endorsement in the context of public diplomacy should be re-evaluated. New
digital communication tools, such as the Internet and specically social media platforms,
have simplied and accelerated the extent to which people are accessible and the manner in
which they communicate with each other. In a world where Web 2.0 (interactive applications)
has made communication easier, the need for third-party endorsement and partnerships is
no longer as apparent as it was. However, in the case of non-governmental organizations
and civil society, interviewees from the Soros Foundation, Human Rights Watch and the
Civic Activism Network emphasized that working in partnership with governments and other
non-governmental organizations gives their opinions more weight. Addressing the roles of
NGOs in the eld of international public relations, Tkalac and Pavicic (2003: 499) explain
that, NGOs have to struggle to gain public attention among many competing interests
while also overcoming indifference of this international audience. They also have to compete
with various powerful opponents such as governments, multinational companies, and
international nancial institutions that are supported by highly organized public relations. In
other words, the multiplicity of non-state actors in the eld of public diplomacy presents a
challenge that can, in some cases, be addressed by joining forces. In public relations terms,
this has always been referred to as coalition building. In the case of governmental public
diplomacy, governments suffer from a lack of trust and credibility, which hinders their ability
to communicate with civil societies. By associating their initiatives with NGOs, governments
can gain access to public opinion shapers and their constituencies. Furthermore, Web 2.0
not only extends communication initiatives reach but also creates fragmented groups and
individual identities. Coalition composition and character will vary depending on causes,
th
interests, and involved actors. Coalition building implies that one actor will be more credible
or powerful than the other as per each situation.
CONCLUSION & IMPLICATION
Representatives of governments and non-governmental organizations agree that public
diplomacy is exclusively a governmental practice. Non-governmental organizations eld
of practice lies principally in the realm of public affairs. However, NGOs and private
corporations often become involved in governmental public diplomacy activities in two
circumstances: rst, governments frequently solicit NGOs involvement in their public
diplomacy programs to increase the credibility and outreach of their messages; second,
NGOs seek to form partnerships with governments to achieve their goals, particularly
in inuencing foreign public policies. But whether they engage in public affairs or public
diplomacy, governments, non-governmental organizations and private corporations all are
involved in public relations efforts to create, develop and maintain relationships with foreign
publics.
Future research by political scientists and public relations scholars should analyze the
practical aspects of how public diplomacy is conducted by private and multinational
organizations. Studies should determine to what extent for-prot organizations are
public diplomacy practitioners, and explore how they work with governments and non-
governmental organizations to implement their international public affairs agendas.
With respect to governmental public diplomacy, current literature already tackled public
diplomacys role in promoting a countrys culture, values and policies. Upcoming studies
should further explore how public diplomacy coordinated by governments can effectively
promote a countrys economy abroad.
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The Reection of The East-West Dichotomy on Turkish
Public Diplomacy: The Case of Davos Summit
by Filiz Otay Demir and Burcu Kaya Erdem
INTRODUCTION
Throughout history the feature that has shaped international relations is power. Power is the
ability to inuence the behavior of others to get the outcomes one wants. But there are several
ways to affect the behavior of others. You can coerce them with threats; you can induce them
with payments; or you can attract and co-opt them to want what you want (Nye 2005, 11).
Neo-imperialism or the process known as the new world order even if its a means to simplify
the expansion of the capitalist economy must recognize the development of human rights,
living standards and democracy. In other words, in the new democracies that have taken
over from authoritarian states, the power to affect public opinion has become an important
issue. In this process, attached to related statements, political powers have less freedom than
autocracies on the subject of developing tactics.
Galtung points out that, only a faulty and amateurish imperialism will resort to arms, and
professional imperialism is based on structural violence rather than direct violence (Bace
2003, 73). In this new phase of capitalism-imperialism the objective is to facilitate the control of
the sources of raw materials, export of capital and the surveillance of markets without the need
for direct violence and war. Here as well, public diplomacy has expanded political, cultural and
communication imperialism within the framework of the population mechanism thereby serving
the requirement of this process. To summarize, in the classical imperialist process while wars
and military means are intensely used and while international relations continues as a rough
power relations, in the world that is attempted to be build, particularly after 1980, with the
new world order and statements on globalization, imperialism accompanies global capitalism
in this process. Public diplomacy, as a way to increase the national interests of a state and
to expand its area of inuence by qualifying the relationships established with the citizens of
another state was rst used by the United States. Despite the fact that public diplomacy was
rst used towards the end of the 1990s, a complete consensus has not been attained in the
concepts Turkish equivalent and its coverage. Many times the concept is used synonymously
with public relations (Bace 2003, 71). In particular, bearing in mind the method expanded to
inuence public opinion in the transition from authoritarian states to new democracies, public
relations becomes signicant.
th
PUBLIC RELATIONS AND PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
One of the rst lasting denitions of public relations was given in Edward Bernays book
Crystallizing Public Opinion published in 1923. Later, according to his denition (1955,
3) in the Engineering of Consent, public relations are the efforts to gain public support
by means of information, persuasion and arrangement for any activity, cause, action
or organization. Like Bernays, Cutlip includes public relations within social sciences,
associates the structure of society with its workings and combines it with the functionality
of the democratic society. In Utica College, Cutlip (1991) said the following to his students
in public relations: The public relations practice is an integral part of our countrys public
information system. In taking political, economic, social and humanitarian decisions by
our citizens, information is a system that is connected to them. The public information
system of a democratic country encompasses all communication channels and elements
of information required by a citizen in his daily life and daily decisions. Public relations by
providing about half of daily media content provide an important support (subsidy) to the
news media and by doing this affects public opinion. Through the workings of this system,
history is made and society is molded (Grunig 1991, 357-376). Walter Lipmann mentions
an art that he names as consensus manufacture for democracy and points out that it is
build on what is said to public choices and attitudes.
In examining the development of public relations it can be seen that it was based on
asymmetric methods in the nature of propaganda. In particular, during the First and
Second World Wars, the United States use, through the Committee on Public Information
and Ofce of War Information, with tactics and methods in persuading the public on the
legitimacy of going to war can be described as a function of public relations. This indicates
that propaganda and the art of consensus manufacture are related to the beginnings of
public relations.
After 1980, together with the new world order and statements on globalization, the need
was borne to go beyond raising the national interest of a country and expand the sphere
of inuence and in order to accomplish. This, the need to establish a relationship with the
citizens of the other state emerged. In a speech delivered by Ronald Reagan in 1989 on
public diplomacy, he emphasized the importance of the information age, and in realizing
the interests of America, traditional diplomacy had become inadequate. For this reason,
he argued, the United States must not only establish a dialogue with the leaders of the
other state but also with its citizens as well and expand her inuence. Stating that public
diplomacy had provided the strongest power to the American government in changing the
course of history, gave his thanks to the public diplomats who have told the American
story from Washington to Shanghai (Bace 2003, 76).
Grunigs article addressing diplomacy and international affairs sets out to analyze the
effects and ethics of international campaigns and derive recommendations on how PR
can contribute to global diplomacy without obfuscating or corrupting the process. PR has
been, prevalent in international PR throughout history with a view to inuencing political
events and public opinion (Grunig 1993, 137-163). In a similar manner, Gilboa (2008, 57)
emphasizes the connection between public relations in the PR model in the context of the
need to gravitate to the international public and public diplomacy. The strategies to reach
international targets rest with PR rms and lobbying activities. Ham (2002, 249-269) sees
public diplomacy as an important element in managing national reputation. As can be
understood from these statements, with public diplomacy, reaching the public of targeted
countries and directing their public opinion and perceptions, PR tactics and strategies
becomes a natural player in this process.
TURKEY IN THE GRIP OF EAST AND WEST AND PUBLIC
DIPLOMACY STRATEGY
Is world history an unavoidable event where structurally it is divided in the middle and
thus becomes a history of a chasm? What are the place, affect and results of this chasm?
These questions have been the main subject of academic writings for decades. What is the
geographical boundary of our comprehension of East and West that stands on either
side of this dilemma? Namely, what in fact are East and West? Where is it and why?
First, to us, the geographical reference point in dening East and West, where Turkey
is the focal point, is the Mediterranean. The reason for this is that the Mediterranean is
the location where the longest and most intense relations took place between Eastern
and Western civilizations and where to this day symbols are present in the minds of each
side, where the center of the chasm is located. Thus, the locations we call East and
West can be considered to be the two sides to this chasm. However, this acceptance
does not mean the absolute geographical distinction that we give to the meaning of East
and West separation. On the contrary, the East and West Dilemma is to us completely
ideational and in reality it is an imaginary line. For this reason, whichever criteria are taken
as a basis, geopolitical boundaries will never be clearly dened. This ambiguity means
that for societies that are in the middle of these two worlds, because it cannot distance
itself from the denition of clearly belonging, an eclectic Westernization will continue to
generate debatable events in the foreseeable period. Such that: According to the general
perception, there are two choices that dene non-western histories: The will to be
westernized or modernized or the will against westernization or to remain traditional. One
of these views based on this perception is that of Huntington. According to Huntington
(2005) -that classies humanity according to religion and civilization; of the six religion-
civilizations that exist presently two are notably important: The West and Islam. Islam is the
factor that threatens western civilization in its most severe form. However, Huntington as
with many other points has missed an important matter that is also signicant from Turkeys
perspective. That religious and cultural conict can arise within the same states structure
and, moreover these conicts with the right policies will not be an obstacle to the continuity
of a state, on the contrary it will support the state.
In the history of Turkey almost always the existence of two main groups can be observed:
th
the group that seeks to integrate with the West and the Islamists by leaning to the Islamic
world that has shown a strong reaction to the West. Furthermore, the existence of these
two groups, as has been widely asserted, did not commence with the Republic period.
During the last two hundred years of the Ottoman State the most notable line of thought
to save the state has been Westernization. The period that started with the Treaty of
Karlowitz in 1699 is also considered as the beginning of the movement towards western
civilization by the Ottoman State. Later, despite the resistance of the traditional society, the
rst western bureaucrats undertook reform movements in the most important areas of the
military and technology, such that the French Revolution in 1789 was rst hailed by the
Ottoman State. Thus, Islamists and Westerners appeared as two opposed cultural groups
that go back to the past in our history (nanck 1998, 7-28). Thereafter the Ottoman State,
with a movement towards Westernization that has a past of over two centuries, passed
through three phases. The rst phase is dominated with the concern to prevent foreign
aggression. For this reason, a renewal is seen that encompasses only the military during
this period. The second phase is the start of the Reform Movement (Tanzimat). In this
phase the reforms spread to other institutions in society. During the third phase, starting
with the Republic period on the assertion of protecting East-West relations, this duality with
a nal decision was ended and the western path chosen (Ersan 2006, 39-49). Despite this,
the central question is whether westernization completely took place or to what extend it
was westernized and at the same time remained traditional.
In the end we can say that Turkey possesses the same experiences with other Muslim
countries in the Middle East for centuries and is a Middle East and Muslim county that
shares numerous religious, cultural, traditional, legal and other close ties. Beyond this, the
ofcial policy differences, in explaining total national identity and civilization, by identifying
certain changes that have taken place are merely based on strategy and political reasons
which are insufcient (Lewis 1980, 153). Such that the stand against the West has become
an important determinant in identifying political, societal and intellectual identities in Turkey.
For example, open or closed sympathy to the West or adopting Western values has been
considered, depending on various views, along the line of progressivism, modernity,
revolutionist rejecting the West and adopting or protecting the East-Islam civilization
considered as conservatism, reactionary or non-modernist (nder 1995, 293).
In summary, Turkey true to her geographical location is a country that is deeply torn between
two civilizations. While certain elites state that the future of the country lies in complete
integration with Western civilization, the Islamists long for a religious and cultural union
with Islamic nations and based on religion are systematically organizing public opinion.
Turkey is the most notable example of the Westernization process that provides a special
reference in disunity between tradition and westernization or modernism and is very
relevant to societies that are in between East and West. This disunity stems from the most
part in tradition and modernity existing together silently in our lands. At this point, the one
matter that provides meaning to public diplomacy strategies that Turkey has established
today is, Under what conditions is westernization taking place in Turkey and what effects
and results has it met? Namely, as with almost all non-Western societies, a paradoxical
search can be discerned between identity and Western type modernity in Turkeys history
because the discord between those that are not Western, by its own denition, and
the denition of modernization has resulted in tension. While on the one hand modernism
has worked against local particularists on the other hand nationalist, culturalists or
religious identities are attempting to state their difference against Western modernization.
Western modernizations own identity is threatening modernization through its own identity
(Gle 1998, 72). This has led to a continuous opposite resistance for the history of the
modernization of the non-West is the shaping of modernization without creating a modern
individual.
The Turkish state has been the catalyst of active societal changes, the planner and
transformer of societal life. Within the history of modernization of Turkey, the transition
to Westernization should not be considered as a change from a traditional to a modern
society but as a modern national state that aims to convert traditional society to a modern
society (Kahraman, 84). In short, Turkish modernization that deserves its name, that is
particular to our identity, societal and the political process is an adventure that expresses
us. A society which is rooted in a bridge between East and West and is neither completely
East nor completely West (Trkne 1998, 120).
Accordingly, Westernization becomes a state policy for Turkey, due to its geopolitical
location, that is a free oating course between Eastern and Western identities because of
her language and religion. The most important reason for this from a historical perspective
is that Westernization was a process starting with the Ottomans that was introduced based
on deus ex machina strategies rather than what was right and according to the demands
of the common people and consequently met from time to time with resistance. In other
words, non-Western modernity has been shaped by applying modernization without
creating a modern individual. This resistance is a manifestation of the inner conict arising
from religious elements that are rooted in Islam in this country. In this context, the resistance
points relating to these religious elements in Turkey can be discerned as opposition to
Westernization. Obviously all of these contradictions can be seen in the strategic openings
by Turkey in the international arena.
Turkish Public Diplomacy, as the subject of this study, follows the footprints of this
acceptance. Public diplomacys objective in expanding the national interests and image of
a country also supports classical diplomatic activities by inuencing through all legitimate
means the public opinion, governments and all individuals that participate in societal
activities, agencies and organizations and thereby contribute to closer relations between
these countries. Here the central question is how a country like Turkey that continuously
goes forward and backwards in her East and West identity continues or can continue
her public diplomatic activities based on this contradictory identity. This study not only
assesses this dilemma cyclically in the countrys international initiatives but also strategically
as it relates to public relations tactics and techniques.
In this context, aside from the international alliances and agreements that Turkey is
attached, the relation she has developed in the Middle East in particular, makes her a
representative to both sides through her East and West identity and contributes as a
th
negotiator in diplomacy. There are various attractive ways present in public diplomacy and
for Turkey it is using her political inuence rather than military and economic weight by being
a peacemaker rather than taking sides. At times, however, in the light of experience, the
impression given by correct and limited siding efforts can contribute to diplomatic activities.
Turkey possesses experience due to her identity. Appropriate to her geopolitical and social
standing is developing a public diplomacy strategy that is neither completely East nor West.
In this respect in certain situations she takes a clear part on behalf of the West or the East.
The attitudes and explanations by representatives and the strategies pursued in which side
she takes place echoes among public opinion on both sides. The most meaningful and
current example from the point of Turkey is the Davos Summit of 2009.
THE DAVOS SUMMIT AS AN EXAMPLE OF TURKISH PUBLIC
DIPLOMACY
As a reference to her contradictions between East and West identities, the Davos Summit
in terms of public diplomacy strategies is considered as an example in this study. As
is known, in the Davos Summit that took place on 29 January 2009, Turkeys Prime
Minister Recep Tayip Erdoans outburst against Israels President Simon Perez on Israels
occupation of Palestine caused important repercussions around the world and in particular
in the international media.
This study focusing on the articles of the international media analyzes the statements and
attitudes as an image of a leader of a country that is in this East and West dilemma and
its place in public diplomacy. The reason for the astonishing statements made during the
Davos Summit is that it went outside the role of general inclination as a peacemaker-
arbitrator showing a side that has not been preferred up to now which may be related to a
new phase in public diplomacy.
This study, in addition, supported by comments made by the Turkish media, debates the
events and perceptions that reect or affect Turkeys public diplomacy strategy; how it
has affected the Turkish domestic agenda; how it was met by national public opinion and
a comparison is provided of the comments made by the national press. At this point, the
subject that is at the forefront is that in accepting the Eastern and Western identities of
Turkish public opinion, contradictions and conicts can be said to be still present. Turkeys
role as a bridge is frequently on the agenda due to certain global events and because
of her geopolitical location. Efforts to constructively assess Turkeys two faces, one that
faces the East and the other the West, comes back full circle to the same point. Turkeys
role as a bridge or its mission as a synthesis appears on its own as presenting a bridge
function beginning in the 21
st
century and has been subject to changing international and
regional conditions. However, the appearance of such an opportunity in an objective sense
and its use is not equivalent to becoming a foreign policy (andar 2007). It appears that
Turkey is using this opportunity for the rst time.
THE REPERCUSSIONS OF THE DAVOS SUMMIT IN THE MEDIA
AND AN ANALYSIS OF THESE REPERCUSSIONS
The International Media Scene within the Context of its Power to Affect
As its known, beginning with the work on the media, the medias power to affect as
become a constant issue in criticism and the approaches that focuses on the relations
between the government and media has been considered as the media being extreme
and one-sidedly effective and every event that is the subject of the media has been looked
at from the perspective. According to these approaches, the effective role that the media
plays in shaping the consciousness of the masses in order to protect the economic and
political interests of the dominant classes is taken into consideration in this study. Based
on Marxist tradition, these theories have different preferences in converting the media into a
research object and their reference to the East-West dilemma has a suitable set-up to what
is put forward. This we consider as interesting and analyze an event as a reference point in
this East-West Dilemma.
Among these theories the most important, based on our area of focus, is the new opening
to the economic and political theory of the classical view that the media will always reect
the ideology of those that pay the money, and that the control tools are in the hands of
the classes known as the power elites. Among the thinkers in this area is Charles Wright
Mills who in his work on Power lites describes the relationship between individuals and
their inuence on governments (Shoemaker 2002, 144).
The general approach to this economic and political theory is not the absolute economic
indicators but the general approach that appears after including the power feature and
this general approach can be summarized as follows: The researchers related to the
media on economic and political issues, the ownership and propriety structure of media
establishments are assessed according to its relations with political power and its function
in society based on the general dynamics of the capitalist economy is considered at the
forefront, the practicalities of economic relations within the context of the media and is a
subject of cultural studies.
Instead of this economic and political approachs ideological and media writings, cultural
studies, as a result of their emphasis on a reductive economic approach, by rejecting
Marxisms simple infrastructure-superstructure link, conceptualizes an area of struggle in
which the media gains societys consent, the context of the relations between the media
and society. According to Gramsci (1971, 15-23) the domination of the ruling classes,
beyond the use of force and direct control, is obtained with the consent of subject masses
that is even more effective. The importance of the media in terms of their approach is
based on their description of being a hegemonic apparatus, namely, the main factors
in generating consent. Media writings as one area where hegemonic battles are being
conducted require a solution as well.
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Thus, supervision or control that is not openly domineering and based on consent is more
effective. The media denes the borders of the areas of reality that is in the running. In
large part the media will adopt a stance that is appropriate to the position or posture
of Easterners and Traditionalists and marginalizes and illegalizes other voices The only
incontrovertible fact within the context of these institutional openings is the effective power
of the media at the societal level. For even if only receptive coverage is considered, there
is no doubt that mass media writings are the most widespread. Obtaining information and
forming an opinion of events that place in the world, takes place in large part on media
news dispatches that are shared by millions of people.
Thus, historical and occupational conditions exist in an internationally widespread news
network that is based on a Western format and lies in Western dominance and power.
Because the world, thanks to these critical communication agencies, is aware that the
most important tools in one-sided globalization and in the otherizing process under the
mask of the Wests technological expansion and globalization is the international media.
The said media scene as an expression of logo-centered world view has met with reaction
to its distinct orientation in geographical regions such as the Middle East and within this
process, even if to a limited degree, has led to an opposition (Eastern-Traditionalist) media
scene. This process documents the medias dispatches of the friction between the East
and the West.
The most important area of the cultural difference between East and West is words and
attitudes. Both cultures use special sets of concepts in news articles to stress their own
perspectives and their way of expression is very different from each other. This situation
could be based on the difference in the communicative development process between
both cultures. Massimo Baldini (2000, 15), in his work History of Communication (Storie
Della Comunicazione) distinguishes developments in communications as verbal, manu-
script, typographic and electric-electronic media cultures. Eastern and Western societies
can be distinguished as verbal and typographic (written) people in the context of these cul-
tural phases. The Easterners are people of verbal culture and the most important features
of this culture can be said to be: hearing is the most important sense; it is excessive in
verbal communication, because there is the need of repetition and enthusiasm in order to
keep the listeners alive; prefers the contest-run type in communication and as the people
of verbal culture are more warmhearted and noisy crowds, thus their communication is
also vivid and participatory. Hence it can be seen that people of verbal culture tend to be
effusive and fully identied instead of being objective and carefree.
No doubt this difference shows its explicit expression in the media which is the mirror of
societies. As neither the global nor the local media organ, it is a body that cannot be con-
sidered singularly. Every medium has historical, traditional, political, ideological, economic
and social bases and these factors are inevitably reected in their understanding of broad-
casting. The most important of these bases is the Eastern-Western focus which leads us
to look from the perspective of the related geography and from a regional point of view. For
example, with the use of language including cultural codes, the Eastern news language (re-
gional, linguistic and religious) is very different from the Western type. That is to say, it is far
from being calm, cool and austere. Within this context, executive editor of Al Jazeera states
about the sense of Arab-origin news as, feelings are part of the news for us. The spirit of
the news lies within the feeling and it is a very important reality (Dobbs

2003). On the other
hand losing calmness is the same with losing objectiveness for the Western type. There-
fore, in order to persuade people effectively under Western conditions one should control
the expression of his or her feelings. Fast hand gestures or effusive facial expressions are
discouraging. Consequently, the feelings of Eastern cultures are more extroverted and are
inclined to be acceptable (Zaharna 2006, 206-208). Mr. Erdoans effusive and emotional
attitudes in the Davos Summit appeal to the acceptances of the East.
If we consider these acceptances within the concept of a leader image transferred and
maintained via media, there appears a picture of a leader image in terms of public diplo-
macy in a new enlightenment process in which public opinions rebuild their views positively
about their leader. The objective is to form a potential for perception of success of the
leaders country in foreign public opinion where they have common interests. In terms of
public diplomacy success the image of the leader as a representative of the codes of val-
ues and culture of the country in international platforms is an extremely important area of
work. Erdoans Davos reaction is important in presenting the image of a leadership which
the frustrated Eastern societies expect. Thus, the ways of issuing related news by Eastern-
Western media refer to the expected image of leadership and its reverse. In this way the
difference of perceptions between the East, to which this image of this leadership causes
East-West contradiction that is reected in the media, and the values of the image of the
leader as a carrier of appeal, and the other side, the West, is revealed. The leader image
of Erdoan referring to the East oriented face of Turkey after the Davos Summit is a crucial
indicator of the difference of perception in the East and West media. This differentiation
is denitely natural for it stems from the established structure of belonging to the Eastern
and Western societies for centuries which leads to the perspective of the geography and
regional focus, but which is also closely worth examining.
This study is evaluated within the framework of the handling of this event by foreign news
resources. Thus, the difference of Eastern and Western approach to the image of leader-
ship built by the related event will be revealed. This difference of approach, for both sides,
also shows the will that does not avoid from being a party. As seen in the news headings
below, they do this, to a great extent, with views as to whether to conrm or reject the
featured image of leadership.
Western Media
Hadashot Haaretz (The oldest daily of Israel, established in 1918): Turkey PM storms
off stage over Peres remarks on Gaza. Yedioth Ahranot: From Peres to Erdoan:
What would you do if a rocket is launched into Istanbul?, Turkish attack, Drama in
Davos. Maariv (a newspaper of Israel published in Hebrew): Turkey is against Peres.
Jerusalem Post (a newspaper of Israel published in English): Erdoan walked out very
red, Israel gradually gets more tired of long slams of Erdoan and the possibility of
chasing after Turks is descending. These harsh reactions of Erdoan are the result of
domestic policy. He plays up to strong Islamist base before March local elections. Bild:
th
Speech of hatred against Israel in Davos Anger of Turkish PM. Berliner Morgen-
post: Erdoan slams Peres in session. The Times: Tantrum-throwing Turk. El Mun-
do, Spain: Erdoan, after accusing Peres of the killings in Gaza stormed off the stage
in Davos. The Daily Telegraph: Turkish leader storms out off debate with Israeli PM.
The Independent: Turkish PM had a row with Peres. Der Spiegel Magazine: Gaza
sensation in Davos. Erdoan stormed off the stage. Sddeutsche Zeitung: Erdoan
told Peres, You know how to kill very well. The New York Times: Row in relations
between Israel and its key Muslim ally fort the Mid-East peace process.
Dealing with the Davos Summit in news headlines in Western media organs mainly stress-
es the identied attitudes of an Eastern leader. All of the terms like debate, anger, row,
chaos, accusation, blast, speech of hatred, attack, where Erdoan is placed as subject
and Peres as object, stresses that the East oriented image of a Turkish leader against the
West and which cannot not be accepted. Furthermore, about the reaction of Erdoan to
Israel or rightness of Israel with such statements like, You know how to kill very well;
what would you do if rockets are launched to Istanbul? conrms this perception. The
gestures of Erdoan bearing no calmness and objectiveness as a part of the image of
leadership are highlighted as a source of this negative view. The leader image that could
form the potential of perception that Turkey returns to its East identity is negated as much
as possible.
Eastern Media
Qatar based Al Jazeera: Erdoan hailed after Davos walkout. As Sar, published in
Arabic in Lebanon: Erdoan to Peres: You know well what killing is. El Kuds El Arab
published in Arabic in London: Thousands of thanks to Erdoan, Like a cavalier,
Walkout of Erdoan is a lesson for Arabs. Lebanon based Dar Al Hayat: It is neces-
sary that the Ottoman Empire is re-founded and Erdoan takes the leadership of all the
Muslims in the world as a caliph. Islamonline.net: Erdoan is a hero. Is he not also
a descendant of the Ottomans? Russian Lenta.ru named website: Erdoan gets
a national heros welcome in Istanbul airport. Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper:
Erdoan having a row with Peres became a national hero in his country. Greek State
TV NET: PM Recep Tayyip Erdoan spoke out yesterday in Davos what most people
on the planet want to say.
Eastern societies-oriented image of Turkish leader of the new term public diplomacy of
Turkey seems to have its aimed effect in Eastern media. Moreover, the impressions of this
effect had similar reections in Greek and Russian media who have unbroken interest links
in the Mediterranean geography. In these media organs- initially Arab media- stressing the
injustice of Israel with statements like, You know well what killing is; with the statements
like, Thousands of thanks to Erdoan, Like a cavalier, caliph, national hero, highlights
the praise of the Eastern people. Furthermore, with statements like, Erdoan quiting the
panel is a lesion for the Arabs the image of a longed-for leader is emphasized. In Eastern
media where emotion is accepted as the most important reality, effusive and natural ges-
tures received a very positive welcome.
Turkish Media
The perception of the owners of the new media emerged in 1990s in our country has a fea-
ture that could be based on the reection of the East-West contradiction in the country to
the media. More explicitly, Turkish media, as a result of the relationship between its capital
and the government, is an ideological tool of this special disjointedness between tradition
and being Western (or modern) which is valid for the societies between East and West. That
the approaches of the media about this disjointedness are clear when either conrmation or
criticism about Erdoans highlighted image of an Eastern leader is seen.
Media realizes this by such methods like highlighting afrmatively, accusing by highlighting
the marginal identity (stressing violence), (highlighting the entertainment side) insulting by
humiliation, applying them by abiding the content and discourse of the news articles and
revealing the approaches of the media to the disputable issues like being Eastern-Western
is possible by statements of the media and is a revelation of these related methods. This
perception of course, has different inclinations in Turkish media like Turkish public opinion
troubling about both Eastern and Western identity and belonging. There is a conict be-
tween media groups in Turkey; on the one hand it is pro-Western or pro-modernization
thereby against-government media; and on the other hand stands as a pro-government
media representing the will of being traditional and being against Westernization. This im-
age is indeed a reection of the division in Turkish society between these two cultures.
Pro-Western Media in Turkey
Cumhuriyet: Erdoan Perceived as Hamas Spokesman. Hrriyet: Davos Spirit
Dead. Radikal: Kasmpaa Style in Davos.
The main target of the pro-Western secular or anti government media in Turkey is Erdoan
and his leadership image. In this context, that Erdoan is a spokesman of Hamas, refer-
ence to him being a commoner, belonging to a lower class and frevolity and emphasis of
him being from Kasmpaa is in the foreground. This approach can be named as insulting
by humiliation and accusing by highlighting the marginal identity in terms of media strate-
gies stated above.
PRO-EASTERN MEDIA IN TURKEY
Zaman: Erdoan walks out of the panel. Peres apologize. Yeni afak: Historical Slap.
Vatan: Peres Provoked, Erdoan Reacted Harshly. Akam: A Rest from Erdoan,
Apology from Peres. Posta: Someone Should Have Told These. Milli Gazete: Harsh
Reaction in Davos Has Done the First Right Job in 7 Years. Tercman: Historical
Turkish Slap in Davos- PM Erdoan Made People Say Well Done!
The emphasis in pro-Eastern, Islamic, conservative or for various reasons pro-government
media organs in Turkey is Erdoans rightness, his siding with suffering people and his hero-
ism in an incident whos time had come.
th
CONCLUSION
After Erdoans Davos exit, hope is given to the possibility of a return to the wide geogra-
phy of the past by the new foreign policy of Turkey by emphasizing her own region with a
clearer Islamist Eastern emphasis. This hope also sparks a large-scale identity debate. And
indeed this debate is directly linked to the image of leaders being party to one side and the
conict prevailing in a country between the will of standing against Westernization, namely
being traditional on the one side, and the will of Westernization or modernization on the
other side.
The debates within society emerging from questions like, Who are we? Do we belong
to the East or West? brings about the separations of being Eastern or Western based
on secularism in Turkey. For in her history Turkey is a society rooted between East and
West, neither fully Eastern nor fully Western. (Trkone 1998, 120) evket Sreyya Aydemir
(1999), in his novel titled, The Man Searching for Water tells the trauma of society living
on the remnants of a torn empire and the endeavor to create a new nation from what is
left remaining. Being the remnant of society of an empire it is anxious for identity and be-
longing. It is possible to sum up this process of Turkey being a remnant or in between as
follows: Since the Sultanate and caliphate had been abolished in the founding process of
the Republic, Turkey became the sole inheritor of the Ottoman Empire; young Turkey saw
the West as a belonging point. Currently it has been said that Turkey has the possibility to
be a model and mentor again in these territories with its democracy, economy and military
force. It is frequently stated that the ruling AK Party Governments policy focusing mainly
on the region increases Turkeys soft power (Bilgici 2009). The new era Eastern-oriented
public diplomacy of the AKP Government follows closely with the domestic political stance
of the party. The emphasis on Islamic values, unity with Muslim countries and even the im-
age of a strong and great country with attributed leadership features for Muslim countries
is attempted. Moreover, the policy of solidarity for an extended period with the Western
countries continues. The new structural approaches are among the special issues for the
AKP Government for this designated or applied strategy in political diplomacy.
In 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated its intention of establishing a Public Diplo-
macy Agency because of the serious problems in communicating foreign policy with the
public. Later, another study was launched under the name of Public Diplomacy and Com-
munications again by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This work aimed at public diplomacy
to be managed in two sections under daily affairs and strategy (Milli Gazete 2010). After
these preparatory works the emerging structure, following work by the Prime Ministry, be-
came The Public Diplomacy Coordinatorship announced by Circular No. 2010/3 of the
Prime Ministry. This Coordinatorships objectives in the related circular were explained as
cooperation and coordination between the studies in diplomacy and strategic communica-
tion and publicity activities between state institutions and non-governmental organizations.
Moreover, the necessity to govern public diplomacy by a central unit systematically was ex-
plained as, Currently, as a result of globalization, international relations has become more
complex, aside from ofcial diplomacy between states, public diplomacy has gained crucial
importance as a means to affect and orient the international community. In international
platforms, it is necessary that the international community is informed in a right way with
the means of public diplomacy for the success of our work to prove our rightness against
the problems and accusations that our country has been subjected to for long time (Of-
cial Gazette

2010). This work on addressing the responsible units and the activity areas of
public diplomacy and nally the structuring of the Coordinatorship can be evaluated as an
indication that Turkeys public diplomacy will be managed systematically.
The predicted efforts in the eld of public diplomacy of Turkey, according to our point of
view, the new international initiatives of Turkey, and the relations created in both West and
East, particularly in the Middle East, the fact that it could be the representative of both
sides, for it has both Eastern and Western identity, bear especially a negotiator feature.
Since the beginning of the 21
st
century the changing international and regional conditions
has given Turkey a bridge function per se. However, in an objective manner, the emer-
gence and usage of such a facility and its becoming a policy are not synonymous (andar
2010). Turkey possibly for the rst time in her history has used such a facility with the public
diplomacy activities of AKP Government and even the image of leadership formed within
this framework. In our opinion, Erdoans image of leadership that is reected within the
framework of public diplomacy towards international public opinion the one balancing
East and the West should be continued systematically and continuously in public rela-
tions and greater importance should be attached to PR. Otherwise, disintegration in terms
of identity will be reinforced at the national and international level by the above mentioned
media. Getting accustomed to Turkeys double identity structure and remembering her his-
torical base will become inevitable in time. Thus, Turkey will be able to form a balance point
between both cultures as it should be. Nonetheless, the point to take into account is not to
convert this double identity, which should be conceived as the richness of this country, into
a contrary identity outside and inside the country by excessive emphasis on the Eastern
involving foreign public opinion.
th
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The Expansion of Junk Food Marketing, Cyberspace, and Childrens
Waistlines: Government Public Relations Combating Childhood
Obesity in Hungary and the United Kingdom
by Arhlene A. Flowers, Emese Gulys and Katalin Lustyik
ABSTRACT
With mass-produced food heavily promoted to children, governments worldwide have grappled
with the obesity epidemic by regulating marketing by food manufacturers and launching
educational programs to the public. Non-governmental organizations and consumer advocacy
groups also have been monitoring the government and the food industry with increased
scrutiny, while undertaking public relations activities to motivate the public and put pressure
on governments. Concurrently, the food and advertising industries have been defending their
activities. Europe also battles the expanding waistlines and sedentary lifestyles of children and
the promotional activities of junk food producers in an Internet-savvy population. Our paper
analyses the reactions and public relations activities of the governmentsand NGOs and the
food and advertising industries that inuence the governments and public opinionin Hungary
and the UK, two countries representing a Western and Eastern European perspective. Hungary
represents Eastern Europe as an emerging market, post-communist society, facing less, but
growing, childhood obesity and Internet penetration, and new promotional measures under
discussion. The UK was selected as an ideal country representing Western Europe due to its
escalating obesity crisis, rising Internet use among children, sophisticated media marketplace,
recent government-imposed regulations on junk food geared to children, new social marketing
campaign, and growing consumer advocacy initiatives.
th
SECTION I: INTRODUCTION
"Globesity," a new term describing the global obesity epidemic, applies not only to adults
but to children, who have been impacted by the poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle
of adults at an alarming rateand are now facing diet-related health consequences from
diabetes to cancers. With 177 million school-aged children under 18 clinically overweight
or obese (Consumers International, 2008a)and approximately 22 million children
under 5 overweight worldwide, childhood obesity is becoming a serious issue (World
Health Organization, 2010). Studies conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO)
communicate two trends: an increase in the rise of global diet-related noncommunicable
diseases and an increase of the consumption of junk food (Hawkes, 2002). Aggressive
worldwide marketing activities by global junk food and non-alcoholic beverage brands have
adopted a "glocal" marketing strategy, utilizing the 5Ps" of marketing: Place, Price and
package, Product expansion, Promotional activities, and Public relations (Hawkes, 2002).
Governments worldwide have been combating the obesity epidemic by regulating marketing
by food manufacturers and launching public educational campaigns. Non-governmental
organizations, consumer advocacy groups, and charities also have been monitoring
the government and the food industry with increased scrutiny, while undertaking public
relations and marketing activities to motivate the public and put pressure on governments.
Concurrently, the food and advertising industries have been defending their marketing
strategies through trade associations for advertisers and food manufacturers. Western and
Eastern Europe also battles the expanding waistlines, sedentary lifestyles of children, and
the promotional activities of junk food producers in an increasingly Internet-savvy population.
This paper focuses on two distinctly different European Union countries both combating
childhood obesity: Hungary and the UK. We examined public relations and integrated
marketing communications campaigns of government entities in health and communication,
the advertising industry, food manufacturers, non-governmental organizations, and consumer
advocacy groups over the past ve years. Each sector incorporates various persuasive
strategies, from motivational to social appeal, to communicate with different constituents,
many with contrasting opinions. Yet each audience shares the same triggered events: growing
childhood obesity and widespread Internet access among children, with new creative online
playgrounds by junk food marketers, such as advergames (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Hungarian Nesquik Advergame
SECTION II: COMBATING CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN HUNGARY
AND THE UK ESCALATING CHILDHOOD OBESITY
The expansion of children's waistlines is a serious issue in both Hungary and the UK.
Childhood obesity has increased in Hungary by 60% between 1999 and 2007 (HCSO, 2008).
More than 50,000 children, approximately 3% of the population under 18, were registered
in the Hungarian national healthcare system with obesity resulting from imbalanced caloric
intake in 2007, and the number of overweight and obese children who are not registered
is even higher (HCSO, 2008). The growth, close to 80%, was the most signicant among
children under the age of 3 (HCSO, 2008). School children between the ages of 7 and 14
are also greatly affectedone out of ve living in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, was
found to be overweight, with 3 to 4% obese (Szcs, 2007). In the UK report, "Statistics on
Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet: England, February 2009," issued by the National Health
Service Information Centre for Health and Social Care, 17% of 2- to 15-year-old boys and
16% of girls in the same age bracket were classied as obese in 2007, an increase from
11% and 12% respectively in 1995 (National Health Service, 2009).
TELEVISION AND INTERNET USE AMONG CHILDREN
While the regulation of television advertisements is the focus of current debates globally,
youth in Hungary and the UK are spending an increasing amount of time using new media
technologies and pursing sedentary activities, such as TV viewing. The most popular free-
time activities of young Hungarians between the ages of 15 and 29 are watching television
(65-68%) and using computers (54%). Among this age group, the amount of time spent
watching TV on weekdays decreased by 25% (from 143 minutes to 107 minutes a day)
between 2004 and 2008 (Szab & Bauer, 2009). Media consumption habits of the 15- to
29-year-old generation have changed dramatically due to accelerated Internet penetration.
In Hungary almost every second household has a personal computer and Internet access,
and one sixth of the households had broadband Internet access in 2008. In spite of the
latest developments, Hungary is still lagging behind Europe, where the Internet penetration
is more than 60%, the penetration of broadband connection is above 20% (Eurostat, 2009a;
2009b). According to recent data, one fth of children under the age of 15 constitute the
daily users, and half of them go online to play and download games, images, lms, or
music (Eurostat, 2009c; 2009d). Among those children under 14 who have Internet access
at home, 80-96% use the Internet for playing games. One fth of the children under 6
and 80% of the children between the ages of 11 and 14 use the Internet without parental
control (NRC, 2007). Half of the children using the Internet already click on banners; 13% of
them engage in shopping as a result of an Internet advertisement (NRC, 2007). According
to the survey of Szonda Ipsos (2008), despite the changing patterns, watching television
still leads free-time activities. Children between 8 and 14 spend more than two hours in
front of the television every day and 77 minutes in front of the computer, half of which is
spent on the Internet. Children between 8 and 11 spend 23 minutes using the Internet per
day. At the same time, healthy lifestyle activities, such as sports, are less prevalent among
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the youth. One third of the children between 8 and 14 plays computer games every day,
while only 17% play sports daily.
According to a report by ChildWise, a market research agency on youth and their families
in the UK, the proportion of children, ages 7 to 16, who have Internet access in their own
rooms, has increased from a quarter in 2008 to two-fths in 2009 (Childwise, 2009). In fact,
25% of 5-year-olds have Internet access in their own rooms (Curtis, 2009), and almost all
5- to 16-year-old children now have a personal computer or laptop at home, and more
than 50% own their own computer (Childwise, 2009). Children's bedrooms in the UK are
becoming private "multi-media centers," with a personal computer or laptop with Internet
access, mobile phones, television and other electronic devices, such as MP3 players and
digital cameras. Children, ages 8 to 11, average four media devices in their bedrooms,
and those ages 12 to 15 own six (Ofcom, 2008). In fact, mobile phone ownership is
growing in the UK, with one in three children under 10 owning a mobile phone, according
to mobileYouth, a research consultancy, raising additional concerns for parents unable to
provide supervision (Judge, 2008).

REGULATORY ENVIRONMENTS
Advertising to children is a growing business in both countries as well, with regulatory
issues under debate in Hungary and new regulations being enacted, as in the case of the
UK. An average Hungarian child between the age of 8 and 14 spends approximately 16
USD per month, which amounts to over 13 million USD per year (Szonda Ipsos, 2008).
The greatest part (25%) of children's pocket money is spent on sweets and soft drinks,
but children not only have their own choices on what they buy, they also inuence family
purchases. According to recent national surveys, 70% of children have a say in the brand
of groceries bought by the family (Szonda Ipsos, 2008). In 2008, nearly 10% of television
commercials targeted children, a total of over 156,000 spots (personal communication with
AGB Nielsen, 2008).
There is no legal regulation that would control the promotion of unhealthy food to children
in Hungary. Advertisements to children are only prohibited if they can damage children's
physical or mental development, if they build on their inexperience and gullibility, or if
they urge children to incite adults to buy products or services (Act XLVII of 2008 and Act
XLVIII of 2008). Restrictions on the advertisements of certain product groups pertain only
to advertisements of alcoholic and tobacco products to children. The same regulation
prohibits advertising in institutions that provide basic and specialized child-protection
services, kindergartens, elementary schools, and dormitories housing elementary school
children. However, an exemption is provided for advertisements promoting healthy lifestyles
or environmental protection. In such cases, the name and logo of the sponsors may appear
(Act XLVIII of 2008). This way the Act enables junk food companies to promote healthy
lifestyle programs in educational institutions, even if their core activity is producing junk food
(e.g. sport programs of beverage companies with their brand identities appearing).
The Code for Advertisement Ethics, the main self-regulatory document, approved by the
members of the two main industrial alliances (Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board
and the Hungarian Advertising Association) suggest that food and beverage producers
should not use cartoon gures for promotional purposes in a way that may blur the line
between commercial and editorial content. The Code also states that while using the
imagination of children is acceptable, advertisers should pay attention to not use it in a
way that may be misleading about the nutritional value of the products promoted (MRSZ,
2009).
In the UK, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) sponsored the Hastings Study, a
report that confirmed a connection between advertising and childhood eatingtheir
preferences, purchasing behavior, and consumption (Ambler, 2006)and sparked a
dialogue among the government, food industry, and the public. Both the Department
of Health and the FSA identified television advertising of unhealthy foods to children
for future restrictions, which prompted the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport to request action from the Office of Communication (Ofcom, 2007), which serves
as an independent regulator and competition authority in the UK's broadcasting,
telecommunications, and wireless communications industries. Ofcom introduced
progressive advertising restrictions of food and non-alcoholic drinks products,
containing high fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS), according to the nutrient profiling scheme
defined by the FSA. Scheduling restrictions rolled out in stages, applying to all
channels transmitted by UK broadcasters: a ban on HFSS television advertisements
in or around programs made for children or ones of particular appeal to children,
ages 4 to 15, and the final phase of scheduling restrictions began January 2009
when dedicated children's channels were required to remove HFSS advertisements
(Ofcom, 2007). Content rules also covered an advertising ban on use of characters
and celebrities, restrictions on promotional offers, and accuracy in nutritional and
health claims of HFSS products that target pre-school or primary school children
(Ofcom, 2007)
The more stringent regulations on television advertisements have prompted more
food companies to invest in marketing on the Internet, an unregulated terrain
(Andrews, 2007). As a result, many companies have set up advergames and online
fan zones, which heavily promote their products and brands. The body responsible
for advertising codes, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP), comprises
"advertisers, sales promoters, direct marketers and interactive advertisers, agencies
and media owners" (Advertising Standards Authority, n.d., para. 25). Its non-broadcast
division is responsible for all other forms of advertising (except radio and television),
sales promotion, and direct marketing. A loophole in the code of conduct classifies
editorial content as exempt, which applies to branded Web sites and their games
and promotions (Taylor, 2008). The chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority,
which is responsible for enforcing but not writing the rules, has "already expressed
his frustration that his body cannot crack down on many of the 'advertorial' websites
on the Internet" (Wallop, 2008, para. 9).
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GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES AND CAMPAIGNS
During the last decade, the Ministry of Health in Hungary has repeatedly identied obesity
and, more specically, childhood obesity as a serious problem, but obesity prevention has
not been among the priorities of the government. While several national campaigns were
launched between 1995 and 2007, only a few of them targeted the younger generations
(EUM, 2008). While the Hungarian government recognizes the importance of health
communication in realizing its programs, its health communication is mainly targeted
towards professionals (dietitians for example) or to a small target group. Most of the health-
related communication campaigns promote screening and early recognition of cardio-
vascular diseases, breast cancer or cervical cancer. Over the past few years, PR activities
have not addressed a healthy lifestyle to curb the obesity problem and to reach a wider
audience (Szke, 2009).
The Nutrikid, an independent non-governmental program that started in 2002, has reached
10% of the student population in 2,500 elementary schools with a book and teachers guide
that introduces the principles of healthy eating (Nutrikid, 2010). However, the program is
quite controversial since Nestl, one of the junk food giants, sponsors Nutrikid and the
food manufacturer's logo appears on the educational materials, even though advertising in
school buildings is prohibited by law.
An important recent development regarding childrens healthy nutrition was a decree
issued by the Minister for Education in 2005 ordering school cafeterias and buffets to
make their assortment healthier (OM, 2005). More than 1,000 school buffets and canteens
were examined by the Hungarian National Public Health and Medical Ofcer Service a year
later, and in those counties where an information campaign had been delivered, with the
involvement of parents and kids, about two thirds of the buffets had a healthier assortment,
while in other counties it was under 50% (TRKI, 2007). Two signicant attitudes dominate
Hungarian health policy discourse: the rst focuses on changing the settings by changing
the institutions where children spend most of their time, while the second approach prefers
the promotion of healthy lifestyles rather than trying to restrict diets (OGY, 2003).
In the UK, Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated in a report, "Healthy Weight, Healthy
Lives: A Cross-Government Strategy for England," issued by the Department for Health
and the Department of Children, Schools and Families: "Our ambition is that by 2020 we
will not only have reversed the trend in rising obesity and overweight among children but
also reduced it back to the 2000 levels" (Department of Health [DH] & the Department of
Children, Schools and Families, 2008, p. xi). Launched in January 2008, "Healthy Weight
Healthy Lives" is a 372 million cross-government anti-obesity program with a rst-step
priority on children supported by a 75 million marketing campaign (DH, 2008). The DH
hired London-based Freud Communicationsthe same public relations agency handling
Nestle, PepsiCo, Mars, and KFCto promote its preventative Change4Life: Eat Well, Move
More, Live Longer campaign as part the national anti-obesity effort. This appointment has
received some skepticism. A spokesperson for Sustain, a food charity, said, "Freud and
the Government have to show they are really independent in how this campaign is run"
(Cartmell, 2008, p. 3).
The multifaceted Change4Life campaign debuted in January 2009 as the "rst national
social marketing campaign designed to prevent obesity in England" with a "preventative,
not remedial" approach (DH, 2010), with a rst-year focus on reaching families, mostly
mothers, and children ages 5 to 11. The campaign has involved the government, schools,
businesses, and communities, as well as the support of other charities, including Cancer
Research UK, Diabetes UK, and the British Heart Foundation, and food and drink
manufacturers. The Advertising Association created a consortium contributing 200 million
over the next four years primarily from junk food producers, such as Coca-Cola, Kellogg's,
Mars, and Nestl, that allows them to place Change4Life logos on their packaging (Lepper,
2008b). A series of sub-brands educate parents and children about healthy living with
active lifestyle themesWalk4Life, Bike4Life, Swim4Life, Play4Life, and Cook4Life.
Other government departments also provide support to families on diet-related health
issues. The Department for Children, Schools and Families also operates a Sure Start
program with 3,500 children's centers slated by the end of 2010 (Department for Children,
2010), along with events and handbooks covering diet and nutrition. The School Food
Trust hired a public relations agency to rebrand school dinners through a consumer
campaign and media relations to reach parents and other stakeholders (Magee, 2009). The
Department for Culture, Media and Sport, which is responsible for numerous government
policies, maintains an Education and Social Policy division, covering education for children,
young people, and families. A spokesperson for the Department for Culture, Media and
Sport commented about the tighter advertising restrictions in a BBC interview: "We must
have a proper opportunity to assess the impact of these new rules, which are amongst the
toughest in the world, before considering further restrictions. Restrictions on advertising are
just one part of a broader set of actions government is taking to support the public health
agenda" (BBC, 2008).
Consumer Focus, a super-watchdog created by the UK government in September 2008,
wants the loophole on Web advertising closed (Wallop, 2008). The statutory organization
campaigns for a fair deal for consumers, spanning multiple industries, and investigates
consumer complaints. Consumer Focus positions itself as "the largest and the best-
resourced advocacy body in the history of the UK consumer movement" (Consumer
Focus, 2010). However, Consumer Focus does not currently have a campaign specically
addressing childhood obesity or health; it does maintain an online press room covering
multiple issues facing UK consumers.
REACTIONS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITIES OF NGOS
AND CHARITIES
WHO, which is responsible for global health leadership as part of the United Nations,
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addresses global health issues on diet-related non-communicable diseasesand is the
strongest global advocate on childhood obesity. In 2004, WHO developed its Global Strategy
on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (DPAS), which also examined childhood obesity and
the regulation of marketing of food and non-alcoholic beverages (WHO, 2010). The DPAS
created an "implementation toolbox" with a collection of reports, including "Marketing
Food to Children: the Global Regulatory Environment" (Hawkes, 2004), which identied
six marketing practices of greatest visibility to the consumer in 73 countries, including
Hungary and the UK: television advertising, in-school marketing, sponsorships, product
placements, Internet marketing, and sales promotions. In May 2006, WHO presented a
report, "Marketing of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages to Children," on food nutritional
composition categories, examples of regulatory measures in specic countries, approaches
by the private sector and health and consumer organizations, and recommendations for
international action (WHO, 2006).
WHO's global initiatives are also undertaken on a regional basis. The WHO Regional
Ofce for Europe conducted the WHO European Ministerial Conference on Counteracting
Obesity in collaboration with the European Commission in November 2006 in Istanbul. The
conference aimed to "place obesity high on the public health and political agendas, foster
greater awareness and high-level political commitment to action, and promote international
and intersectoral partnerships" (WHO Europe, 2009, para. 2). Participants included
delegates from the 53 member states in Europe, including Hungary and the UK, as well as
the media and representatives from NGOs. To address the health challenges and provide
future direction, member states adopted a European charter on counteracting obesity at
the conference encouraging governments, the civil society, private sector, and the media
to collaborate and support initiatives to combat obesity in Europe (WHO Europe, 2006).
Another prominent global voice of issues affecting consumers, including children, is UK-
based Consumers International (CI), a worldwide federation of consumer groups with
more than 220 member organizations in 115 countries (CI, n.d.). Founded in 1960, this
nonprot has campaigned to stop the marketing of unhealthy food products to children
by proposing an international code to provide legal action against companies. Its initiatives
include publication of reports, such as "New Media, Same Old Tricks" (CI, 2009), and
global events held on World Consumer Rights Day (March 15), as well as blogging,
petitioning, and other lobbying efforts. CI also recommends an international code to ban
the "marketing of unhealthy foods to children using new media, such as websites" (CI,
2009, p. 18). Its membership organization in Hungary, National Association for Consumer
Protection in Hungary (NACPH), was originally established in 1982 in Budapest, as one of
the rst consumer organizations in Central and Eastern Europe, and, in the UK, the National
Consumer Council (NCC), which has merged with a few other UK consumer groups and
renamed Consumer Focus.
CI member organizations around the world celebrated World Consumer Rights Day on
March 15, 2008 with a focus on curbing the marketing of unhealthy food to children.
The events included educational lunchbox challenges around the world, including ones
hosted by the NACPH in Budapest and Zalaegerszeg, which were widely publicized with
a proactive media relations campaign in leading print and broadcast outlets throughout
Hungary. NACPH also distributed CI's proposal for an international marketing code to the
Prime Minister, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Education and
Culture (CI, 2008b). The UK's NCC also was involved with media relations to support CI's
mission, generating pro-regulation stories on food promotion in such outlets as the BBC
and the Guardian (CI, 2008b).
The non-prot Media Smart media literacy program was established in 2002, and
is supported by several European countries, including the UK and Hungary. Geared to
children, 6 to 11 years old, Media Smart was designed with the goal to "teach children
to think critically about advertising in the context of their daily lives" and to use "modern
media, including advertising content constructively" (Media Smart 2008a; Mediatudor
2008). The UK advertising industry funds the program, with contributions from such food
manufacturers as Kellogg and McDonald's, as well as non-food companies and industry
trade groups (Media Smart, 2008b).
On a country-wide scale, the weak state and self-regulation inspired Hungarian NGOs
to call for stricter regulations. Since Hungarian children spend an increasing amount of
time outside the school using both traditional and new media, they are heavily targeted by
advertisers. This prompted the Hungarian National Heart Foundation to launch a campaign
promoting restrictions on advertisements of unhealthy food to children in 2006 with reference
to the Television without Frontiers directive of the European Union. Together with seven
other NGOs that include the Network for Healthy Kindergartens, the National Association
for Consumer Protection in Hungary, the National Diabetes Foundation, and the National
Institute for Child, they proposed a ban on television advertisements of unhealthy food
from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. (www.mnsza.hu). A year later, an informal network of Hungarian
consumer and environmental NGOs for sustainable development (Association of Conscious
Consumers, Hungarian Environmental Partnership Foundation, Waste Prevention Alliance,
among others) set up a taskforce to initiate a public debate on the necessity of limiting
all kinds of advertisements to children below age 12. The taskforce prepared the policy
background material with psychological arguments, legislation case studies, and the
introduction of media literacy programs from other countries. While having difculties
approaching the government, both NGO initiatives made independent proposals for to the
Hungarian Advertising Self Regulatory Board and the Hungarian Advertising Association
that called for public contribution to the revision of the "The Code for Advertisement Ethics"
in 2009. The recommendations for the voluntary restriction of unhealthy food promotion
were rejected (MNSZA, 2010 and personal communication, TVE, 2010).
The most signicant health campaign of 2009 was Nincs de (No But). Coordinated by
the Nincs De Foundation, "Nincs de" was created by the country's biggest media and
advertising companies in order to carry out a country-wide social marketing campaign. In
2009, its campaign combated unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles, as well as unhealthy eating
and drinking habits. The campaign consisted of 61 print, 49 online and 25 broadcast
advertisements, along with several hundred stories on the program in a variety of print and
electronic media outlets (Mdiauni, 2009). As a result, one out of four adults considered
changing their lifestyles and 15% actually made steps to do so (Mdiauni, 2009).
th
Advertisements of junk food on the Internet is not yet regulated, and voluntary initiatives
have not yet been established to address this topic. The most recent initiative is the Safer
Internet Programme (www.saferinternet.hu), that brings together stakeholders who can
contribute to make the Internet safer. However, the program focuses on protecting children
from sexual abuse, criminal exploitation, and on protecting their privacy, but not on health
issues and Internet advertising.
The UK-based Which?, the largest consumer rights organization in Europe with more than
700,000 members, maintains a Healthy Eating campaign to combat irresponsible junk
food marketing, as well as an active press ofce, online press room, publications, and
consumer resources. The organization also conducted a survey in February 2008 in which
88% of the respondents felt that both the government and food companies need to do
more to conduct more responsible marketing of foods to children (Which?, 2008). The
study revealed the limitations of the new television bans since only seven of the top 50
shows popular by children viewers would be free of junk food advertisements, whereas
the top 20 shows would be able to air any type of advertisements (Cassidy, 2008).
Although Which?s public affairs campaign to call for the pre-9 p.m. watershed ban on food
advertising was unsuccessful, it generated signicant media exposure and increased Web
site trafc (Lepper, 2008).
According to the ndings of a study of 500 children, ages 7 to 14, undertaken by the British
Heart Foundation (BHF), one of the UK's largest charities, nearly 70% of children consider
fast food and sweets as part of a standard dietand no longer as a treat, which prompted
the BHF to launch a Food4Thought campaign for children to be more aware of junk food
(Clout, 2008). Food4Thought also includes an online game for children, Yoobot (http://
www.yoobot.co.uk/), using a similar creative strategy employed by food manufacturers
with advergames. Users create their own Yoobot, an avatar as "a mini version of
themselves," to learn about the consequences about health by making decisions about its
food consumption, exercise, and lifestyle. The mini-me avatar also can communicate with
its "creator" by Short Message Service (SMS) and e-mail, becoming a part of the child's
life. Figure 2 shows a screenshot of the food selections one's avatar needs to make in the
virtual kitchen cafeteria.
Figure 2. Yoobot, British Heart Foundations Online Game
The BHF also collaborated with Sustain, a registered charity for" better food and farming"
formed by merging The National Food Alliance and the Sustainable Agriculture Food
and Environment Alliance "(Sustain, 2010) and its Children's Food Campaign. The 2008
report, "Protecting Children from Unhealthy Food Marketing," illustrated how junk food
companies are enticing children into online playgrounds (British Heart Foundation, 2008).
Both organizations have called for tighter rules on online marketing to children (BHF et al,
2008).
A survey by the not-for-prot Food Commission indicated that more than 12.2 million
children logged onto commercial Web sites promoting foods and drinks during the rst
quarter 2005 (Boseley, 2006). The Food Commission's mission is to challenge "the food
industry and government to do more to tackle the ill-health caused by the over-processed,
high calorie products that ll our supermarket shelves" (Food Commission, 2010). It
publishes The Food Magazine, investigating food quality and nutrition, and coordinated
campaigns and projects addressing public health issues.
FOOD AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRY INITIATIVES
In terms of regional self regulation, 11 of Europe's largest food and drink companies
pledged European-wide restrictions on advertising products to children under 12, called
the EU Pledge program as voluntary measures to the European Commission's Platform for
Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health, in effect January 2009. The 11 rms include
Burger King, Coca-Cola, Danone, Ferrero, General Mills, Kellogg, Kraft, Mars, Nestl,
PepsiCo, and Unilever, which collectively represent two-thirds of food and drink advertising
expenditures in the European Union. The pledge claims to make "a commitment to change
food and beverage advertising on TV, print and Internet to children under the age of 12 in
the European Union" (EU Pledge, 2007, p. 2). The EU Pledge's Web site contains postings
of pledges from the participating companies. Campaign Coordinator of the Children's Food
Campaign, Richard Watts, said, "The commitments fall well short of what health, consumer,
and children's organizations have been calling for and will do nothing to solve the children's
diet crisis. If this is the best industry can do it is high time for the Government to step in to
protect children from junk food marketing" (Junk Food Firms, 2007).
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), representing the UK food and non-alcoholic drink
industry, releases policy briengs and responses, produces publications, and conducts
events on behalf of the food industry. The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA),
considered the voice of British advertisers with over 400 members, publicly commented
"advertising does not make children fat" (Sweney, 2008, para. 10). The Advertising
Association, a nonprot industry trade group, established a new industry policy committee,
the Digital Media Group, to examine how advertising and promotions on the Internet should
be regulated (Wallop, 2008).
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SECTION III: CONCLUSION AND FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Two of the major preventative health measures in both Hungary and the UK undertaken
by the governments are social marketing campaigns geared to altering behavior, utilizing
an integrated marketing communications approach with public relations, advertising, and
other promotional vehicles to reach specic audiences. McKie and Toledano (2008) argue
that the status of the practice of public relations could be elevated with social marketing.
They applied the diffusion of innovation theory (Lattimore et al, 2007) in both public relations
and marketing, with its ve stagesawareness of the individual being exposed to the
idea, interest in the idea, evaluation of considering the idea, trail in trying out the idea, and
adoption of accepting the idea and believe that public relations focuses more on the
rst two stages of awareness building through press releases and publicity, whereas social
marketing understands how beneical messages can persuade people to change, such
as eating healthier foods. The eld of social marketing has a history of a more altruistic
approach than traditional public relations.
The challenges faced by marketing social change in these areas are huge; their emphasis
on the goal of behavior change will not be acheived just by raising awareness and using
communciation. It needs much more than that. Social marketing practice opens interesting
opportunities for public relations practitioners to reengineer campaign strategy to produce
actual change and, as a result, to earn more respect from the organizations they serve,
and gain positive social recognition for their contribution to such causes as the reduction of
deaths from cancer (McKie and Toledano, 2008, p. 323).
McKie and Toledano (2008) discussed the risk of social marketing campaigns being
perceived as propaganda and coercion, and concluded that a dialogue between social
marketers and public relations practitioners about those dilemmas would benet both
disciplines (p. 324).
Both anti-obesity social marketing campaigns by the governments in Hungary and the
UK are partially funded by the producers of unhealthy foods. The coordinator of Sustains
Childrens Food Campaign said, Should a rm that produces confectionary really be
involved in a campaign to tackle obesity? (Lepper, 2008b, p. 11). Can food manufacturers
seriously make a contribution to anti-junk food campaigns, while they promote their brands
and products to increase market share and revenues? A communications planning director
for a UK-based communications agency said, Change4Life is a clear attempt to inuence
consumer behaviour and attitudes, but educating people is only half of the equation. Until
the economics of creating and distributing unhealthy products changes, they will continue
to be abundantly available (The Marketing Society Forum, 2009, p. 22). This ethical
dilemma could be examined further by investigating the marketing and public relations
of preventative health campaigns by the governments and the producers of other legal
products, such as tobacco and alcohol, that also have serious health consequences and
can be abused by todays youth.
Is a social marketing approach the best solution to educate parents, children, educators,
and other stakeholders on nutrition, tness, and healthy lifestyles? Health public relations
and promotions should help to inform children and about their risks associated with daily
consumer choices and marketers also need to nd creative ways of ensuring that they
even young people understand fully the benets of active lifestyles (Kline, 20005, p. 254).
An innovative example is the British Heart Foundations Yoobot online game, which engages
childen in a fun virtual playgound, and has been widely publicized through releases and
blogs.
Are anti-junk food media relations from the government and consumer advocacy groups
creating a moral panic? Kline (2005) studied the spike in childhood obesty-related
content in the Guardian from 1999 to 2004, concluding that the UK press covered the
epidemic story with intensifying alarm that became the key child-health story. Food
industry spokespeople have defended their actions through public statements and media
interviews, claiming freedom of speech, debating the evidence of studies on a link between
advertising and child obesity (Young, 2003), and blaming the government for cutbacks
on recreational programs and families for more sedentary lifestyles (Pringle, 2004). Future
studies could examine how the obesity epidemic has been covered in major print and
broadcast outlets in Hungary and the UK, particularly to determine if the recent government
campaigns on preventative health have made a positive impact on consumer literacyand
actually resulted in reaching adoption, the nal stage of the diffusion of innovation theory, of
a healthy lifestyle for children with a decline in obesity.
th
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Communicating Public Money: Risks vs. Opportunities
by Nina Furman
INTRODUCTION
Over the last two decades the development of Slovene professional communication has helped
the public sector to shift from a re-active to pro-active approach, from public apathy to wider
interest, from ignorance to knowledge and from general acceptance to healthy prejudice. The
expansion of media has been so inuential that public sector needed to build not only on its
recognition but above all on its reputation which is exceedingly connected with sound nancial
management.
Nowadays the public and media focus is more and more targeted toward proper and wise
spending of public money which places the Court of Audit of the Republic of Slovenia into
unique position on the public sector communication map.
Within the Slovene Court of Audit Strategy 2007-2013 we emphasized that Slovenia is
witnessing changes in the delivery of public services and further reforms are expected over
the coming years: plans to continue with the privatization of state owned assets, with the
public private partnerships, the outsourcing of public services is increasing and a signicant
increase in EU funds is expected. Also, the substantial public funds, namely annually over than
4 billion or almost the half of entire State Budget are spent through public procurements. It
is essential that the public sector is able to manage these objectives effectively. If not, there
could be increased risk of nancial mismanagement, poor value for money or even fraud. The
Court of Audit is uniquely placed to communicate to Parliament as well as wider public with
assurance on the nancial management, regularity and value for money with which Ministries
and other state bodies have used public funds.
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WATCHING OVER PUBLIC MONEY
The mission of the Court of Audit is to inform the public about important audit ndings
from the audits of state bodies and other public funds users. The primary objective for the
Court of Audit is to assure the public in a timely and objective manner if the public funds
were appropriately protected and whether their use by Government, local authorities and
public enterprises was regular and effective. This objective became even more important
bearing in mind the recent unfavorable economic situation where savings and good
nancial performance is highly appreciated. Even in times of favorable economic situation
Government was daily facing media questions on effectiveness, efciency and value for
money of its operations but during the nancial crisis these topics became even more
highlighted.
In addition, due to its experience and expertise in best practices the Court of Audit gives
advice to state bodies and other public funds users on how to improve their nancial
operations. By disclosing irregularities and inefciencies, the Court of Audit points to the
responsibility of state bodies and holders of public functions, and therefore contributes to
the welfare of the citizens of the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union.
However, the name Court of Audit might be treated a misnomer since the institution
does not have judicial competencies neither is a part of judiciary branch of power. The
assumption is that when drafting the Slovene Constitution the founding fathers followed
the example of the European Court of Auditors. The word Court in Slovene Supreme Audit
Institution is the cause of frequent public misunderstanding and many times over there
is a need to explain the institutions powers since it is issuing the opinions, not passing
the judgments.1 The United States Supreme Audit Institution overcame the similar
problem in 2004 renaming their institution from General Accounting Ofce to Government
Accountability Ofce. The management explained they followed the acronym GAO and
tried to nd the expression that reects and communicates more who they are and what
they do. Often called the congressional watchdog, GAO investigates how the federal
Government spends taxpayer dollars. On ofcial website GAO explains their mission is
to support the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve
the performance and ensure the accountability of the federal Government for the benet
of the taxpayers. GAO claims their work saves 114 $ for every spent dollar which in 2009
represented a sum of 58 billion $ (43.4 billion ) public savings.
1 In the recent interview (The Court of Audit is not a nuisance only when it keeps quiet, Mag, February 15, 2010, p. 30) the
President Dr Igor oltes when asked about the misunderstandment of the institutions name answered that the main difculty
derives from the word Court. Dr oltes further explained that the most adequate denomination and also traditional expression
established within the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) is Supreme Audit Institution.
MEDIA AND PUBLIC ARE THE COURT OF AUDITS
STRONGEST ALLIES
An independent Supreme Audit Institution has to communicate and promote sound nancial
management, uncover fraud, corruption and waste of taxpayers money.
The Court of Audit is a relatively young organization, having started its operations in January
1995. Since then we have steadily increased the number of issued audit reports. Once
issued, the reports are public, published on ofcial website (www.rs-rs.si) which is a fast
and cost effective way of making our work publicly accessible. Our website is an interactive
channel that also sets out the audits which are currently in progress and other important
information. We continue building on the good communications that we have with the media,
on openness, transparency and visibility. We will further pursue this objective by developing
e-communications channels, we will continue with briengs and press conferences on all
major audit reports and current public nance risks and ensure the public and media have
open access to our ndings. Ipso facto we became strongly positioned in the Slovene media
map with clippings rising each year from slightly over 2000 in 2006 to almost 5000 in 2009.
In 2006 we started recording and communicating the savings we achieve through audits
for the taxpayers to underline our commitment to making real savings for the citizens of
Slovenia. Based on the audit ndings the immediate savings in 2006 represented inter
alia the expenses of too high salaries in the amount of approx. 30.000 which were
re-entered in the budget. Consequently, approximately 630.000 less public funds for
salaries were spent in 2007 due to the disclosed irregularities. Even more extensive savings
were presented in the years of 2008 and 2009 when several audits disclosed irregularities
and moreover inefciencies (poor value for money) in different areas. The Court of Audit
performed the audit on the 2006-2007 management of the state owned apartments
which are administered by Government. The audit disclosed that one third (or almost 1000
units) of all state owned apartments are vacant which represents the loss of 3.6 million
annually (unrealized rents, the costs of maintenance, operation costs) or the equivalent
price for purchase of 48 average size two-room apartment on the market. Understandably,
the media response was on a large scale and it was lasting, bearing in mind the overall
difculties at real estate market and the inability of individuals or families with average
incomes to purchase own apartments. The subject was even announced the numbers of
the week in magazine Mag (Mag, October 15 2008, 9) and met several polemics in radio
shows and editorials.
In the same year (2008) audit ndings revealed that the increase of integral budget revenue
in respect of VAT was 12.8 % compared to 2007, there were a quarter more of inspection
checks and based on these 62.6 % increase of direct payments to Tax Administration of
the Republic of Slovenia. In the area of Tax Administration, in 2009 the audit of highway
construction program disclosed that certain open issues and indeterminations between
the Ministry of Transport and the Motorway Company in the Republic of Slovenia caused
uncharged VAT of constructed highways. The amount of uncharged VAT was 250.9 million
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only in the period of 2004-2007. At the beginning of 2009 we disclosed that public money
costs for drug prescribing only in 2007 amount half billion (!) and are rising on a scale of 6
% each year (2001-2006). Only 1 % of annual decrease of the costs would mean 5 million
of savings.
Through these and similar audit ndings which reveal broad horizons that have direct
impact on many different social aspects we achieve comprehensive public response
also reected in increasing number of received individual audit initiatives ranging from 83
(in 2000) to 360 (in 2008) per year. Such increase is a positive proof of the wide public
acceptance and recognition which can only be achieved with independent expert audit
work, accountability, transparency and sound media relations. Moreover, these publicly
recognized audit ndings could be perceived by the Government as areas for substantial
improvement and opportunities for communicating better results.
GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION THROUGH THE RESULT
BASED BUDGET
Not only audit ndings and disclosures but also recommendations and advisory function
on effectiveness, efciency and economy of public funds are of key importance for the
Government. Public services are becoming much more complex, both in nature and their
organization. The budget volume is increasing (the realization of the State Budget in 2007
was 7.5 billion , in 2008 8.2 billion and in 2009 8.9 billion ) and so are the risks to value
for money. The Government could have better position in communicating its results since
the adoption of the 2010-2011 Result Based Budget (RBB). It is a results-driven budgeting
process, an approach focused on achieving measurable results, almost a management
strategy aimed at changing the way Government operates. RBB is about formulating
program budgets that are driven by a number of planned results which are articulated at the
beginning of the budgetary process, and upon which actual performance is measured at the
end of a biennium. Biennial budgeting and resources justication involve a set of predened
objectives, expected results, outputs, inputs and performance indicators. Expected results
justify resource requirements, which are derived from outputs to be delivered and actual
performance in achieving results is measured by predened performance indicators.
From Government communicators viewpoint each expected result could represent an
opportunity for effective communication campaign. As Dr Veri explains in foreword of
the Communication Campaigns book (Serajnik Sraka 2009, 6), no one knows exactly how
many public communication campaigns are conducted in a years time and how much do
they cost which also indicates the overall relation toward public money. Dr Veri further
reects that it might as well be a several million amount that disappeared without a trace.
Many states are investing large sums of public money in communicating but the overall
effect should be known to all citizens, Dr Veri concludes. Chris Berg in Sydney Morning
Herald wrote in December 2009 about costs of Government communication campaigns in
Small Government does not mean cheap: Take the $20 million were handing to a public
relations rm to rebrand the entire country. Launching Building Brand Australia, the Trade
Minister, Simon Crean, said: We must nd a better way to dene our identity.
It could also be a challenge for the Court of Audit to perform an audit in this eld following a
good practice of British National Audit Ofce (NAO). At the beginning of 2006 NAO presented
the audit report Department for Work and Pensions: Using leaets to communicate with the
public about services and entitlements. The presumption of the audit was that Government
needs to communicate effectively with citizens and highlighting the importance of accurate
and complete information easily available to citizens. The Department for Work and Pensions
provides services to some 28 million people. It communicates with them face to face
through more than 1,000 local ofces and around 70 contact centres and through letters,
leaets and its websites. Despite the development of new technology, printed materials, in
particular leaets, play an important role in ensuring that customers are informed of services
and entitlements. It is vital that customers can rely on the accuracy of this information
to make informed choices about their lives. The Department spent around 110 million
(122 million ) on communication activity in 2004-05. The total costs associated with the
preparation, revision, storage and circulation of material are not known exactly but NAO
estimated them at 31 million (34 million ) a year.
THE TRUTH AND SIMPLICITY: DIFFICULT CONCEPTS?
PR practitioners, especially within the public sector where tax-payers money is being
spent, should be sensitive to and considerate of how their actions will inuence the public.
If you lie once, you will never be trusted again, particularly by the media. Consequently, the
very important objective is to promote high standards on transparency and accountability
in nancial management and performance of public administration. Another major issue
when communicating nancial questions/ndings/issues is simplicity. All public sector
communication activities should be based upon the following principles: correct and
understandable, well structured and easy to access, prompt, relevant and dapted to
different target groups.
CASE STUDY: The British Bourn(e) Trilogy
2
The Identity
The role of the National Audit Ofce (NAO) is to audit the accounts of all Government
departments and agencies as well as a wide range of other public bodies, report to
Parliament on the economy, efciency and effectiveness with which these bodies have used
public money. The institution has a long and respectful history, in 1780, Commissioners
for Auditing the Public Accounts were appointed by statute. The NAO slogan is: Helping
the nation spend wisely. When presenting (National Audit Ofce) the tasks, competencies
and duties on the website, NAO is explaining:
2 The trilogy, the Bourne Identity (2002), the Bourne Supremacy (2004) and the Bourne Ultimatum (2007) is a series of novels by
Robert Ludlum, which have been adapted to lm in a series starring Matt Damon.
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We hold Government to account for the way it uses public money. We support, by helping
public service managers improve performance. We safeguard the interests of citizens who
as taxpayers are responsible for paying for public services. We champion the interests of
citizens as users of public services. Our work saves the taxpayers millions of pounds.
NAO budget is set by Parliament, not the Government. Oversight of the NAO is carried
out by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Commission (PAC) who appoint NAO external
auditors and scrutinise their performance.
The Supremacy
The Comptroller and Auditor General is the head of NAO, appointed for life (!) by the Queen
on an address proposed by the Prime Minister with the agreement of the Chairman of
the Committee of Public Accounts and approved by the House of Commons. Sir John
Bourn was appointed the Comptroller and Auditor General in 1988 by Margaret Thatcher
and Robert Sheldon, the then Labour chairman of the Parliamentary PAC. To preserve his
independence from the Government he can be removed only by a joint vote of the House
of Commons and House of Lords. The Auditor General holds the only unsackable senior
post in UK governmental administration. In March 2006, Sir John was also appointed
head of Professional Oversight Board by Tony Blair to advise ministers on potential clashes
between their public duties and private affairs and to investigate any claims that the rules
have been broken. Sir John Bourn has been in the job nearly 20 years when allegations of
improper personal expenditures sprang on his behalf.
The Ultimatum of 2007
During the spring and autumn of 2007 the British satirical magazine Private Eye frequently
highlighted the issues of expenses, conducts and lifestyle of Sir John Bourn (Private Eye
Magazine). Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act the gures were released
in May 2007 for 43 trips Sir John (and on 22 occasions his wife (!), too) attended, worth
336,000 (slightly over 375.000 ) during 2004 - rst quarter of 2007. The comparison to
travel expenses for the President of Slovene Court of Audit shows that in period 2005-2007
he was on 38 ofcial and working visits abroad. Accommodation, travel expenses and daily
allowances were in total 35.554 or less than 10 % of travel expenses for Sir John Bourn.
The next to tackle this issue was the British Daily Mail (The British Daily Mail) then followed
the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/oct/11/uk.Whitehall), BBC and
actually all other British media. In the middle of October 2007 NAO published details of
all Sir Johns restaurant bills since 2004 (27,000 or 30.000 ) and the full costs of all his
foreign trips (365,000 or slightly over 405.000 ). The details uncovered exotic destinations
such as Bahamas, almost as a rule ying rst class including Lady Bourn and 175 lunches
and dinners in UK at the Ritz, Savoy, Cipriani, Wiltons and other - the most expensive at a
sum 500 (555 for four persons). All paid from public money.
The rst step NAO took in defending Sir John was to announce that he would no longer be
travelling rst class or with his wife without Parliament approval. NAO spokesperson further
explained they intend to release all details of future expenditures of Sir John and senior
management every six months even though nobody would request.
But media and MPs were hard to convince on Sir Johns good intentions and repeatedly
reported that Auditor General found himself in a very difcult position as guardian of
the public purse himself leading such extravagant lifestyle on taxpayers account. Mark
Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union, which
represents Government administrations lowest paid civil servants, said: With Government
departments facing budget cuts and slashing jobs over the next three years, you would
think that those responsible for ensuring value for money would lead by example. NAO
consistently defended Sir John pointing out that he needs to keep up in touch with a wide
range of people (The Guardian).
At the end of October 2007 Sir John Bourn announced he would retire because new
auditing rules would lead to him technically overseeing himself (he was the chair of the
Professional Oversight Board of the Financial Reporting Council, which was to begin
inspecting auditors general). The NAO said his decision was unconnected to the expenses
issue. Also, the PAC, which oversees the NAO, cleared Sir John of impropriety over his
expenses. Alan Williams, chairman of the PAC, said (The Guardian) the comptroller and his
colleagues should be very proud of their work. It was Sir John who originated the idea of
setting the National Audit Ofce a target of achieving savings equal to six times its annual
budget. This year these savings are expected to reach 660 million (over 733 million ).
Gordon Brown said (The Guardian) in a statement: I am very grateful to Sir John Bourn for
his leadership of the NAO over many years, during which it has performed a crucial function
scrutinizing public spending and propriety, and send my best wishes for his retirement.
BUDGET VOLUME - FINANCIAL RESOURCES FOR PR DEPARTMENT
Fraser P. Seitel explains that public relations, like any other business activity must be
based on sound budgeting. After identifying objectives and strategies, the public relations
professionals must detail the particular tactics that will help achieve those objectives. No
organization can spend indiscriminately. Without a realistic budget, no organization can
succeed. Likewise, public relations activities must be disciplined by budgetary realities and
exible enough to withstand midcourse corrections and unexpected cost overruns (Seitel
2004, 82-84).
On the contrary to the communications departments of private sector, the public sector
communicators often face very tight budgets or even no particular funds for their activities.
The principal goals of Government communication are to make government action more
transparent and to generate interaction with their publics. If we see the main PR department
tasks as communicating from a wider societal perspective, make the organization more
communicative and (especially in the Government) do more work on citizen participation,
we should be aware of the importance of sufcient budget. Although the phrase sufcient
budget represents a bit vague term, PR practitioners must be aware of the role they are
playing when annual budget for their institution is being drafted. No one can expect great
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results and successful public awareness campaigns without reasonably well (structured)
budget for PR. Therefore, even in the time of nancial crisis and in many cases for the sake
of it communication budget should remain reasonably intact. But what does the PR budget
reality reveal?
Leaving no doubt the authors of the book Media Relations (Veri et al. 2002, 56-57)
very precisely dene the need for proper nancial management and budgeting of each
media plan. Authors explain that each media strategy becomes tangible within the plan and
within the budget. Within planning the media strategy is being analyzed to several steps
which also dene the neccessary funds and human resources. All that remains, are desires
until we have the clear idea how much will something cost and where from the resources
will be allocated. But the relations with media are far too serious to be left to day-to-day
inspirations. Whoever is responsible for managing the media relations must have sufcient
and planned in advance resources otherwise she/he will not have anything to manage at
all, claim the authors.
THE PEER REVIEW ON BUDGETING FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS
Related to the budgeting and budget planning in the eld of PR, the Supreme Audit Ofce
of the Slovak Republic initiated the idea of performing the Peer Review of the Institutions
operations. One of the three main objectives is the peer review of the Institutions Public
Relations Ofce. The Court of Audit of Slovenia, the National Audit Ofce of the United
Kingdom, the National Audit Ofce of Estonia and the Supreme Chamber of Control of
Poland provided positive responses to carry out such peer review. The National Audit Ofce
of the United Kingdom is the team leader, the Memorandum of Understanding will be
signed in May 2010 and the results (submitting the nal report) of the peer review are to be
expected in May 2011. The Peer Review Team will consist of community of experts in the
PR eld, who are highly qualied to perform impartial review. PR experts originate from four
different European countries and such team structure will enable the thorough screening
of all aspect of Slovak SAI public relations ofce. Undoubtedly the signicant part of the
procedure will be the very important issue of budget planning and relation to the planned
(expected) and realised results in the PR eld. Upon the accessible data such peer review
will be one of the rst ones and the conclusions/ndings will denitely contribute to setting
new milestones in value for money and in needs of proper budgeting.
BENCHMARKING BUDGETS FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS IN
GOVERNMENT VS. SUPREME AUDIT INSTITUTIONS
In-house public relations departments vary in size and duties and so do their budgets.
With the intention to make a comparison of budget volume for PR between government
bodies and supreme audit institutions (SAI) a short study was performed in March 2010
(series of e-mail messages to author) for this paper amongst 14 European countries with
very different backgrounds. The results were then compared to publicly accessible data on
the costs/contracts for communication services within the ministries (government bodies).
AUSTRIA
In 2009, the Austrian Court of Audit spent 12.000 EUR (0,038 % of total budget 2009) on
PR services. For 2010, 15.000 EUR (0,052 % of total budget 2010) are allocated for PR
services.
BELGIUM
In 2008 the Belgian Court of Audit spent 32.051 for its public relations service (expenses
for publication of reports and reception costs). This is 0.07 % of the institutions total budget.
BULGARIA
The share of resources of the Bulgarian Supreme Audit Institution for its public relations
service (salaries plus presentation materials) is around 0.7 % of the total budget.
THE CZECH REPUBLIC
The 2009 budget of Supreme Audit Ofce of the Czech Republic (SAO) for PR including
costs of publications to promote SAOs activities was 16.000 . The SAOs overall budget
was 25.786.600 so the PR budget represented the share of 0.062 %.
ESTONIA
According to Estonian Supreme Audit Institution budget for 2010 PR expenses form 0.6 %
of the budget or 22.370 . In addition, the same number form the budget for PR expenses
of the Secretariat of the INTOSAI working group on environmental auditing that was created
3 years ago. It means 1.2 % of the budget resources are planned for PR.
GERMANY
The total budget of the Bundesrechnungshof amounts to 110.000.000 , from which - to
give a true and fair relation - the pensions should be discounted, that makes in round terms
85 mio. The amount of resources disposed for the public relations service is 41.000 , that
makes a share of round about 0.05 %.
GREECE
For the year 2010 the Greek Supreme Audit Institution has been given the sum of 1.800
for the public relations service.
HUNGARY
The State Audit Ofce of Hungary expenditures for 2010 sum a total of 30.650 . The
expenditures for Media research services are 20.500 , for the Hungarian News Agency
services 10.000 and for press conferences (cost of coffee, water, biscuits) 150 . In
addition, the SAO revises and publishes its Strategy and Introduction Brochure every 4
years. Last time they were published in 2006 and the expenditure for printing costs was
3.850 .
LUXEMBOURG
The budget includes an amount of some 15.000 to cover expenses for consulting in
public relations. Small expenses for public relations are spread on different budget funds
together with other expenses so that it is impossible to determine the exact amount of
th
them. The entire budget for 2010 amounts to 3.900.000 (3.6 mio for salaries 300.000
for other expenses). In case the 15.000 is considered it would represent 0.38 % of the
total.
MALTA
The estimated gures for the public relations activities would sum up roughly at around 10
working days at a total cost per annum of 2000 .
THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC
The Supreme Audit Ofce of the Slovak Republic approximated the PR expenditures to
around 7.000 8.000 /year; it means approximately 0.1 % of total expenditures of the
ofce.
SLOVENIA
The PR related costs at the Court of Audit in 2009 were 20.462 in total. This sum includes
contract for clipping, contract with Slovene Press Agency, printing costs for Annual Report,
photo material and cover design for audit reports and costs for background stands for
press conferences and statements. The overall budget of the institution was slightly over
6.7 mio thus the share for PR represents 0.3 %.
SPAIN
The Spanish Court of Audits 2010 budget amounts to 61.189.000 . The total expenses
calculated for 2010 for PR (excluding personnel) are presentation materials and other
publicity items / 6.000 , expenses associated to meetings and conferences / 40.000
and press Ofce / 28.000 . These three areas amount to 74.000 and represent 0.12 %
of the total budget for 2010. This amount does not include expenses for institutional and
international relations.
SWEDEN
The Communications Department of the Swedish Supreme Audit Institution (SNAO)
has a budget of approximately 700.000 . That includes salaries, premises, information
materials, etc. The total budget of SNAO is approx. 300.000.000 hencethe budget of the
Communications Department is 2.38 % of the total budget.
Although the assembled data are not fully comparable (some institutions quoted 2008
or 2009 and other 2010 budgets, some included salaries and premises) the comparison
between 14 different European countries indicates that shares for public relations are
overall relatively low. The range stretches from 0.038 % (Austria) to 2.38 % (Sweden). The
numerical indicators are a bit more optimistic from the perspective of the Swedish Supreme
Audit Institution since the costs spent on PR were incredible 700.000 (including salaries
and premises) but highly disappointing being a PR employee of SAI Greece (1.800 ) or
SAI Malta (2.000 ). Many times over communicating within such tight budgets represents
quite a challenge and requires much of inventiveness for every single communicator. Similar
standpoint is represented in Communication Campaigns (Serajnik Sraka 2009, 130-132)
where authior is explaining that practice often shows the lack of resources therefore one
has to be inventive and wise in allocating the funds.
In Media Relations authors (Veri et al. 2002, 56-57) specically explain that planning
media relations is of no signicance if there is no clear and evident will of ensuring proper
resources. PR practitioners, communicators need their own budgets and need to be
autonomous when allocating funds in accordance with proposed and approved plans. The
practice too often shows no such independence which is one of the repeated reasons for
failed results or unexecuted media plans even though they were of great potential and well
conceived. If management does not trust communicators with budget autonomy how can
they trust them with their full media image? Many think that day-to-day news watching,
radio listening and reading newspapers justify them as media experts but such opinion is
extremely nave, conclude authors.
And nally, what is the size of Government PR budget? The entire amounts of PR funds
in ministries could not be determined since expenses for public relations are spread on
different budget items (many times together with other expenses) therefore it is impossible
to exactly dene the overall number. The important segment represents the Government
Communication Ofce (GCO) which is a professional service with two divisions: Division for
Media Relations and Communications Projects Division. The GCO budget realization was
almost 7.2 million in 2007, almost 8.0 million in 2008 and 5.4 million in 2009. The
substantial difference (decrease in 2009 in regard to 2008/2007) is in the fact that in second
half of 2008 Slovenia was helding the EU Council Presidency. The substantial funds were
amounted for communication and promotion of series of meetings and events.
Furthermore, other budget related data is publicly available. In October 2009 one of the
Members of Parliament received the answer to his parliamentary question on all contracts
for PR in ministries and government bodies. Government pointed that the majority of
ministries do not subcontract external PR agencies since the work is done by in-house
PR departments. In several cases where the contracts have been made they deal only
a few targeted program priorities of each contracting authority (ministry). The total sum
of external PR costs in 2009 was slightly under half million of which newly concluded
contracts represent 189.159 . The total sum of external PR contracts in period 2006
- 2008 was over 2.1 million . Furthermore, journalist Matija Stepinik (Stepinik 2010)
noted that funds for PR in 2009 were substantially reduced in comparison with some
earlier years. Stepinik thoroughly analyses every single existing contract. His article
reveals the sums of contracts are no higher than 48.000 (Ministry of Transport).
Overall realization of this Ministry's budget was almost 600 million therefore the share
for external PR represents 0.008 %. There is a great resemblance with other existing
contracts vs. budgets for example Ministry of Finance (0.008 %), Ministry of Health (0.04
%) or Ministry of Foreign Affairs (0.04 %). The issue of value for money in Government PR
is evidently very interesting for other media, too. Upon currently accessible information
the Radio Slovenia, Val 202 will dedicate special attention benchmarking Government PR
performance vs. private sector PR performance. The special radio broadcast is planned
to be on-air in April 2010.
With previously quoted numbers and PR shares within budgets there is a need to once
again point out the standpoint of many authors and PR experts and their concern that the
th
lack of resources leads to poor results or even no results at all. If Government really wants
to follow and execute the Result Based Budgeting and communicate the results they could
follow the principles of Osborne and Hutchinson as described in The Price of Government
(Osborne and Hutchinson 2004, 62-70). In chapter Setting the priorities of Government:
Buying results that citizens value (and the price they are willing to pay) authors explain
that prior to setting any facts and gures Government should go through a process of
answering ve key questions which leed to ve key challenges:
1 Getting a Grip on the Problem: Is it short or long term? Is it driven by revenue or expenses,
or both?
2. Setting the Price of Government: Determining how much citizens are willing to pay.
3. Setting the Priorities of Government: Deciding which results citizens value most.
4. Setting the Price of Each Priority: Deciding how much the government will spend to
produce each of these outcomes.
5. Purchasing the Priorities: Deciding how best to produce the desired results at the price
citizens are willing to pay.
That citizens want value for their money is no mystery. Government can win the competition
for public support only by delivering more value per each public euro spent. And for the
nal consideration government managers and communicators could follow a set of three
Osbornes older advice (Osborne 1993, 149):
1. Balance short-term and long-term gains; implement some easy changes while you plan
for long-range change.
2. Look for opportunities, not problems, focus on results.
3. Dont promise too much. Politicians who run on a platform of xing every social ill that
aficts their jurisdiction are setting themselves up for failure-programmatic and political.
REFERENCE-LIST ENTRY
Books
Jefkins, Frank. 1995. Public Relations Techniques. Oxford: Reed Educational and Professional
Publishing.
Osborne, David and Peter Hutchinson. 2004. The Price of Government, Getting the Results We
Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis. New York: Basic Books.
Osborne, David. 1993. Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the
Public Sector. New York: Penguin Books.
Seitel, Fraser P. 2004. The Practice of Public Relations. New Yersey: Pearson Education.
Serajnik Sraka, Nada. 2009. Komunikacijske kampanje. Ljubljana: GV Zaloba.
Veri, Dejan, Zavrl, Franci, and Rijavec Petja. 2002. Odnosi z mediji. Ljubljana: GV Zaloba.
Newspaper Articles
Deli, Anuka. 2010. Raunsko sodie je nemotee samo, kadar je tiho. Mag, February 15.
Stepinik, Matija. 2010. Roga pobral 43.200 evrov in el od Kriania. Veer, March 5.
Unknown author. 2008. tevilka tedna. Mag. October, 15.
Web sites
Slovene Court of Audit Strategy 2007-2013.
http://www.rs-rs.si/rsrs/rsrs.nsf/I/KC7BFA7711BBA2EDBC125723C00500F6D
Court of Audit Annual Report 2007.
http://www.rs-rs.si/rsrs/rsrs.nsf/I/K86546B35F636AAC1C1257155004B3D11
Court of Audit Annual Report 2008.
http://www.rs-rs.si/rsrs/rsrs.nsf/I/K86546B35F636AAC1C1257155004B3D11
Audit Report on Management of State Owned Apartments.
http://www.rsrs.si/rsrs/rsrs.nsf/I/KF492D1ADC5A7DB6CC12572F30025D974?openDocument&ap
pSource=FC914121789FBE94C12571550047D1A9
Audit Report on Maintenance of Highways.
http://www.rsrs.si/rsrs/rsrs.nsf/I/K29468874F0E38504C12574C6003CCF53?openDocument&app
Source=FC914121789FBE94C12571550047D1A9
Performance Audit Report on VAT.
http://www.rsrs.si/rsrs/rsrs.nsf/I/KAB0E8257D3B90D69C1257186001DC75B?openDocument&ap
th
pSource=FC914121789FBE94C12571550047D1A9
Performance Audit Report on Drug Prescribing.
http://www.rsrs.si/rsrs/rsrs.nsf/I/K3CF5A877C6B490ACC125740800265A79?openDocument&app
Source=FC914121789FBE94C12571550047D1A9
US Government Accountability Ofce. http://www.gao.gov/multimedia/video
Berg, Chris. 2009. Sydney Morning Herald, December 2009. Small Government does not mean
cheap. http://www.ipa.org.au/news/2029/small-government-does-not-mean-cheap
NAO Audit Report. 2006. Department for Work and Pensions: Using leaets to communicate with
the public about services and entitlements.
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0506/dwp_using_leaets_to_communi.aspx#fan2_back
http://www.nao.org.uk/about_us.aspx
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-454244/336-000-worth-travel-expenses-civil-servant-paid-
advise-saving-money.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/oct/26/uk.Whitehall
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2007/oct/26/uk.Whitehall
http://www.dzrs.si/index.php?id=94&q=pogodb&author=89&unid=VPP|F3B0F108DE1E8FC0C125
7651004A92C3&showdoc=1
E-mail messages
Brian Vella, e-mail message to author, March 1, 2010.
M Jose de la Fuente y De La Calle, e-mail message to author, March 2, 2010.
Arnell Gra, e-mail message to author, March 4, 2010.
Rein Srd, e-mail message to author, March 4, 2010.
Marco Stevenazzi, e-mail message to author, March 5, 2010.
Radek Majer, e-mail message to author, March 5, 2010.
Eszter Drr, e-mail message to author, March 9, 2010.
Daniel Tibor, e-mail message to author, March 9, 2010.
Konstantinos Kostopoulos, e-mail message to author, March 12, 2010.
Snezhina Dimitrova, e-mail message to author, March 15, 2010.
Igor Ciho, e-mail message to author, March 15, 2010.
Franz Wascotte, e-mail message to author, March 17, 2010.
Hayo van der Wal, e-mail message to author, March 24, 2010.
Wolfgang Wiklicky, e-mail message to author, March 26, 2010.
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The Use of Intentional Positioning Techniques in Government Agencies
Communication Campaigns
by Melanie James
INTRODUCTION
Positioning, as a concept in academic literature, is most frequently associated with marketing
studies. Positioning in a public relations sense is underexplored with only a relatively small
amount of works relating to positioning in any sense published in the public relations literature1
(e.g. Hallahan 1999; Motion 1997; Roper 2005; Wang 2007; Waymer and Heath 2007; Wu
2007). However in recent studies (Beurer-Zuellig, Fieseler and Meckel 2009; James 2009)
positioning has been shown to be a not insignicant aspect of public relations practitioners
roles. James (in press) identied that marketing denitions of positioning, which primarily relate
to the four Ps of marketing product, price, placement and promotion (Egan 2007), are
insufcient to dene positioning in the context of public relations practice and has put forward
a provisional conceptual framework for intentional positioning in public relations.
This paper reports on further testing and development of the framework and applies it to
government agency/publicly-funded organizations campaigns as a way of examining
whether positioning in public relations was different to that seen in commercial marketing, as
marketing as a rule is not generally associated with government communication. This project
set out to investigate whether government agencies and other public sector organizations
communication campaigns in Australia employed public relations positioning techniques, as
dened by James (in press), in their quest to achieve communication goals.
Whilst politicians may use marketing positioning techniques in their electoral campaigns or to
advance their progress through the political party system (Roper 2005), there is no literature
that addresses if and how government agencies and public sector organizations employ public
relations positioning techniques. Glenny (2008, 153) has researched aspects of government
agency communication and found that although political communication has received
extensive attention in the literature, there has been less focus on the apolitical function of
communication undertaken by governments and the public servants role within it. This paper
is a contribution towards lling this void. Government agencies in Australia enact the political
agenda of the elected government and are staffed by public servants committed to notions
of professional neutrality (Althaus, Bridgman and Davis 2007, 12). Their use of positioning
may, at rst glance, seem at odds with this notion of professional neutrality. Public sector
organizations in Australia are funded by governments and generally deliver services such as
education and health but also include public corporations such as government-owned utilities
delivering power and water services. This study shows that positioning undertaken by such
1 See a review of the published literature in James (in press).
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government agencies and organizations is something quite different to that which is seen
in marketing contexts.
POSITIONING IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
Only one specic public relations positioning denition was found (Motion 1997) apart that
that put forward by the author (James, in press). Motion take a discourse approach and
states that:
... positioning is a subjectifying process of locating and being located within discourse
sites or spacesinvolves the struggle to create what may be known and how it may be
knownPositioning may be either a strategic manoeuver or ploy by an individual, or the
result of the discourses one is situated within as a subject of particular institutional relations,
power relations, and social relations (1997, 7).
Although this denition is very apt to what the author has observed in her research, another,
albeit related, denition that aligns more with what could be termed mainstream public
relations practice rather than critical theoretical approaches was suggested by James (in
press):
Positioning can be dened as the strategic attempt to stake out and occupy a site of
intentional representation in the contested space where meanings are constructed,
contested and reconstructed.
This denition could serve as part of an heuristic for positioning in public relations and
embraces a more social constructionist theoretical perspective. It draws on the work of
Berger (1999, 186) where he suggested that:
public relations provides organizations with dynamic and comprehensive methods and
processes of intentional representation in contested sites in which information is exchanged,
meaning constructed and managed, and consensus, consent, and legitimation gained or
lost with others.
And that:
representation refers to the purposeful expression of organizational voice(s) and
appearance(s) to inuence others.
James (in press) built on this new denition and developed a provisional conceptual framework
for intentional positioning in public relations (see Figure 1) based on the Positioning Theory
from the eld of social psychology developed by Harr and van Langenhove (1999). This
framework has been applied to 21 Australian award-winning government agency/public
sector organizations communication campaigns2 from the period 1999-2008. All had won
a Public Relations Institute of Australia Golden Target Award in their categories. There
were three award entries from federal government-funded organizations, 14 from state
government-funded organizations (covering 5 of the 8 Australian states and territories)
2 See appendix one for the listing of award entries
and 4 from local government-funded organizations. The data to which the framework
was applied was that generated by textual and thematic analysis of the award entry texts
and the transcripts of interviews with selected practitioners who designed award-winning
government communication campaigns in recent years.
APPLYING THE PROVISIONAL CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR
INTENTIONAL POSITIONING IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
The framework for intentional positioning in public relations campaigns has four domains
as shown in Figure 1 below.
3

Figure 1 - Conceptual Framework for Intentional Positioning in Public Relations
Campaigns mark II
POSITIONING TRIANGLE DOMAIN
Evidence of rst positioning triangle
pole of position, i.e. entitys point of
view of its own and stakeholders
actual and potential positions e.g.
determine the desired position
Evidence of second positioning
triangle pole of speech act/action,
i.e. language/action used to achieve
an specic consequence or outcome
e.g. enact the desired position
Evidence of the third positioning
triangle pole is story i.e. a
storyline that the entity has
chosen to promulgate through
it public relations activities e.g.
construct meaning through
storylines about the position
declared
POSITIONING TYPE DOMAIN
Evidence of situations
of deliberate self
positioning
Evidence of situations of
forced self positioning
deliberate positioning of
others
forced positioning of others
POSITIONING PURPOSE DOMAIN
Evidence of
positioning for
the purposes of
ingratiation
Evidence of
positioning for
the purposes of
intimidation
Evidence of
positioning for the
purposes of self
promotion
Evidence of
positioning for
the purposes of
exemplic-ation
Evidence of
positioning for
the purposes of
supplication
Evidence of
positioning for
the purposes
of facilitation
GOAL DOMAIN
Evidence of intended positioning related to a desire to achieve a specic goal
3 A comprehensive explanation of the framework and its background can be found in James (in press).
th
The work undertaken to date by the author to apply this conceptual framework to examples
of practice as described in Australian award entries indicates that for successful positioning
to occur, the three poles of the positioning triangle should be aligned (the positioning triangle
domain), it should be clear as to the type of positioning that is occurring (the positioning type
domain) and for what purpose it is being undertaken (the positioning purpose domain). In
Harr and van Langenhoves (1999) Positioning Theory, ve purposes for positioning were
articulated however, James (in press), in adapting their work for a public relations context,
identied a possible need for another purpose category positioning for the purposes of
facilitation. It should be noted that the framework presented in this paper has been labeled
mark II as the sixth purpose for positioning, facilitation, has been added in light of the
results of this current project. The nal domain of the positioning framework is the goal
domain i.e. there should be a clear overarching strategic communication goal to which the
positioning aligns.
Possibly the most challenging part of the framework as proposed by James (in press) is the
positioning triangle domain, and specically, the second pole of the positioning triangle -
speech act/action. At the rst pole, the desired positioning is determined through analysis
of research ndings and strategic decision-making. It is at the second pole of the positioning
triangle where the desired positioning is enacted and this process draws on Speech Act
Theory, a theoretical area with which few public relations scholars apart from Neff (1998;
2008) have engaged. Searle (1979), who built on the work of Austin (1962), suggests ve
ways of using language or ve general categories of illocutionary acts (Searle 1979, viii):
We tell people how things are (Assertives), we try to get them to do things (Directives),
we commit ourselves to doing things (Commissives), we express our feelings and
attitudes (Expressives), and we bring about changes in the world through our utterances
(Declarations). (Searle 1979, viii).
The method I used in this project aligns with Searles approach which he states is in a
sense empirical (1979, viii) but which I view as interpretative. It involves looking at the
uses of language in each award entry and identifying evidence of one or more of the ve
general categories of Speech act/actions in the context of the discourse within which the
award entry is situated. I then claim that particular speech-acts/actions can be classied
under these headings. This approach is more than just looking for verbs in the text such as
announce or proclaim, which Searle states is the most common error people make with
Speech Act Theory, but looks at the illocutionary act in its entirety. This can only be done
by looking at the wider context, especially, in the case of public relations campaigns, that of
stated strategic goals and the authority of the organization and its spokespeople to perform
the illocutionary act. This is where it particularly relates to intentional positioning efforts.
The speech-act is more than the propositional content but also includes the concept of
illocutionary force the two together comprising the illocutionary act (Searle 1979, vii).
The most important part of illocutionary force is what Searle calls the illocutionary point
(1979, 3) i.e. what is the point or purpose of what is being said, as Searle (1979, 2) explains:
The point or purpose of an order can be specied by saying that it is an attempt to get the
hearer to do something. The point or purpose of a description is that it is a representation
(true or false, accurate or inaccurate) of how something is. The point or purpose of a
promise is that it is an undertaking of an obligation by the speaker to do something.
In general situations, most illocutionary acts are not intended to have specic perlocutionary
effects but I would argue that in the context of public relations campaigns, most are intended
to have such effects, i.e. to have target publics construct the meaning that public relations
practitioners intend for them (James 2009). Bach (1998, np) states that the perlocutionary
act is a matter of trying to get the hearer to form some correlative attitude and in some cases
to act in a certain way. The evidence in this study indicates this is what organisations were
attempting, and according to their evaluation statements, actually achieved.
At the third pole of the positioning triangle the storylines are invoked and are those
developed and promulgated by the public relations practitioner to support the positioning.
The storylines are determined by the rst and second poles hence the positioning triangle
is a mutually determining triad (van Langenhove and Harr 1999, 18). To pursue storylines
that are incongruent with the rst two positioning triangle poles would mean the desired
positioning would not be achieved. This links back to the role of key messages in public
relations campaigns and the importance placed by practitioners on consistent messaging
in supporting believability (Bruce & Tini 2008).
LIMITATIONS OF THIS RESEARCH AND THE FRAMEWORK
I am continuing to further develop and test the provisional conceptual framework and this
work is ongoing. Some of the challenges posed by the inclusion of aspects of Speech Act
Theory (Austin 1962; Searle 1979) into the framework are not straightforward, especially
as they relate to the concept of perlocutionary effects and the active role of audiences in
the co-construction of meaning. Some of the limitations of Speech Act Theory have been
explored (e.g. Taillard 2000) and other scholars have added to, adapted or revised the
Theory (e.g. Bach and Harnish 1979; Gu 1993; Hornsby 1994), but the tenet of Austin
(1962) that words do not only describe things but that they also do things remains central.
The author is currently examining the work of Taillard (2000) and others in examining the
role of persuasion in intentional positioning.
APPLYING THE FRAMEWORK TO THE AWARD ENTRY DATA
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Of the 21 award entries examined, 19 illustrated intentional positioning being undertaken
when the framework was applied to the award entry data, i.e. the three positioning triangle
poles were evident and were aligned, the positioning type and positioning purpose were
identiable and the positioning occurred within the context of the organizations desire to
achieve a specic goal. The two entries that were not included in these ndings (2000 C9
th
and 1999 H8) were ambiguous as to whether they did or did not demonstrate positioning
techniques so were omitted from this discussion. The next section will discuss the results
in more detail and will primarily use only two of the award entries to illustrate the ndings
due to the constraints of word limits preventing more of the textual analysis to be included
4
.
These two award entries were randomly selected as examples of a large and relatively
small scale campaign. There was no evidence of differences between techniques used
across the decade in which the award entries were submitted. Pertinent comments from
the interview transcripts will also be included when they further illuminate how positioning
is undertaken in government communications.
The positioning triangle
The three poles of the positioning triangle were evident and were aligned in each of the 19
award entries.
Pole 1 of the triangle - Position determined
Each of the award entries showed evidence of having a desired position as part of their
campaign and the determining of this desired position was informed by research in all cases.
This is not surprising as the Golden Target Award entry template dictates that the campaign
research be detailed by the entrant, however, it was very clear that in the research, regard
was given to the overall campaign goal and the relative actual and potential positions of
publics and stakeholders. Wu (2007, 417) states that the underlying reason for stakeholder
analysis is to identify, position, understand and predict those conicting and often contentious
relationships among various constituents. This is illustrated in the case of the lead up to the
Sydney 2000 Olympic Games where the Olympic Roads and Transport Authority (ORTA)
listed two top line objectives: positioning ORTA as a credible, professional organization and
bringing the Sydney community from a position of apprehension about Olympic transport to
a level of public condence in transport strategies (1999 A 11). Thus ORTA had determined
its desired position but had also determined the position of a key public the transport
users. However, a number of campaigns did not include the words position or positioning
in the text but there was ample evidence that positioning was being undertaken when the
framework was applied. For example the City of Casey set out in a community relations
communication program (2003 A 6) to eradicate all grafti from its precincts. The program
had three elements eradication, education and enforcement. Grafti was positioned as
not cool, as senseless vandalism and was subject to harsh penalties. Although the word
positioning was not used in the award entry, there were clear positioning elements evident
when analysed using the framework for intentional positioning.
Pole 2 of the triangle - Position enacted
The second pole of the positioning triangle is when the desired position of the entity initiating
the public relations activity is enacted through a speech-act. A speech act performs several
acts simultaneously with the intent of the speaker being a key distinguishable factor. A
speech act encompasses a) the act of saying something, b) what is being done by what
is being said (such as declaring, requesting, promising), and c) how one is trying to affect
4 The textual analysis of the other award entries is available on request to the author.
ones audience (Bach 1998). Each of the award entries had a clear strategic intent to
persuade, educate, motivate and otherwise get target publics to co-construct meanings
intended for them. One interview respondent stated:
Ninety percent of the time the messages or the positioning we put out is done to call
people to action to do something - Respondent D
Organizations, once having determined what position they desired, undertook some kind of
speech act/action to enact that position, most often through statements to target publics
made through direct communication channels or the media. All 19 enacted their positioning
through the use of Assertives, which tell people how things are (Searle 1979, viii). For
example, in the ORTA award entry (1999 A 11), the positioning was enacted via the delivery
of a series of set-piece announcements, each self-contained but designed to collectively
provide a consistent and coherent picture of Olympic transport arrangements.
However, in addition to using Assertives, in other cases the positioning was also enacted
through requests, orders or propositions to target publics, in what could be termed
Directives (Searle 1979). There were 14 of the 19 award entries that could be identied
as having used Directives in their positioning efforts. Six of the 19 award entries showed
evidence of using what Searle (1979) described as Commissives where organizations
committed to do something; 4 of the 19 award entries illustrated elements that could be
identied as Expressives, where feelings and attitudes are expressed; and only two of the
19 award entries could be shown to have used Declaratives these were both instances
where laws were introduced to declare behavior illegal one related to the City of Caseys
anti-grafti campaign (2003 A 6) and one to the Victorian Department of Primary Industrys
control of Equine Inuenza campaign (2008 C4-3). Only one award entry demonstrated
all ve of the speech act categories and this was in the City of Casey grafti eradication
campaign (2003 A 6). The positioning was enacted at the second pole through Assertives
stating the way things were regarding grafti, its image, its consequences and the Citys
eradication program; Directives the City was trying to get young people to stop doing
grafti; Commissives the City committed to removing all grafti reported within 24 hours;
Expressives the attitude was expressed grafti is not cool and, Declaratives new local
law restricting the availability of aerosol spray cans.
Pole 3 of the triangle - Position storyline
The third pole of the positioning triangle is the storyline, i.e. what storylines about the
organizations declared position will support the holding of that position. Harr and van
Langenhove (1999) tell us that with certain positions come the rights to use certain storylines
and that positioning will fail if storylines do not align with the position determined at the
rst pole and enacted at the second pole of the positioning triangle. Storylines in a public
relations context are in large part the key messages developed and disseminated through
various channels and tailored to the needs of particular audiences, e.g.
We tend to work on three key messages that are your main themes of how you want
to position this initiative and then the supporting facts that back up each of those would
probably vary for audiences Respondent J
th
One interview respondent disagreed that it was about key messages, stating it was more
about keeping to particular themes:
Im not that formal and Im not that dogmatic about it, saying these words in these ways,
although there are sometimes I would, but generally speaking there are the themes rather
than a key message in my casethe theme is that these will do these things for you so Im
more likely to stick to the themes and I make it clear that we need to keep repeating that in
different waysthis is how we are positioning ourselves about it and this is what we believe
and when you speak about it you represent that view - Respondent C
The following example indicates the process of determining the positioning of the
organisation and how this led to the positioning enactment and the development of the
supporting storyline:
The Hospital Board had identied a common vision for the Hospitals redevelopment, but it
needed to be clear on a preferred organisational position on the redevelopment. Socom [a
PR agency] took this vision and developed the following key messages that underpinned
all communications activities. (2007 C2 2)
The success of the campaign could be attributed to this strong underpinning everything
in the positioning triangle aligned. One local government interview respondent talked about
the potential for issues and problems when the messages did not align with the rest of the
campaign:
Messages needs to gel with everything else thats being put out therebecause while
the project manager may say okay this is what we want people to know, if youve got the
mayor or the chairperson or somebody in the paper saying something completely different,
it just, it erodes your credibility as a project team, but it also puts that councillor or mayor or
whoever in a difcult position, because theyve then got to explain why - Respondent D.
It is evident that inconsistent storylines start to derail the positioning strategy as the
positioning triangle loses its stability. When Harr and van Langenhove (1999) discuss
certain positions opening up the possibility of certain storylines, it also means that other
storylines will be closed off. You cant run storylines about being an environmentally friendly
organization if youve determined a public position of prot maximization at any cost. It
wont gel. The respondent expanded on this point:
Theres no point putting out a message, or positioning something in a way that its not
because our stakeholders will always nd out. Theres no point us saying okay were going
to address something and then nothing ever being done about it because then thatll result
in a bigger furor at the end of the project than you ever had at the beginning - Respondent D
The respondent was indicating that such a tactic wouldnt make sense and it would raise
questions in the minds of the media and other target publics the positioning wouldnt
hold. Another interview respondent reinforced that the various aspects of the positioning
must align:
You could construct a campaign that links into their understanding of the good work the
x organisation does and if they believe what they know about the x organisation, that its
good, then that kind of translates to being able to build, well, a message that this must be
okay too. And then if they believe that the x say its okay then it must be okay - so those
two things coming in together position it as being okay - Respondent J
This alignment of the storylines across various channels can be seen in the ORTA
example (1999 A 11) - once announcements had been made about particular transport
arrangements, spokespeople went on radio to explain what the arrangements were, how
theyd be organized and how people could access transport across the city; media events
and launches were held to show people the new eets of buses coming to town; brochures
were developed and distributed; homes along the Olympic routes were direct mailed
information about impacts; community group information sessions were held and so on. In
the City of Casey grafti campaign (2003 A 6) the storylines at the third positioning triangle
pole were delivered via key messages through media channels and education sessions with
school students telling people how to report grafti, and educating about the costs and
consequences of grafti. This was supported through key messages in advertisements,
fridge magnets, websites, visual displays and direct marketing. One prominent tactic was
the development of a four-page comic and pay if you spray stickers distributed to school
students. It can be seen that all poles of the triangle were aligned and this held the desired
position for these organizations.
The positioning type
Table 1 Positioning type domain
Evidence Yes No
Evidence of situations of deliberate self positioning 19 0
Evidence of situations of forced self positioning 5 14
Evidence of situations of deliberate positioning of others 14 5
Evidence of situations of forced positioning of others 7 12
There is evidence in all award entries that deliberate self positioning was occurring however
there were also other types of positioning occurring concurrently in many cases. It is clear
that in the ORTA award entry, the effort was primarily to deliberately self-position the or-
ganization as credible and professional and to deliberately position Sydneysiders (others)
as needing to be patient - ORTA has been careful to stress the difculties to be faced and
the need for public cooperation and patience (1999 A 11). In the award entry text, it was
clearly stated that the strategy to reposition Sydneysiders from a position of apprehen-
sion to one of condence was about underpromising and overdelivering. The City of
Casey deliberately self-positioned grafti in order to facilitate its eradication but deliberately
positioned others, such as the shopowners as having a part to play in the program due to
the face that they hadsold spray paint in the past but were now prevented from doing so
by the introduction of the new legislation.Positioning purpose
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Table 3 Positioning purpose domain
Evidence Yes No
Evidence of positioning for the purposes of ingratiation 0 19
Evidence of positioning for the purposes of intimidation 0 19
Evidence of positioning for the purposes of self promotion 8 11
Evidence of positioning for the purposes of exemplication 5 14
Evidence of positioning for the purposes of supplication. 0 19
Evidence of position for the purposes of facilitation 17 2
This study of government agency/public sector communication campaigns conrms the
need for the additional category of facilitation many of the award entries could not be
categorized as primarily self-promotion, exemplication, supplication, intimidation or
ingratiation. In most cases, organizations in this study were aiming to facilitate an outcome
better transport, use of support services, secure water supply e.g. in the Brisbane
Aquifer project (2007 C6-25), the Council did carry out positioning for the purposes of self-
promotion (to better ensure re-election of Councillors) and possibly even exemplication (of
best practice in water management) however positioning for the purposes of facilitation i.e.
facilitating the provision of a safe water supply seems to be the primary purpose.
Positioning goal
Each of the positioning efforts in the award entries was related to specically stated goals
and objectives. The positioning was never undertaken in a vacuum but always occurred
in the context of the organizations strategic intent to achieve the stated goal/s.
CONCLUSION
Through the application of the positioning framework, evidence is presented that shows that
the communication campaigns of the government agencies and public sector organizations
intended to position their idea/s, their offering or their service in a particular way in the minds of
target publics and that they employed a range of techniques to enact the intended positioning.
The application of the provisional conceptual framework for intentional positioning in public
relations (James, in press) to these examples of practice in government communications
indicates that the framework can provide a useful tool for analyzing campaigns. Even in
cases when there was no mention of the word position or a stated aim that positioning was
being attempted, by applying the framework to a particular campaign, it can be determined
whether positioning is taking place in a public relations context.
Positioning activities were employed to facilitate target publics constructing the meaning
that the government agency/public sector organization intended for them for example,
that the local council is listening to its constituents; that living in Canberra would be a great
thing to do; that building a new hospital on the current site would be the best outcome for
all; that moving maternity services to a new location is safest for mothers and babies; that
sending children to a particular government school saves parents money; that farmers
need to consider their water needs; that its acceptable for young men to need support
following disasters and that equine inuenza outbreaks require certain measures to be
taken by the community. These are in the main not marketing communication campaigns
but campaigns designed to construct an interpretive potential (Neff 2008, 92) with a view
to persuading or inuencing identied target publics to view something a particular way
or undertake a certain action, thus facilitating the achievement of specic organizational
goals.
On the basis of the results and analysis, it can be concluded that the framework offers a more
comprehensive approach to positioning than found in marketing models and also brings
together elements identied by other public relations researchers in a single framework.
The framework will need further testing and renement but this studys ndings show that
positioning is a signicant part of government agency and public sector communication
practice.
The author would like to express appreciation to her doctoral thesis supervisors, Associate
Professor Marj Kibby, University of Newcastle, Australia, and Dr Christine Daymon, Curtin
Business School, Australia, for their constructive feedback and guidance during my
investigation of intentional positioning in public relations.
th
APPENDIX 1
Golden Target Award Winning Entries
Government agencies and public sector organisations
CALL NO.* CAMPAIGN TITLE CLIENT PR COMPANY
1. 1999 A11
A Prescription For (Disaster)
Success
Olympic Roads and
Transport Authority (ORTA)
Olympic Roads and Transport
Authority (ORTA)
1. 2000 A17
Adult Prisoner Work Camps-
Community Communcations
Ministry For Justice Ministry For Justice
2. 2003 B7
Australia Day - Celebrate
Whats Great
National Australia Day
Council
The National Australia Day
Council Communications and
Marketing Team
3. 2003 F5
Bali bombings: Supporting
Western Australians after the
tragedy
Department for Community
Development WA
Department for Community
Development (Jane Machin-
Everill)
4. 2007 C6-25 Brisbane Aquifer Project Brisbane Water Marcom Communication
5. 2007 C2-2 Can you see and hear us? SOCOM Eye and Ear Hospital
6. 2007 C7-7 Converting Staff Perceptions
Department of Water,
Western Australia
7. 2003 G11 Dont Let Another Year Go By Northern Territory University
Northern Territory University
(Tracy Jones)
8. 2004 C3
Engaging DPI Staff in the
White Paper for Water
Department of Primary
Industries (Vic)
Department of Primary Industries
9. 2006 C15-3
Kaleeya Hospital Maternity
Unit
South Metropolitan Area
Health Service
Mills Wilson Communication
Consultants
10. 2006 C1-5 Live in Canberra Campaign ACT Government ACT Government
11. 2006 C9-1
New students for Old Modern
School
Dept of Education and
Training (WA)
Dept of Education and Training
(WA)
12. 2006 C2-4
NoLink! Sorry, no service for
outer Melbourne
Interface Councils Socom
13. 2006 C5-5
Promising Our Children a
World-Class Hospital
Royal Childrens Hospital Socom
14. 2007 C4-1 Returning Power to Collinsville Ergon Energy Powerlink Queensland
15. 2002 A17
Royal Visit To South Australia
By Her Majesty The Queen
And His Royal Highness The
Duke Of Edinburgh
South Australia, Department
of Premier and Cabinet
Public Relations Institute of
Australia
16. 2000 C9 Show Cause
University of New South
Wales
University of New South Wales
17. 2007 C6-26
Sir Samuel Grifth Drive
Operation Review
MarCom Communication MarCom Communication
18. 1999 H8 Take Control Southbank Institute of TAFE Media Link
19. 2003 A6
The Writings on the Wall -
Casey stamps out grafti
City of Casey, Victoria
City of Casey, Victoria (Ros
Weadman)
20. 2008 C4-3 Equine Inuenza - Victoria BiosecurityVictoria Department of Primary Industries
*Call nos. are those listed on the database of award entries at www.lib.uts.edu.au/gta/ and
can be used to retrieve the award entries included in the study.
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RTI Clinic Checkup: Can a Campaign to Increase Awareness of
Indias Right to Information Legislation in Orissa Succeed?
by Philippa Brear
RTI: SETTING THE SCENE
Imagine you are a subsistence worker in Orissa, an eastern state in India, and one of the
countrys poorest. Through your local council, you apply for and gain a place in the National
Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme which effectively guarantees 100 hours employment
a year to anyone who asks for it. It is not the kind of work many people want road building,
ditch digging and so on but it is the type of work people with no other income will do. So, you
do your work, but no payment is forthcoming. Your local government authority knows nothing
about it. You cannot read or write, and you have no way to contact the scheme administrators,
who are based in a distant city. Even if you had the means by which make contact, you would
not know whom to contact.
Under Indias Right to Information (RTI) legislation you could le an application to a public
information ofcer of the scheme, and ask a series of questions relating to receipt of money
for your labour. While your application cannot accuse anybody of not paying you, it can ask
for information about the work that was done, the processing of payment for it, and records
and dates of payments made. It is possible that merely making the enquiry, you will prompt
whoever is responsible to ensure you are paid. But if the public information ofcer in question
does not respond, refuses to respond, or provides information that is not accurate, you can
appeal to an information commissioner. If there is a determination against the ofcer, they can
be personally liable. Thats how RTI should work.
However, the problem is that you have to know that the legislation exists; you have to know
how to go about making an RTI application, including how to craft questions properly; and you
have to have the means, nancial and otherwise, to do it. Thats where RTI clinics can help.
It also helps if the public information ofcer understands the scrutiny an RTI application can
bring, and that he or she should take it seriously. As a government ofcial, ideally they should
understand that RTI is about promoting transparency in government and democracy, and that
these goals are shared and taken seriously by their peers, their bosses, and politicians and
voters.
th
BACKGROUND
Indias RTI legislation, enacted in 2005, is designed to give citizens the right to question
government ofcials about their performance with a view to improving public service,
and to root out corruption and incompetence. The laws have effect in all states except
Jammu and Kashmir
1
, which has its own version of RTI, and apply to the bulk of paper-
based and electronic information kept by public agencies as well as private organisations
substantially funded by government. There are exemptions such as materials relating to
national security or trade secrets. Government ofcials who delay providing information,
provide misinformation or refuse to handover records without reason can be ned.
While RTI legislation has national effect, and a central ofce administers the legislation,
its regulations are generally enforced at state level, through information commissions
connected to nodal state government departments in the case of Orissa, interestingly, the
Ministry of Information and Public Relations (although it varies in other states). Education
and awareness building are key elements of these commissions mandates.
2
The catalyst for the RTI legislation came from Indian state Rajasthan, where a 1990s
grassroots movement, the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), which translates as
Organization for the Empowerment of Workers and Peasants, exposed local corruption.
RTI researcher Rob Jenkins discusses a new type of anticorruption activism emerging
in the mid-1990s. Rather than focusing on the collective misdeeds of a ruling party, or
directing their energies toward the strengthening of the regulatory oversight bureaucracy,
the new activism aimed to expose specic acts of corruption and to focus on the
local level, where corruption was routine (Jenkins, 59). Jenkins and Anne Marie Goetz
pinpoint the MKSSs interest in the right to information arising from its work in the 1980s
and 1990s on livelihood issues, such as the failure of the state government to enforce
minimum-wage regulations on drought-relief works, to ensure availability of subsidised
food and other essential commodities through the Public Distribution System (PDS), or
to prevent the illegal occupation of government land. They note that the MKSSs efforts
around wages and prices generated a belief that access to ofcial documents was an
essential part of the struggle to demand accountability from local authorities (Jenkins
and Goetz 1999).
There is plenty of literature attesting to the endemic corruption of public administration
in India. Bureaucrat turned writer and activist Harsh Mander describes the dynamics of
corruption, listing widely-known practices including speed money, paid to overcome
delays in government processes; goodwill money paid to maintain favourable relationships
with ofcials; end money paid to achieve a specic outcome; and blackmail, where
government ofcials target members of the public about whom they have condential
information (Mander, 148).
1 Under the Constitution of India, the legislature of Jammu and Kashmir must separately ratify national Indian laws except those
relating to defence, foreign affairs and communications for them to have effect in that State.
2 Section 26(1) A of the RTI Act allocates responsibility of the relevant government to develop and organise educational programs
to advance public understanding of the legislation, particularly among disadvantaged communities.
The Association for Democratic Reform bases its research about politicians on tax
documents and afdavits supplied by MPs themselves. Referring to the 2009 Lok Sabha,
Indias house of representatives, the ADR reported that 161 members of parliament (of
543 members in total) had criminal cases pending against them, and 75 of these MPs
faced serious offences. This compared with 2004, for example, when 128 MPs had
criminal cases pending against them. In the interim, interestingly, the RTI legislation had
been enacted. The ADRs 2009 gures also found that 314 MPs were crorepatis, Indias
equivalent of millionaires (Association for Democratic Reform).
3

NGO Social Watch India monitors parliamentary activity, one aspect is committee
attendance: The continuing absenteeism at these Committee meetings should be
a cause of worry. On an average, most of the committees record only about 45 to 50
per cent attendance. During the 12th session of the 13th Lok Sabha, for example, the
nancial committees recorded an average attendance of 51 per cent. Among the standing
committees, the Committee on Railway recorded the lowest attendance during the year, a
mere 14 per cent.
MKSS gures Nikhil Dey and Aruna Roy, among others, continue to be driving forces
behind RTI. As Dey has said: All human rights depend on the basic right to know, to
demand accountability. In India, the feudal social fabric has exploited the formal democratic
system to its advantage because the literate are too busy building careers and empires to
bother about social inadequacies. That's why RTI has a widespread appeal for everyone.
Deys observation has resonance in a state like Orissa, where 35 per cent of the general
population is illiterate (Orissa Government). The backing of eminent media gures and
academics gave the MKSS campaign further momentum and potential to be, as Dey has
put it, a second war of independence. The support of the Press Council of India gave the
movement national prominence (Mahaan).
In 2009 the Government of India announced its intention to amend the RTI laws mooted
by the President in her speech at the opening of parliament. In response, a group of 200
prominent citizens, including activists Dey and Roy, published an open letter in The Hindu
on 25 October 2009, expressing their concern that the Government intended to create
an exemption for frivolous and vexatious applications, which it cited as impediments to
implementation of the legislation. The letter pressed for the national government not to
amend the legislation until the ndings of two major reports about RTI implementation were
addressed.

The reports in question in fact identied lack of awareness of RTI laws, among other
factors, as more signicant constraints on citizens exercising their right to information
under the legislation. The rst report was commissioned by the Government of India, and
completed by international rm PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC), its nal report published
3 The television game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire was known as Kaun Banega Crorepati in India, and famously depicted
in the lm Slumdog Millionaire.
th
in June 2009. The other, partially funded by the Google Foundation (Frammolino, 42),
was undertaken by a coalition of NGOs under the banner of the RTI Assessment and
Analysis Group (RAAG), and published in October 2009. Both reports have determined
that the legislation registers low public awareness, with PWC citing overall awareness
across ve states of 27 per cent of the general population and 13 per cent in rural areas
(PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 38). The RAAG report notes: In nearly 40% of the over 140
FGDs [focus group discussions] in district headquarters, at least one or more person knew
about the RTI Act. However, in only 20% of the over 400 FGDs organized in villages was
there even a single person who knew about the RTI Act (RAAG, 7).
Orissa was prominent in the report, having featured in both report samples. It is a poor state,
with a population of around 40 million, with high illiteracy the levels skewed even higher in
rural areas (Orissa Government). In particular, according to the 2001 census, 65 percent of
Orissas scheduled
4
tribe peoples, who constitute over 20 per cent of the states population,
cannot read or write (Registrar General). Further, Orissa currently ranks 12th on the India
State Hunger Index (International Food Policy Research Institute, 15), and has the highest
infant mortality rate in India in 2009 UNICEF reports 52 deaths per 1000 live births (UNICEF
India). So, while one of the aims of RTI legislation is to promote democracy and ultimately
improve the standards of living of Orissans, acute poverty presents signicant challenges in
educating them about their rights under RTI many are simply concerned with survival.
However, as Orissa Information Commissioner Shri Jagadananda
5
has put it: People
who have access to information and who understand how to make use of the acquired
information in the processes of exercising their political, economic and legal rights
become empowered to improve the quality of life The RTI Act provides a framework
for promotion of citizen-Government partnership in designing and implementation of
development programmes for improving quality of life, which calls for increasing peoples
options for higher earnings, better education and health care, a cleaner environment and a
richer cultural life (Jagadananda, 1).
This case study considers proposals for a public relations campaign to increase awareness of
RTI legislation by the Orissa Information Commission (OIC). The OIC is a statutory authority,
and therefore a government-funded independent public body, in this case charged with
implementing and promoting the legislation in the eastern India state. The discussion will
consider if the campaign can succeed by referring to conditions for success of public
communication campaigns set out by Mendelsohn in his oft-cited 1973 article, and more
recently corroborated by Windahl, Signitzer and Olsen (Windahl et al, 145) as integral to
the success of public communication campaigns namely that there are realistic goals;
dened and well-researched target publics; and interpersonal communication channels to
complement mass communication.
4 The term scheduled refers to particular groups recognised as disadvantaged or with specic needs under the Constitution
of India, and accorded particular rights because of this status. The term is also used in relation to people from lower castes,
previously known as untouchables.
5 The Orissa Information Commissioner does not use his family name as it denotes his caste, so he goes by a one-word name,
Jagadananda. Shri is an honouric used by senior bureaucrats.
This discussion, therefore, is in three parts, each addressing one of Mendelsohns criteria.
Before proceeding, however, it is important to point out that one cannot yet be conclusive
in evaluating the effectiveness of the campaign in question. Rather, it considers whether
the campaign can succeed whether it has the ingredients to indicate is can be effective.
There is also value in reecting on what success means in these circumstances. Is it
achieving dened strategic objectives? Or, is it simply making some progress in the desired
direction at least sufcient progress to justify the resources devoted to the campaign?
William Paisley notes: Reform, dened as an action that makes society or the lives of
individuals better, is a unifying principle of public communication campaigns (Paisley, 5). A
campaign promoting RTI awareness in Orissa falls within this ambit.
As Rice and Atkin have noted: Campaign objectives and criteria for success should be
reasonable many public communication campaigns have typically set higher standards
for success than the most successful commercial campaigns (Rice and Atkin 1989, 10). In
any case, one would hope this discussion and the ideas it raises will provide strategists of
the OIC, Orissa NGOs and RTI activist community with a means to reect on their current
and proposed awareness-raising efforts.
RTI AWARENESS RAISING: GOAL SETTING
As mentioned, implementation of the RTI legislation primarily sits at state level, and in
Orissa it falls to the Orissa Information Commission (OIC). There is a Chief Information
Commissioner, and there can be up to 10 Information Commissioners. Jagadananda,
appointed in 2008, has a background is in the civil society movement, notably with Orissas
Centre for Youth and Social Development. He has been the only Information Commissioner
since then, although a second commissioner has just been appointed to the displeasure
of activists who see his background as an Orissa bureaucrat as inappropriate (Indian
Express, 16 April 2010).
Sweeping allusions to the mandate of the information bureaucracy to educate Indians
about RTI legislation and how to use it have not been conducive to setting specic and
achievable objectives in this regard. OIC documents about communication and awareness
raising to which I have had access do not isolate specic communication objectives
rather they focus on more general goals, such as that Orissans should have reasonable
access to RTI, be able to use it and achieve appropriate RTI outcomes in reasonable time
frames. While awareness is seen as integral to this, as demonstrated by ndings in the
PWC and RAAG reports, awareness levels are not a measure by which the Information
bureaucrats are judged.
Jagadananda has noted that special intervention is needed in Orissa in his words: In
order to address the backwardness, the issue of acute poverty; poor human development
conditions and the desire to fast track the development, Orissa requires a multi faceted
strategy. He notes that the most disadvantaged and illiterate people need to be aware
of the legislation and how to use it. One obstacle is that the OIC does not have its own
th
public relations ofcer, and the commissioners time is divided between his role as a hearing
commissioner, regulator, manager and educator. Against a backdrop of low awareness of
the legislation among disadvantaged people, Jagadananda points to the complexities of
the application process itself: This is reducing RTI to be an affair of elite, urban, educated
middle class (Jagadananda, 1). A document prepared by the Director of Strategic
Communications and External Relations of the Canadian Information Commissioner Ofce
for the OIC notes: the task is to make the 36 million people of Orissa, most of whom live
in small rural or tribal villages, aware of their rights to information (Boisclair).
Established in 2009 by NGO the Public Cause Research Foundation, Indias RTI Awards
recognise information commissioners, public information ofcers (the organisational ofcers
charged with responding to RTI applications) and citizens. The information commissioners
role, as noted in the report of the RTI Awards committee, is quasi-judicial, in hearing
disputes about whether or not information should be provided; regulatory, in ensuring
appellants receive information to which they are entitled; and to deter, in penalising ofcials
for violations of the Act (RTI Awards, 13). They judge commissioners performance on the
basis of pro-disclosure factor; deterrent impact; effectiveness; overall public satisfaction,
and pendency. The winning Information Commission, Arunachal Pradesh, is cited as:
a shining example of how a state commission can perform well even with limited resources
(RTI Awards, 31). Orissa has a high pendency of cases that is many cases pending
that have not been cleared which points to one reason for another commissioner to be
appointed. The state sits in the mid-range of other measures (RTI Awards, 217).
As a platform for scrutiny of individual state bureaucracies, the awards are themselves an
awareness-raising tool but they also provide a vehicle for further media coverage of the
effectiveness of implementation of the legislation. With high-prole actor Aamir Khan on the
jury, the National RTI Awards were broadcast on NDTV. Interestingly, there is also an RTI
lm festival run with the stated purpose of being a communications initiative, supporting
grassroots efforts to promote awareness, facilitating access to RTI machinery and promoting
stakeholder interaction (RTI Film Festival). In a country enamoured of cinema, this is a
powerful way for the RTI message to reach a mass audience, including illiterate people.
For the sake of argument, then, if one accepts that any increase in awareness of RTI among
Orissans is a success I hark back to Rice and Atkins cautioning words then it is worth
considering other factors, particular to Orissa, that might drive or hinder this.
The considerable levels of illiteracy and poverty in Orissa have already been mentioned,
and are pivotal in this discussion. As the OICs Jagadananda has put it: Despite planned
efforts of six decades, over 40% of the total population [of Orissa] is poor, un-healthy and
illiterate. In order to rectify the deciencies in the mechanisms for ensuring the reach of the
entitlements, particularly the basic human needs, the people in general and Civil Society in
particular demanded for greater access to the information held by the public bodies In
order to address the backwardness, the issue of acute poverty; poor human development
conditions and the desire to fast track the development, Orissa requires a multi faceted
strategy (Jagadananda, 1). Obviously illiteracy and poverty are skewed toward communities
in rural Orissa, some of them very isolated. Orissa is about 156,000km
2
, larger than either
England or Bangladesh (and nearly eight times the size of Slovenia), and has 30 districts.
While Orissa is a poor state, it is resource rich, with coal, iron ore, and chromite and
bauxite reserves. It was one of the rst Indian states to take advantage of Indias economic
liberalisation, when it privatised electricity transmission and distribution in the 1990s. In
addition to India companies, there is signicant foreign investment in Orissa. The Government
of India has agreed to accord Special Economic Zone status to eight sites in Orissa, but
has met opposition from local communities and NGOs over human rights violations. Orissa
recorded the second highest level of inward investment for individual states, according to
a report of ASSOCHAM, which also noted its rich mineral resources and availability of a
cheap workforce as chief attractions for investors. A World Bank Institute Research team
reports the rate of economic growth has increased from 4 per cent in the 1990s to about
8.5 per cent over the past ve years, compared to an all-India average of 7.8 per cent
(Lee et al). Further, according to the WBI team, economic reforms have led to a signicant
decline in the cost of doing business in Orissa for example the researchers determined it
took 52 days to start a business in 2008 compared 79 days in 2004.
A controversial player in the economic development of Orissa is the London-based mining
company Vedanta. The company is building two aluminium smelters in Jharsuguda a
district in the west of the State and is also excavating bauxite deposits in Kalahandi, a
district to the south, where it has come in for criticism from environmentalists and human
rights activists in relation to the Niyamgiri Hills habitat of the Dongria Kondh people. Besides
being their traditional home, the range has sacred meaning to these people, and the plight
of the Dongria Kondh has attracted worldwide attention.
6
Activist and writer Arundhati Roy
discusses the connections corporate ofcers of Vedanta and legal decisions to permit the
company to proceed with mining activities (Roy 2009).
Villagers attacked a group of Vedanta corporate social responsibility representatives in
February 2010 in the Niyamgiri Hills. The attack is widely noted to be the rst direct violence
the company has faced since its operations began there in 2004. The jeep containing the
Vedanta team (not seriously injured) was ambushed and set alight as it returned from a local
meeting. Writing about a recent investigative trip to neighbouring state Chhattisgarh, Roy
noted: a massive billboard advertises Vedanta (the company our home minister once
worked with) Cancer Hospital. In Orissa, where it is mining bauxite, Vedanta is nancing a
university. In these creeping, innocuous ways, mining corporations enter our imaginations:
the Gentle Giants Who Really Care. Its called CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility (Roy
2010).
The attack on the Vedanta team might have been the work of villagers, but it is also connected
to the Naxalite
7
movement a collective term for anti-government armed groups active in
some central and eastern states of India, including Orissa. Roys eld trip, controversially,
was at the invitation of a group of Naxalites. Dating back to the 1960s, the Naxalites have
communist origins. The movement now numbers tens of thousands of members who
6 A Survival International lm Mine: story of a sacred mountain about the Dongria Kondh is narrated by British actress Joanna
Lumley.
7 The movement is named for Naxalbari in West Bengal, where it is said to have started.
th
effectively control whole parts of several states, including Orissa. Assassinations attributed
to Naxalites number over 6,000 citizens, soldiers and government ofcials. In early April
2010, 76 government paramilitary personnel were attacked and assassinated by a Naxalite
group of 1,000 in neighbouring state Chhattisgarh. In 2006 Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh labeled the Naxalites the single biggest internal security challenge ever faced by our
country.
The Naxalites do not have one particular enemy each group has its own cause or particular
objective, but their shared purpose is to oppose established or mainstream social, political
and economic structures. Activists in Orissa assassinated an Australian missionary and
his two sons, both aged under ten, in 1999. The missionary had worked with tribal groups
there since the 1960s. Is it not farfetched, therefore, to suggest that such groups pose a
threat to NGO representatives and government ofcials working in the eld even those
promoting RTI, because it is a mechanism of government. RTI is an enabler of democracy
and it is interesting, therefore, to note that Naxalites groups in Orissa are based in the
rural communities that are integral to the awareness-raising activities of the OIC, NGOs and
other civil society activists.
RTI AWARENESS RAISING: TARGET PUBLICS
Based on my own observations during a visit to Orissa in January 2010, it is clear that NGOs
and the OIC have clearly dened the publics they need to target in increasing awareness
of RTI in Orissa. Both groups know their State and the issue. Susie Price, based with NGO
Antodaya in Bhawanipatna in the Kalahandi district, suggests that NGOs see the target
publics for RTI awareness as those they broadly dene as disadvantaged but with a focus
on tribal and scheduled castes; people with disabilities; and people with HIV/AIDS
8
.
NGOs also highlight disadvantage by gender. Price has noted: By default if you're female
you're disadvantaged whatever your other problems. In Orissa, which is a very conservative
area if you're a women you're very much under you husband's/father's shadow you
don't control your own money, you don't go out very often if at all without your husband,
you're last in line for food etc, if there's an issue about going to school, boys will be allowed
to go before girls As a result encouraging women to le an RTI application is an uphill
battle but we're keeping it high on the agenda women in the tribal communities have
signicantly more freedom than their largely Hindu/Sikh counterparts although there is still
a very clear division in labour etc (Price [3]). The PWC report notes average awareness
levels of women across the ve states it surveyed as 12 per cent, compared to 26 per cent
among men (PWC, 38).
The OIC has identied internal and external publics in its strategic planning process.
Internal publics include the Commission itself and other information commissions around
8 In 2006 the World Health Organisation identied Orissa as one of four India states with districts with particularly high prevalence
of HIV.
India, as well as public sector agencies and the Orissa Government. But it also sees
government ofcials as an external public, in particular identifying policy makers and high-
ranked ofcials. It also categorises RTI activists and the civil society movement, or NGOs,
as external publics. In terms of the population of Orissa, it segments them into illiterate and
disadvantaged rural communities, the urban lower class, the urban middle class, the elite,
RTI activists and the media (Orissa Information Commission [1]).
Further, in devising messages for target publics, the OIC species citizens; public authorities;
and the media as target publics. The messages it has crafted focus on empowerment for
citizens as well as education about the RTI mechanism itself. For the bureaucracy, the
message is the carrot for the stick of regulation the laws are intended to provide that
government ofcials should see informed citizens as their allies, who can help bureaucrats
do their job better and to see RTI as a means through which they can provide service to the
community, and gain recognition for doing it (Orissa Information Commission [2]).
RTI AWARENESS RAISING: COMMUNICATION CHANNELS
AND TACTICS
The RAAG report attributes awareness of RTI in rural areas to newspapers (35 per cent),
television and radio (10 per cent), community word-of-mouth (10 per cent) and NGOs
(ve per cent). Among urban RTI applicants, 30 per cent gained awareness through
newspapers, 20 per cent from NGOs and about the same from television, and 10 per
cent through word-of-mouth (RAAG, 7). These broad-brush ndings suggest Mendelsohns
complementary communication forces at work mass media and more individual
interpersonal communication channels.
A survey conducted by odisha.com
9
provided media analysis for the more broad-ranging
RAAG report. It surveyed publications both English and Oriya language between August
and October 2008, and concluded that the Oriya language publications were more active
than English language publications in educating readers about the RTI Act and how
specially [sic] they might use it (odisha.com). The survey pointed to coverage of urban
and rural awareness-raising campaigns, as well as case studies, and noted The Dharitri, a
vernacular newspaper, was a media partner in a 15-day national campaign Drivc Against
Bribe. However, the report also highlighted that while there are 30 districts in the State,
articles related to activities in only a few districts, attributing this to the fact that RTI activist
projects were focused on those districts.
An example of how media coverage works hand-in-hand with grassroots awareness
raising and research is demonstrated in an article published online in the Indian Express, an
English-language online newspaper. The article, published in December 2009, reported on
the ndings of a CYSD baseline study presented at a State convention on RTI. The study
9 In late 2009 the State Government approved changing the name of the State from Orissa to Odisha, along similar lines as the
name change of Bombay to Mumbai. Approval at national level is necessary for the change to take effect.
th
found that Orissans are unaware of the entire chain of citizens rights under RTI starting
from application to complaint and appeal. It went on to note that in villages of Koraput [a
district of Orissa] eight per cent of people were aware of RTI; 17 per cent had heard of the
Act in Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj districts, and 11 per cent in Sundargarh. Interestingly, the
eldwork focused on surveying women-led groups (Indian Express), a key target group of
existing NGO communication strategies. As Price notes, NGOs see building awareness
of RTI in Orissa in two parts communication and awareness raising with the broader
community, and tactics focused on the most disadvantaged people.
With the stretched resources of the OIC, it is not surprising that Jagadananda last year
instigated the formation of a consortium of NGOs to promote RTI, known as the Orissa
RTI Coalition, whose work complements the education remit of the Commission. The
coalition includes 11 NGOs in Orissa
10
whose role is to facilitate the introduction of RTI into
Orissa communities. The main activity of the consortium is conducting workshops, known
as RTI clinics, mostly in rural communities, where scheduled caste and tribe peoples
are concentrated. The clinics allow people to nd out about their rights and help them
make effective RTI applications.
11
They also provide a forum where volunteers within the
communities can be identied to act as sponsors and to provide ongoing support.
There is no direct funding for RTI clinics, so the NGOs are being encouraged to run clinics
on the back of existing programs and therefore the coalition members take different
approaches. For example at a local, usually weekly, market the Centre for Community
Development (CCD) will set up a stall and promote RTI. Panchayats (local government) have
resource centres, effectively town halls or meeting places, which typically contain a library,
community computer and so on. These have served as venues for clinics run by the Centre
for Youth and Social Development. The coalition is also considering an SMS campaign
in India the mobile phone is pervasive and many Indians use SMS for sophisticated
applications such as phone banking
12
; a website aimed at consortium members and urban
middle-class Orissans (who might be bureaucrats themselves), who can also be advocates
for RTI; telephone help-lines; and a community radio campaign.
Orissa has received United Nations aid through the Millennium Development Goals.
Funding has targeted areas including capacity building for access to information a
project to build government ofcials capacity as information providers and citizens as
information seekers. This project also aims to establish mechanisms for better government-
citizen dialogue, laying the groundwork for Right to Information. Funding also specically
addresses improving citizens access to information, by creating more open governance.
It aims to make government participatory, increase transparency, and thereby deter the
arbitrary exercise of ofcial power. This is to be achieved through educating and sensitising
10 The coalition includes NGOs Adhar, CYSD, Patang, Antodaya, Gram Vikas, Orissa Soochana Adikar, the Centre for Commu-
nity Development and Udyama, among others.
11 For a person who has applied for a disability pension and not received it, for instance, the coalition newsletter lists recom-
mended questions along the lines of What is the daily progress report of the application; How many days was the application
with the ofcial; What has the ofcial done with the application; By what date will a decision be taken? and so on.
12 The story of Bapu, a migrant worker from another poor Indian state, Bihar, who accesses banking facilities via his mobile phone
is in a report about the phenomenon of remittances aired by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
government ofcials; increasing the awareness of citizens; and building citizens capacity to
make reasonable demands for information. An example of a UN-funded program in Orissa
is Every Village a Knowledge Centre, with a network of 73 kiosks in 12 districts of Orissa set
up with the partnership of government and NGOs; the goal being 150 knowledge centres
with outreach to 1500 villages in Orissa by end of 2007 (United Nations). It is not clear
whether this goal was attained.
Public communication campaigns are frequently criticised for being effective because they
combine television or radio announcements with newspaper advertisements, but do little
to follow up and personalise messages for specic target publics (if they are even dened).
With RTI promotion in Orissa, the reverse seems true certainly that is my observation.
There is no shortage of strategists and activists, and manpower is cheap. The grassroots
are being tended by an organised force which is not to detract from the magnitude of the
challenge they face in a geographic area of this size, with its large, spread-out community.
There are volunteers throughout the State to staff RTI clinics, attend training sessions,
organise local communities and promote RTI in concert with other civil society concerns
and priorities. But even with the support of online, national and Orissa-based news media,
and a television network that broadcasts the RTI Awards, a key issue in this case is one
of a lack of mass communication specically designed to complement current grassroots
efforts in the State.
PWCs report recommends a massive awareness campaign for rural and urban
communities, and species it should be run at national and state levels. At the state level is
lists communication channels such as workshops and street plays, press advertisements,
and a customised media strategy (PWC, 71). The coalitions plans are consistent with this,
for example its hopes to organise community radio and SMS campaigns although even
these channels would only reach a relatively small proportion of the Orissa population. The
coalition cannot, of course, countenance television, radio and newspaper advertising, due
to the prohibitive cost.
Nevertheless, the aspirations of the coalition are more formed and grounded in experience
that those of the OIC. With all the instincts and the good intentions it has, the Commission
does not have the resources to complete drafting a strategy, much less recruit an ofcer to
implement it. But it has been resourceful in aligning itself with activists and NGOs, to guide
(to the extent it is able) and harness the benets of their activities.
There are success stories many reported by the Orissa RTI Coalition, and among them:
Chakradhar Tripati was a regular recipient of the old age pension but over a year ago
suddenly stopped receiving the payment. He visited the RTI clinic and with the help of the
volunteers led an application requesting information on reasons for the pension being
stopped. Following his application, his query was raised with higher ofcials which resulted
in an order being issued to the Panchayat to reinstate payment.
th
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http://www.assocham.org/prels/shownews.php?id=2303> 12 April 2010
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Good Governance (CGG), Hyderabad 500033 January 2008 downloaded <http://www.rti.org.in/
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th
Stakeholders Inclusion: More Than a Cup of Tea?
An Evaluation Model for Interactive Decision Making
by Paolo Fedele and Mario Ianniello
INTRODUCTION
Interactive decision making has become a recurrent practice, especially in local governments
(Edelenbos, 1999; Klijn, 2008). Many administrations, in fact, involve citizens, social
organizations and broadly speaking stakeholders, in the early stages of policy making, before
the development of policy proposals (Kickert, Klijn & Koppenjan, 1997;McLaverty, 2002). The
intended purpose is to adopt better and more democratic policy decisions, avoiding recurrent
problems encountered in usual go alone decision-making (Edelenbos and Klijn, 2005); at
the same time, interactive decision-making may enhance public administrations intangible
assets (Coglianese, 2002; Irving & Stansbury, 2004) and establish bridging relationships with
publics (Van den Bosch & Van Riel, 1998). Generally speaking, stakeholders might provide
decision makers with information they lack, leading to more informed solutions; conicts and
use of veto powers might be prevented through information and consultation (Bobbio, 2005);
citizen and social organizations might support the implementation of policies that are regarded
as more democratic and legitimate. Interaction can take place through many organisational
arrangements: public hearings, referendum, participatory planning procedures, citizens juries,
etc (Oecd 2001, Bobbio, 2005). On the other side, interactive policy making is not riskless.
Decisions on who or what group constitutes a stakeholder to be consulted arises problems
of democratic accountability (Barnes et al., 2003); vested interests could affect decisions;
decision making process might become too time consuming (Irving & Stansbury, 2004).
Although interactive policy-making has been largely debated, how to evaluate its effects is still
under-analyzed (Koppenjian, 2008). The present article tries to conceptually and empirically
contribute to this debate. More specically, the main research questions the paper addresses
is: how do organizational arrangements inuence the outcomes of interactive policy making?
The article propose, consequently, that the organizational structures adopted in practice to
manage an interactive process inuences signicantly its results, although mediated by some
contextual factors. In other terms, we base our analysis on two assumptions: the importance of
network management (Kickert et al, 1997; Klijn 2008) and the inuence of formal organizational
structure in shaping behaviours (Egeberg 2003). In the light of this assumption, a model for
qualitative analysis has been developed, mainly enriching some previous contributions in
public administration literature. Subsequently, the model has been used to analyzed a pilot
case study as a preliminary step of a broader multi-case research project. Here we present for
discussion the conceptual model and the results of the test on the pilot case study.
th
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: NETWORKS GOVERNANCE,
INTERACTIVE DECISION MAKING AND EVALUATION
The present article refers, broadly speaking, to the governance literature and, more specic
to the mainstream focused on governance networks (for an overview on governance
literature in public administration studies see Rhodes, 1996 and Kljin, 2008). Interactive
policy making, in fact, implies that public policies are the outcome of the interactions
between interdependent actors (Kickert et. al. ,1997). Contributions from public relations
complement the main disciplinary approach (public administration and public management);
other relevant streams of literature, mainly rooted in political science, have not been
employed here, although largely inuential.
Governance and governance networks have been so largely debated to the extent of
becoming a case of conceptual stretching (Sartori, 1991). This article focuses on a specic
aspect of this academic debate, which seems to be relevant (at least in some research
agendas): the evaluation of networks. The matter, to some extent is quite simple: since
networks affects decisions on public policies and public money spending, is there a way
to evaluate them? Quoting a meaningful metaphor (Keast et al. 2002): are network only
about drinking cup of tea or are they about performance? If networks have to be evaluated,
criteria for evaluation need to be proposed.
Interactive decision-making is different from traditional hierarchical approaches, but is still
although not only- about making decisions. Consequently, the adoption of a shared
decision is one of the main purpose.
On the other hand, evaluation against a set of ex ante formulated objectives (the most
recurrent criteria in public management) can hardly apply to networks (reasons have been
claried by Koppenjan, 2008). So how to further evaluate network? The answer provided
by many contributors is that evaluation has to be about interaction, since the latter is
the differential features of interactive decision making. In this light, satisfaction or actor
contentment - with regard both to process and decisions- (Klijn & Teisman 1997) have been
proposed as evaluation criteria. Satisfaction has been largely debated in public relation
studies (i.a. Hon and Grunig 1999, Grunig 2002, Bruning 2002, Bruning and Ledingham
2002, ); broadly speaking it implies reinforced, a satisfying relationship occurs when each
party believes the other is engaging in positive steps to maintain the relationship (Grunig
2002).
Satisfaction as a measure for evaluating interactive processes has many pitfalls (for a review
see Coglianese, 2002); nonetheless, it is recurrently adopted as evaluative criteria.
Other evaluating factors matters, though. In particular, interactive policy-making can create
and consolidate an intangible asset: increased trust between governments and citizens,
(Coglianese, 2002; Irving & Stansbury, 2004). This is why we assume that consolidation of
trust is another evaluative criteria interactive policy making should be measured against.
At the core of the concept of trust there is the level of condence that actors have in each
other and their willingness to open themselves to the others (Grunig 2002).
If shared decision, contentment and trust are - in a broader sense- the dependent variables,
many factor might be considered as antecedents of these outcomes. In an approach
focused on instrumental rationality and mainly embedded in a logic of consequences (for
an overview of different streams in organization theory for the study of the public sector, see
Christensen et al., 2007), formal-structural organisational designs have an inuence on how
decisions are taken: since actors cannot deploy full rationality in their choices (Simon 1947),
they need selection mechanisms in decision making behaviours: the formal organizational
structure provides some selecting mechanisms. This is why, in the analysis model, we
analyse the relation of the above mentioned outcomes of the interactive process to the
organizational arrangement adopted to manage the process.
METHODOLOGY
Research approach and strategy
The research has been carried out through a multiple case study. The strength and
weaknesses of this approach are well known, and we adopted an iterative approach aiming
at literal and theoretical replication (Eisenhardt 1989, Yin 2003). We adopted a structured
approach to case studies data analysis (Eisenhardt, 1989), in order to identify and measure
constructs. This approach has been criticised by some authors; such procedures, in their
opinion, just try to replicate hypothesis-testing research methods and do not consider the
richness of data emerging from any single case study. Aware of this potential bias, the
research team explicitly employed also some of the information lost in the operationalisation
process in the phase of interpretation of empirical evidence.
Case selection
Ten cases, regarding administrations based in Friuli Venezia Giulia have been selected
trough a purposeful sampling approach. Cases have been selected on the basis of data
richness and relevance, including both successful and unsatisfactory experiences.
Two cases have been chosen for a pilot phase, to test the appropriateness and the relevance
of the analytical model, as well as to ne tune the structure of the interviews.
Out of the two pilot cases, so far it has been possible to complete only one. Therefore the
completed pilot case study provides the empirical evidences for the preliminary ndings.
Data collection techniques
For each case study, we initially collected the documents immediately available to the general
public (reports, press releases, newspapers articles). Subsequently local administrations
granted permission for accessing the ofcial documents. Afterwards semi-structured
interviews with key informants have been planned and conducted. We decided to adopt
th
two different sets of questions (as guidelines reecting the categories of the theoretical
model): on one sides those directed to the politicians, administrators and/or those involved
in the design and management of the process; on the other side, those formulated to the
participants. Finally we planned a series of observations from the eld by participating to
some of the inclusive processes. Different data collection techniques allow triangulation
of the evidence and strengthen the relevance of the ndings as well as reduce the risk of
errors in the original records (Bailey, 1984).
QUALITATIVE MODEL FOR ANALYSIS
The qualitative model assumes that it is possible to assess how the organizational
arrangements of the interactive process (i.e. the way the process is ex-ante designed)
inuence its results, given the inuence of a range of contextual factors. The starting point
is the structure designed by Edelenbos and Klijn (2005), adapted to the local milieu.
In order to do so, three macro-categories have been individuated: organizational
arrangements, contextual factors and results (see g. 1 ). Each macro-category has been
then specied in greater detail.
Organizational arrangements components have been dened by positioning them on a
scale that goes from a minimum to a maximum value in nominal terms: 0 designates the
minimum, 0,5 the middle one and 1 the maximum.
The contextual factors are more descriptive in nature and only some of them have been
graduated on a three values scale: high, medium, low.
Finally the denition of the results of inclusive decision making processes have been by far
the most complex: there is always the risk to become whether tautological (the result is
the decision itself), whether inconsistent (the result is participation per se). We decided to
assess the rst (preliminary) result through the dichotomy decision taken: yes or no. Then,
main results have been graduated on a four-values scale: ++, +, -, -- (i.e. very satised,
satised, dissatised, very dissatised).
A detailed description (g. 2) of each of the components follows:
Fig. 1

ORGANIZATIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS
ACTUAL
PARTICIPATION
ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS
INTERMEDIATE
OUTPUTS
RESULTS
ENVIRONMENTAL
FACTORS
th
Organizational arrangements
a. Formalization of the process: we initially dened the formalization of the process
through process design, deadlines and output specication:
I. Process design. Edelenbos and Klijn (2005) reect on organizational arrangements
through the degree of formalization of the interactive process through process design
and process management. We originally took into consideration only the rst one.
The maximum level of formalization corresponds to those processes that have a
pre-dened design (for normative reasons, for custom or choice), and are followed
without exibility and/or adaptation. The medium level of formalization corresponds to
a design structured during the implementation of the process (whether suggested by
the manager or as contextual need). The minimum level corresponds to the absence
of a xed process design.
II. Deadlines. The presence of clear deadlines to be met, related to some or all the phases
of the process, is one of the more self-evident indicators of formalization. The maximum
of formalization corresponds here top re-determined deadlines (by rule or choice); a
medium of formalization corresponds to exible deadlines (and are suggested by the
manager or appear as a contextual need); the minimum of formalization is where no
deadlines are set.
III. Output specication. This sub-category refers to the expected outputs and contributes
to dene the level of formalization of the process in that establishes ex ante that: a pre-
determined output is expected (with specic content and procedures) as a maximum
of formalization; a generic output is expected (the process bind the participants to
a result, without specifying the content and the procedures) as a medium level of
formalization; there is no output expected other than the inclusive process in itself as a
minimum of formalization.
b. Accessibility of the process: accessibility is meant here as the openness to the
authentic stakeholders participation (King, Feltey and Susel, 1998; Lowndes, Pratchett
& Stoker, 2006). The relevant sub-categories are communication, stakeholders
selection and openness of the process.
I. Communication. Transparency of an administrative process is strictly related to
its accessibility and contributes to create trust (Irvin & Stansbury, 2004). Here we
consider the contribution of communication that the local administration have put in
place throughout the inclusive decision making process. The maximum of accessibility
corresponds to a dialogic approach, bidirectional and targeted communication,
that goes along the whole process. A medium level of accessibility corresponds to
a communication approach which is mono-directional, generic and limited to the
main events of the process. Finally the minimum of accessibility corresponds to a
communication limited to the compulsory information, and that uses standard tools
without any reference to the targeted public.
II. Stakeholders selection. The gate-keeping role in respect to the process is by far one
of the most signicant dimensions of accessibility. Different authors have indicated the
selection of participants as one of the main organizational arrangements that inuence
the results of inclusive decision making processes (i.a. OECD, 2001; Valotti 2005;
Bobbio, 2005; Edelenbos and Klijn, 2005; Regonini 2005). In this category we include
as well the width of participation indicated by Kljin and Edelenbos (2005).
The maximum value here is represented by the absence of selection (everybody can freely
participate); the medium value corresponds to a selection made on representational basis
or on self-candidature; the minimum to a selection made by choice (in this case we will
highlight the criteria used and, specically, if representativeness and/or internal democracy
are requested to organizations that are to be selected for participation, see Halphin, 2006).
III. Openness of the process. The effective role of participants within inclusive decision
making processes has been the depicted through many typologies (i.a. Arnstein 1969,
OECD 2001, Edelenbos and Klijn, 2005, Pillittu, 2009). Here we maintain the basic
model that differentiates among co-decision (maximum of openness), consultation
(medium value) and information (minimum value of openness) and we include as well
the depth of participation indicated by Kljin and Edelenbos (2005).
c. Internalization of the process: The specicity and importance of this category lies
in its capacity of making apparent the level of commitment towards inclusive decision
making of the public administration concerned. That is to say that public administrations
believe in this approach to the point of actively participating, making new rules and
changing organizational roles. (Valotti 2005; Edelenbos & Klijn, 2005; Edelenbos, 2005)
Relevant sub-categories are:
I. Political. This sub-category recuperates the roles of politicians (Edelenbos & Klijn,
2005) in that describes the role that the political administrators take within the inclusive
decision making process. The maximum value here corresponds to the politicians
that take a formal role and a consequent behavior. The medium level is dened as
a substantial participation of the politicians that take on de facto public visibility and
accountability. The minimum level corresponds to a compulsory participation without
any direct visibility and/or accountability towards the process.
II. Institutional. The main considerations that brought us to include this sub-categories
is the peculiar Italian situation where recently some regional Councils approved laws
regulating citizens inclusion and there is a natural tendency towards increasing
legication. The maximum of institutional internalization corresponds to the creation of
law or similar norms that compel public administrations towards a strategic approach to
inclusive decision making. The medium level is represented by the existence of regular
praxis that nd their own acknowledgement in diverse formal acts (such as council
reports, conventions, ofcial statements and so on). The minimum level consists of the
complete absence of institutionalization of inclusive processes.
III. Organizational. This sub-category highlights organizational changes in the structure
of public administrations concerned. Complete organizational internalization
corresponds to the creation of new units and posts dedicated to the inclusive
processes, as well as dedicated nancial resources included in the annual budget. The
medium level corresponds to the involvement of external consultancies but with the
th
substantial involvement of internal resources/structures. The minimum level is a form of
internalization ad hoc, without any consistent involvement of resources and structures
and the process is completely attributed to external consultancies.
Environmental factors
a. Actual participation. Looking at how organizational arrangements inuence results
in inclusive decision making, we cannot possibly ignore the data related to actual
stakeholders inclusion. In this sense we dont consider actual participation as a
result of inclusive decision making processes, but as a pre-condition for success.
Two dimensions of this factor seem to be more relevant to appropriate describe the
phenomenon at hand: how many people participate and how their participation was.
(Valotti 2005; Edelenbos & Klijn, 2005, Koppenjan, 2008).
I. Actual average participation. Instead of making reference to the total population of the
local administrations concerned, we deemed more informative to look at the average
attendance at meetings in relation to the initial number of stakeholders selected.
II. Innovation potential. Together with numbers of people that attended meetings and
initiatives, we tried to assess the quality of participation by looking at the contribution
of participants in terms of ideas generation, advice and initiatives.
b. Contextual factors. Besides actual participation, there is a series of other factors
that could inuence the relation between organizational arrangements and results and
precisely:
III. Socio-economic environment Different environments in terms of demography, culture,
economic and social fabric have a natural inuence on the degree of participation in
public arenas. Besides,
IV. Political composition of local governments. In Italy inclusive decision making is often
associated with centre-left political parties. As an example, all the Regional Governments
that passed participation-related laws (see note 1) belong to the centre-left area.
V. Current political-administrative circumstances. With this factor we simply mean any
kind of ongoing events in the political/administrative arena that could reasonably
inuence the results of the inclusive process.
VI. Political salience (Pollitt,2006). The concept of salience can be referred to an organisation
within the public sector (Hood and Dunsire 1981) or to a policy area (Pollitt, 2006;2004).
In the latter meaning, an issue or a policy area is salient if it is of relevance for public
opinion and interest groups and is often in the eye of the media.
VII. Intelligibility (Pollitt 2006.) Not all the issues are easily understandable to general public;
some of them require specialised knowledge. We assume that this is a relevant feature
when an issue is debated through an interactive process.
VIII. Budget weight (Pollitt 2006). Budget size can be considered a component of political
salience. It can be reasonably assumed, in fact, that big issues (in budget weights
terms) are under strict scrutiny by governments and citizens because their course of
action can massively affect the overall public budget and impact social problems.
IX. Antecedents with some of the stakeholders. Policy-making is not only affected by
formal rules, and structures, but also by value-bearing factors. It is reasonable to argue
that some actor, who already interacted in the past can develop routines or mutual
trust; that potentially matters for future interactions.
c. Intermediate outputs. It has been already mentioned that we dont consider actual
participation as a result of the process (or, in some cases as a proxy indicator of other
results). Similarly, we consider that a series of direct outputs of the inclusive decision
making process (i.e. nal reports, public events, etc.) have to be regarded as possible
factors of process enhancement.
Results
We made the initial assumption that a minimum result for an inclusive decision making
process would be a shared decision. Main results are then dened as the level of
stakeholders satisfaction towards the decision taken and towards the process itself, the
increase/decrease of trust towards the local administration involved and nally the increase/
decrease of consistency between decisions taken and expressed stakeholders needs.
a. Shared decision. Consistently with a managerial approach that considers the value
of interactions in the light of more result oriented approaches the rst outcome to
consider is the adoption of a shared decision.
b. Stakeholders satisfaction There is a clear connection between actors satisfaction
and their perception of a positive result of the process (Edelenbos & Klijn, 2005). We
take into account the most common criticism to this evaluative criterion effectiveness.
Namely Coglianese (2006) suggestion of an alternative focus (effectiveness, efciency
and equity of the decision) is here retrieved through the dimensions of trust highlighted
in the interviews. More specically we will consider actors contentment as regards to
decision, i.e. to what extent stakeholders accept and support a policy decision. This
factor therefore can be considered a political achievement. Secondly we will take into
account satisfaction regarding the process, i.e. the quality of interaction in itself, at
least as perceived by stakeholders. Trust is a complicated concept, which has several
underlying dimensions.
c. Differential of trust towards the public administration. Many authors claim that,
regardless to any other results any form of inclusion might lead to greater trust of
government on the part of the public. Since participation implies ownership of public
policy. (Tschannen-Moran, M. & Hoy, W.K. 2000, Callanan 2005; Wang & Wan Wart
2007). Trust has been operationalised according to Grunig 2002, insulating the
dimension of integrity, dependability and competence.
d. Differential between decision and stakeholders needs. Stakeholders inclusion
furthermore should allow governments to include citizens needs in decision making
process, therefore increasing legitimacy.
th
Fig. 2

ORGANIZATIONAL
ARRANGEMENTS
1. Formalization*
1.1. Process design
1.2. Deadlines
1.3. Output specification
2. Accessibility*
2.1. Communication
2.2. Stakeholders selection
2.3. Process openness
3. Internalization*
3.1. Political
3.2. Institutional
3.3. Organizational

*of the process
CONTEXTUAL FACTORS

1. Actual Partecipation
1.1. Actual average partecipation
1.2. Innovative potential

2. Environmental factors
2.1. Socio-economic context
2.2. Political composition of local
governments
2.3. Current
political/administrative
circumstances
2.4. Political salience
2.5. Intelligibiliy
2.6. Budget weight
2.7. Antecedents with some of the
stakeholders

3. Intermediate Outputs
(Final reports, public events, etc.)
RESULTS
1. Shared decision
2. Stakeholders satisfaction
2.1. With the process
2.2. With the decision

3. Differential of trust towards the
public administration

4. Differential between decision
and stakeholders needs
th
CASE STUDIES
Through the lenses of the analytical model, two pilot cases have been observed. The rst
case refers to the construction of an electric main in the province of Gorizia while the
second deals with the use of a quarry in the vicinity of Sagrado municipality as a waste
collection site. Both processes took place in the framework of local Agenda 21 in the period
2005-2009.
The two cases are summarised in the following tables:

Pilot cases
Agenda 21
Province of
Gorizia Electric
main
Agenda 21
Sagrado
municipality
O
R
G
A
N
I
Z
A
T
I
O
N
A
L

A
R
R
A
N
G
E
M
E
N
T
S

(
m
i
n
/
m
e
d
i
u
m
/
m
a
x
)

F
O
R
M
A
L
I
Z
A
T
I
O
N

Process design 1 1
Deadlines 1 1
Objective
specicity
1 0,5
A
C
C
E
S
S
I
B
I
L
I
T
Y

Communication 1 0,5
Stakeholders
selection
1 0,5
Openness 0,5 0,5
I
N
T
E
R
N
A
L
I
Z
A
T
I
O
N

Political 1 0,5
Institutional 0,5 0,5
Organizational 0,5 0,5
Pilot cases
Agenda 21
Province of Gorizia
Electric main
Agenda 21
Sagrado municipality (GO)
E
N
V
I
R
O
N
M
E
N
T
A
L

F
A
C
T
O
R
S
A
C
T
U
A
L

P
A
R
T
E
C
I
P
A
T
I
O
N

Actual average
participation
45%
60 participants
40%
50 participants
Idea enrichment High Medium
I
N
T
E
R
M
E
D
I
A
T
E

O
U
T
P
U
T
S

Final reports, public
events, etc.
Reports, Advices, websites,
public meetings
Report on the state of the
environment; Agenda 21
nformation brochure for local
schools; Agenda 21 reports;
public meetings; website
C
O
N
T
E
X
T
U
A
L

F
A
C
T
O
R
S
Political composition of
local governments
Centre-left Centre-left
Current political/
administrative
circumstances
Nothing relevant
Temporary receivership of
local administration
Political salience High High
Intelligibility Low Low
Budget weight High High
Antecedents with some
of the stakeholders
No No
th
Pilot cases
Agenda 21 Province of
Gorizia Electric main
Agenda 21 Sagrado
Municipality (GO)
R
E
S
U
L
T
S
Shared decision YES YES
Stakeholders satisfaction
(with the decision)
NOT REGISTERED +
Stakeholders satisfaction
(with the process)
NOT REGISTERED -
Differential of trust towards
public administration
NOT REGISTERED -
Differential between decision
and stakeholders needs
NOT REGISTERED +
CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER RESEARCH
Some preliminary conclusions can be drawn after the pilot cases analysis. First of all, the
validity of the model is mainly conrmed. Empirical evidence has been easily organized
through the conceptual lenses of the model; informants have conrmed that most relevant
topics are covered. It can be argued the model has to be enriched with regards to the
design in action component. Consequently, some features of process management
will be added to the model, focusing the way the process is enacted by local governments
in the framework of the ex ante designed organizational arrangements. Secondly, further
elaboration on the scale that measures outcomes (contentment and trust) is needed, in
order to more carefully attribute cases a score. As to the ndings, it is hard to propose any
sharp reections on the basis of little empirical evidence, since no emerging pattern can
be observed and analyzed. As a preliminary conclusion can be argued that stakeholders
involved in the process highly valued process accessibility, while politicians seems to focus
on the internalization as a key component.
th
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Public Relations in the EU Communication Policy
by Szymon Chojnowski
INTRODUCTION
The role of public relations is becoming more and more signicant in international politics. The
same process may be observed in the context of the European Union and its communication
policy. One of the most intriguing questions is why such term as public relations does not
occur either in ofcial statements or documents in the work of European Union institutions. Are
there any concerns regarding possible public perception of the notion of PR?
The Communication Policy seems to be increasingly important for the EU institutions which
is proofed by the number of specialists dedicated to work in communication areas. In the
former European Commission there was Margot Wallstrom, Vice-President, responsible for
social communication. There was also a Commissioner for Information Society and Media
Viviane Reding. Both led two separate directorates-general with many employees engaged
in communication and public relations activities. Currently, Reding holds the post of Vice-
President of EC, being the Head of DG Communication. Moreover, there is an extensive
apparatus of press ofcers and spokesmen in the European Parliament, the European Council
and other European institutions.
The main issue of this paper is the lack of expected results of the current formula of the
EU Communication Policy and the complex reasons for this situation. Numerous opinion
polls prove that the EU Communication Policy is ineffective. (EUobserver, Eurobarometer
2006). Respondents conrm their unawareness of EUs structure and activities, as well as
their dissatisfaction with the communication with EU institutions. Another evidence about the
failure of EU's PR may be observed in the negative attitude of EUs societies towards widening
functions and further enlargement of the Union - just to mention recent political tensions which
started from France and Netherlands referenda on Constitutional Treaty in 2005, continued in
Irish referendum on Lisbon Treaty in 2008 and later debate over implementation procedures.
The key issues of the paper are:
problems with emerging European public sphere and European identity
in relation to communication policy,
doubts concerning compatibility of the concept of PR with the EU
communication practice,
possible measures for improving the effectiveness of the European
communication policy.
First, the paper discusses democracy-related notions and discourse ambiguities, especially
with such terms like European public sphere, European identity and democratic decit.
th
Secondly, it demonstrates that PR and communication policy concern the same activities
and therefore PR may be regarded as appropriate term in the EU institutional context.
Thirdly, it uncovers connections between crisis management politics and EU communication
solutions within analysis of the evolution of communication policy, as well as its current form
and strategy.
The article links European integration, politics and communication in order to examine
contemporary issues of public relations on the international level. A study on EU
communication resembles a laboratory for one of the most challenging and intriguing topics
of our time. The theoretical basis brings an additional value, showing the crucial meaning of
the communication process and mechanisms.
CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES FOR COMMUNICATION
There are certain difculties regarding the whole democracy-centered discourse which
presently takes place in Europe. The meaning of nation, nationality, state or identity
has recently been challenged. The concept of democracy is not really adequate when
we consider institutional framework of the Union and its national diversity. The untypical
structure of this quasi-organization cannot ensure that the democratic scheme will work
here. Thus, this conceptual problem perhaps should not be considered as an obstacle
in communication. Democratic decit arises as an unfair accusation towards the EU
because the notion of democracy is rather irrelevant to EU mechanisms. (Ninik 2006, 46).
In postmodernist approach Zygmunt Bauman, sociologist writes about Liquid Modernity,
where many terms are not stable enough and begin to be liquid. He expresses the changes
that we might observe in Europe at the moment new types of identity, vanishing borders
between states. (Bauman 2000, 9). Similar conclusion could be outlined from Europe as
Empire by Jan Zielonka who analyses etos and demos in contemporary Europe. He states
that the EU cannot be regarded as a democratic state since there is no European society
sharing unied values and beliefs. (Zielonka 2006).
This conjuncture has further implications on communication within the EU, as it refers to the
European identity and European public sphere. Observers and researchers draw attention
to emerging pluralistic identities regarding a number of factors: culture, economic interest,
politics and shared experiences. (Mayer, Palmowski 2007, 85-123). At the same time
they claim that there are several types of identities, which have already gained European
character: legal, historic, cultural, constitutional or institutional.
Pluralistic identities hamper European communication since they require a multilevel,
complex approach designed for different groups of society. More issues have been found in
the analysis of the European public sphere which is considered as one of conditions of the
communication process. Again, the public sphere as a democratic feature does not seem
to be compatible with EU matters. However, Jrgen Habermas believes that European
public spheres have appeared in relation to common threats and problems. He writes that
if societies notice supranational interests and the need for solidarity, the political community
might be established. (Habermas 2001; Habermas, Derrida 2003).
The specicity of the emerging European public sphere resembles a structure of network
or a number of quasi-spheres focused on particular concerns. (Eriksen 2005). One might
point out a couple of problems/threats that affect all European countries: global warming,
terrorism, immigration, renewable energy, economic crisis etc. Also, there are every-day
interests shared by the Europeans e.g. roaming costs, VAT, mobility rights, the safety of
cosmetics products etc. Thus, potential topics are various and they require international
cooperation under the aegis of the EU. This is why there are numerous European groups,
associations and organizations which collaborate together in different states and regions.
COMMUNICATION POLICY VS. PUBLIC RELATIONS
Linking two denitions of public relations and communication policy might provide
satisfactory answer for one of the general questions posted in the introduction. Once the
link is established, it should be possible to measure how many PR instruments are being
used by the EU institutions and whether the notion of PR is appropriate in the area of
European integration.
There are noticeable similarities if we compare the meaning of public relations and
communication policy. One of well-known denitions states that public relations is the
management function that establishes and maintains mutually benecial relationships
between an organization and the publics on whom its success or failure depends. (Cutlip
et al 1994, 6). Thus, the aims of PR and communication policy are substantially the same
e.g. maintaining protable relationships with the public or building a positive image of an
organization.
The study of activities of the EU institutions demonstrates that there are indeed several PR
features e.g. community relations, internal relations, agenda-setting (issues management),
lobbing or crisis management. Also, spokesmen and press-ofcers work should be added,
as well as a number of organized press-conferences, study tours and anniversary events.
Nevertheless, information projects seem to dominate EU communication activity: www.
europa.eu, Europe Direct, Europe by Satellite, Your Europe, Debate Europe, Rapid or Team
Europe.
This practical approach is not the only proof of the appropriateness of PR terminology in the
context of the EU institutions. The other one is the soaring existence of PR in global politics,
especially within the most integrated areas. It is supported by signicance of such concepts
as international PR, public diplomacy or national branding. (Michalczyk 2005, 251). Though
the sense of international PR is predominantly associated with economics, the same rules
might be applied to politics. Governments have been using PR tools in the international
politics for decades in the case of diplomacy, cultural policy or communicating with
foreign public.
Branding Europe could be considered as another feature of EU public relations when we
take the European symbols into account. European citizenship, anthem, ag, Euro coins
th
and banknotes are playing an important role in the process of EU branding. (Aveline 2006,
334-340). The blue logo with stars commonly appears on documents, advertisements,
number plates, road signs and in front of many national or international institutions.
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE EU COMMUNICATION POLICY
The whole idea of this policy and its evolution reect a style of crisis management since
the improvements of communication were, in fact, merely responses to the acts of social
disapproval reected in a number of referenda. If we follow a relatively short history of
the EU Communication Policy we might observe a kind of pattern which originated in the
1990s. The rst example was the Openess and Transparency concept which arised as
a reaction to Danish No voting on the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. (European Council in
Edinburgh, Dec 1992, Presidency Conclusions).
The next step was the Santers Commission crisis in 1999, preceding dismissal as a result
of fraud scandal. The new Commission headed by Romano Prodi started work from
broadening the Openess and Transparency programme. Then, there was the Treaty of Nice
(2001) which was not approved by the majority of the Irish voters. In response, another
legal improvement did occur Council Conclusions on Openess, Transparency and Good
Administrative Behaviour and Declaration about Public Access to Documents. (European
Council Press Release 25.06.2001).
The Information and Communication Strategy for the EU was announced in 2002 and can
be regarded as an achievement of the European Commission. Its goals were: 1) minimizing
information decit and focusing on social expectations (environmental protection,
globalization, closing the economic divide); 2) building a coherent and comprehensive
communication policy; 3) addressing information and messages to the specic interests
and concerns of different target groups. (Communication from the Commission to the
Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee
of the Regions on an information and communication strategy for the European Union,
COM(2002) 350 nal, Brussels 2002). This strategy states that the public is aware that it
is poorly informed on Europe. It is only too ready to blame not only the media and national
authorities, but also the European institutions, for the perceived ignorance or prejudice.
Fighting ignorance and apathy is now a must for the European Union. Remember that
turnout in the European elections fell from 63% in 1979 to 49% in 1999.
Nevertheless, the strategy did not prevent the EU from negative result of voting on the
Constitution in France and the Netherlands in 2005. After that a reection period was
established and Plan D for dialogue, debate and democracy announced in order to begin
a debate over the future of the EU, especially at the national level. The outcome of the
number of meetings and accompanying Eurobarometer research was very useful for the
European institutions to identify key problems. Major citizen concerns were the economic
impact of globalization and the collapse of the social care system. On the one hand the
discussion showed high expectations about the EU, and on the other it highlighted the
lack of awareness of the EU institutional structure and activities. (The period of reection
and Plan D COM (2006) 212; Plan D Wider and deeper debate on Europe, SEC (2006)
1553).
There are many documents regarding communication policy, which have been published
by European institutions. Only some of the most important ones are mentioned in this
article. The analysis of these papers conrms the lack of anticipated results of this policy.
In order to avoid hampering the integration process, the EU must rethink the framework of
the discourse. Furthermore, most of the priorities of the strategy should be strengthened
and continued (eg. a coherent source of information, multilevel approach and responding to
common concerns). Finally, PR and media tools shall be used in a wider and more effective
way; in particular, the introduction of an EU TV channel broadcasting in national languages
and accessible for majority of the European audience. (Ninik 2006, 46).
CONCLUSIONS
As stated earlier, there are several problems regarding the ow of information between
European institutions and citizens, which uncover a substantial gap in communication.
This conclusion is followed by the negative feedback from citizens through various opinion
polls held by Eurobarometer, as well as researches commented in the European Voice or
EUobserver. A number of No referenda on new treaties, which were evidently of high
importance for the EU, also convey the same ndings.
The current formula of the EU Communication Policy is not suitably supporting
European integration. The policy today can be criticized for its incoherence, indirectness
and passivity. Although the communication policy has some achievements, its evolution
seems to conrm that the improvements occurred as an outcome of a crisis management
approach.
Neither European identity nor the European public sphere has occurred so far. As a result,
national and local politics interfere with the ow of information between EU institutions and
citizens. EU agenda is often subject to politicians who act according to their own personal,
local or national interests. In general, the citizens perspective does not reach beyond re-
gional concerns, and European referenda outcomes reect predominantly national wor-
ries and expectations. Moreover, the well-known accusation entitled democratic decit
is controversial because the concept of democracy does not seem to be relevant to
the EU matters and specicity. Despite the lack of the European public sphere, com-
munication is nevertheless possible because the EU has not got an entirely democratic
structure. Some authors admit that there are already networks and quasi-spheres focused
on particular concerns.
One of possible solutions for making this policy more effective is to establish a new theo-
th
retical background avoiding constant references to democratic concepts and traditional
attributes of the state. EU substance tends to be more complex. Thus, the key ideas of a
communication strategy announced by the European Commission should be consistently
implemented: focusing on peoples expectations, targeting groups, and coherence of
information. Finally, in response to the main obstacles of communication, European media
should be established, particularly television channels that broadcast in several national
languages.
Public relations might be regarded as an appropriate perspective to grasp EU com-
munication needs and can be used within this context. It is a term closely related to com-
munication policy because both assume creating positive image of an organization and
maintaining mutually benecial relations with the public. There are many examples of PR
instruments in the work of the European institutions. In addition, international politics have
been using PR for centuries, especially in such areas like diplomacy (public diplomacy), cul-
tural policy or - nowadays - national branding. Therefore, PR terminology can successfully
be applied to the EU institutions work.
The ndings of this article support the need to introduce signicant changes within the EU
communication framework, as it currently does not adequately stimulate European integra-
tion. Cautiousness about the ofcial use of the term PR is difcult to understand. Thus,
one of the recommendations is to strengthen PR instruments in the EU communication
and personalize the policy. A further conclusion refers to the ambiguities concerning inco-
herent and indirect dialogue with the public. A centralised bureau with a cohesive source
of information regarding all activities of the European institutions should be introduced (DG
Communication is not an example of an information centre for all EU institutions), but local
and regional departments with professional communication staff are also desirable.
REFERENCES
1. Aveline, Julie. Branding Europe?, Branding, design and post-national loyalties, Place Branding Vol.
2, 4, Palgrave Macmillian Ltd 2006.
2. Balzan, Aleander. EU communicates poorly with the citizens, EUobserver, 2006;
3. Bauman, Zygmunt. Pynna nowoczesno (Liquid Modernity), Wydawnictwo Literackie, Krakw
2006.
4. Cutlip, Scott M.; Center, Allen H.; Broom, Glen M. Effective Public Relations, New York 1994.
5. Eriksen, Erik Oddvar. An Emerging European Public Sphere, European Journal of Social Theory
8(3), London 2005.
6. Grunig, James. Public Relations and International Affairs. Effect, Ethic and Responsibility, Journal
of International Affairs, Summer 1993, 47, No 1, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of
New York.
7. Habermas, Jurgen. Why Europe needs a constitution, New Left Review 11, Sept.-Oct. 2001,
http://newleftreview.org/A2343.
8. Habermas, Jurgen; Derrida, Jacques. Europa jaka ni si lozofom, Gazeta Wyborcza nr 134,
10.06.2003.
9. Mayer, Franz. Palmowski, Jan. European Identities and the EU The Ties that Bind the Peoples of
Europe, in: Nowa Europa, Przegld Natoliski, nr I (5)/2007.
10. Michalczyk, Stanisaw. Komunikowanie polityczne. Teoretyczne aspekty procesu, Wydawnictwo
lsk, Katowice 2005.
11. Ninik, Jzef. PR for Europe, in: Discourse and social communication: the case of democracy
in the European integration discourse, w: Dejan Vercic, Betteke van Ruler, Cees J. Hamelink (eds.),
Democracy, Strategic Communication & Europe: Mission (im)possible, Volume II, Pristop d.o.o.,
Ljubljana 2006.
12. Tatransky, Tomas. European Citizenship Policy: Trying to Stimulate the Citizens sense of Belong-
ing to the European Union, Polish Sociological Review 4 (156), 2006.
13. Zielonka, Jan. Europe as Empire, The Nature of the Enlarged European Union, PISM, Warszawa
2007.
14.Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and
Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions on an information and communication strategy for
the European Union, COM(2002) 350 nal, Brussels 2002.
15. European Council in Edinburgh, 11-12 December 1992, Presidency Conclusions, http://www.
europarl.europa.eu/summits/edinburgh/default_en.htm.
16. European Council Press Release 25.06.2001.
17. Standard Eurobarometr 65: Spring 2006,
18. The period of reection and Plan D COM (2006) 212; Plan D Wider and deeper debate on
Europe, SEC (2006) 1553.
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Communicating the EU to The Media:
The Delicate Role of Press Ofcers at The Council of The European Union
by Bo Laursen and Chiara Valentini
INTRODUCTION
Most studies in public relations focus on communication within business organizations.
Communication in the public sector has largely been ignored, even though it poses unique
problems (Gelders & Ihlen, 2010; Graber, 2003; Lee, 2001a, 1999; Heise, 1985). Only few
case studies on public sector communication exist (Avery et al., 1996) and in most cases these
studies have applied models developed for analysis of private sector communication (Liu &
Horsley, 2007; Fairbanks et al., 2007). Within the European context, only a limited number of
studies have dealt with EU institutions and their communication management from a public
relations perspective (Valentini, 2008, 2007) and even less have focused on the activities and
communication practices of government public relations ofcers.
This paper deals with the media relations activities performed in the Council of the European
Union and more specically explores the communication tasks and practices of press ofcers
in the Press Service of that institution. We begin by reviewing the literature on public sector
communication and government public relations in relation to the European Union. In the
second section we state our research objectives and present our methodology. The third
section focuses on the Council press ofcers institutional environment and provides a brief
presentation of the structure and functions of the Council of the European Union and its General
Secretariat. The fourth section contains our ndings and in the fth section we conclude by
highlighting some of the differences between the media relations activities performed by Council
press ofcers and similar activities performed in the corporate sphere and in the European
Commission.
th
LITERATURE
When it comes to studies on the communication of public sector organizations
, literature on government public relations is limited (Windsor, 2001; Dennis, 1996; Fleisher,
1993, 1995, 1997). Within the area of government public relations the bulk of existing
research seems to deal with public information campaigns and political campaigns
and their effects on public awareness and behaviours. Studies on these two types of
communication are numerous and extensively cover different sub-disciplines as well as
theoretical and methodological approaches. However, we still need a clear understanding
of the role of the government public relations ofcers who are behind campaigns and/
or political communication. As Garnett and Kouzmin (1997) pointed out communication
in public sector organizations often seems to be forgotten by communication scholars
despite the increasing relevance of communication for major activities in the public sector.
Government public relations ofcers play an important role because they contribute to
public understanding of government policies and raise awareness of the roles of decision
makers and purview of public institutions, availability of social services, noteworthy trends,
and risks to public health and safety (des, 2000).
Studies investigating communication practices in the public sector are mostly country-
based or contextualised to a specic service, e.g. health care, transportation, etc., provided
by the public agency (cf. Lee, 2009). Within public relations scholarship only a few studies
have dealt with public sector communication (i.e. Lee 2009, 2007, 2001a; Grunig and
Jaatinen, 1999; Baker, 1997; Adams, 1995), although practices, strategies and tactics
of public relations are commonly used by government public relations ofcers. Baker
(1997) further comments on this lack of studies in his work on US government public
relations where he uses this term to refer to communication practices performed by public
sector agencies with the aim of inuencing elected decision-makers, providing information
services, developing and protecting positive institutional images, and generating public
feedback (Ibid, 1997: 456-457).
Grunig and Jaatinen (1999) pointed out that the traditional models of public relations are
also valid for the public sector and acknowledge that, even if the public information model
seems to be the most employed among public administrations in several countries, it is
possible that other models, such as the two-way symmetrical model, are used in other parts
of the world by the public sector. An example of two-way symmetrical communications
in the public sector are the European Commissions recent communication activities,
which, at least at normative level, seek to promote dialogue with different EU stakeholders
by engaging civil society organizations and other parties in discussing EU policies and
initiatives (Valentini, 2010).
Gelders and others (2007) further explain that civil servants working in communication
have four additional constraints commonly found the public sector compared to the
private sector: more complicated and unstable environment, additional legal and formal
restrictions, more rigid procedures, and more diverse products and objectives. Allison
(2004) and Beckett (2000) also concur that as public sector management differs in many
respects from corporate management, communication practices in the two spheres are far
from being identical.
Along with this view, Liu and Horsley (2007) developed a new model of public relations
for the public sector called the government communication decision wheel. According to
these authors, the wheel provides a useful tool to help government communicators select
the most effective means of communication based on the situation, the environment, and
the resources available. It also provides an initial framework for reconceptualising how
public relations is practiced in government. The wheel, however, has not yet been tested.
Typically, government public relations ofcers deal with: monitoring media coverage,
brieng and advising political ofcials, managing media relations, informing the public
directly, sharing information across the administration and formulating communication
strategies and campaigns, and researching and assessing public opinion (Lee, 2007,
2009). Some of these activities are one-way communications, but today government public
relations ofcers are called for a more dialogical approach in communicating with their
constituencies (Valentini, 2007, 2010). Because public sector organizations need to keep
their publics informed and openly report on their activities, public reporting is one of the
government public relations activities that is widely implemented (Fitzpatrick, 1947). Public
reporting can be performed indirectly, through news media coverage of agency activity,
and directly, through products such as annual reports, websites, TV programmes and
newsletters (Lee, 2001b). Public reporting, external communication and publicity contribute
to the democratic accountability (Viteritti, 1997) by informing and enabling citizens to make
political decisions, by mobilising citizens towards an issue and/or simply allowing citizens
to evaluate the work of their representatives.
Especially for supranational organizations like the European Union government public
relations are crucial for providing information to the general public and for getting policy
support through the media. For government public relations the media are the most
important link between politics and citizens (e.g. Entman and Bennett 2001; Swanson
and Mancini 1996), and this may especially apply to an issue as remote and abstract as
EU politics (Blumler, 1983). The fact that Eurobarometer surveys consistently show that
the majority of EU citizens identify the media as their most important source of political
information further supports the argument that government public relations, especially
media relations, is very important for the EU.
Despite the relevance of the topic, very few scholars have analysed the tasks and
communication practices of EU press ofcers (i.e. government public relations ofcers).
Anderson (2004) studied the extent to which the European Parliaments Press and
Information Directorate, DG-III, and to a lesser extent, Members of the European Parliament,
are successful in handling their relationships with the mass media, given that the latter is a
crucial means of communicating images of the Parliament to the electorate. Meyer (1999)
analysed and evaluated the European Commissions media communication activities and
placed them in the context of the EUs broader institutional set-up and decision-making
procedures. His ndings suggested that most of the European Commissions media
th
communication problems were related both to the lack of competent staff and to a system
of governance that depoliticised conicts and obscured political accountability. Spanier
(2010) investigated the news management activities and practices of the spokespersons
of the European Commission and found that the Commissions media relations activities
were exclusively oriented toward a transnational expert sphere consisting of Brussels-
based stakeholders directly involved in EU policy-making and toward the specialist press
(in particular the Financial Times), while leaving apart broader audiences. With respect to
the Council of the European Union and its communication activities little is known apart
from Beyers and Dierickxs (1998) investigation of the Council working groups. These
scholars found that the functioning of these groups contributes to a supranational and
intergovernmental communication network. The Council of the European Union appears to
be the least studied organization among the EU institutions. This paper aims at lling this
gap by investigating the activities of press ofcers working at the Council of the European
Union and providing an overview of their communication tasks and practices as perceived
by the press ofcers themselves.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
This study is a rst step in a more comprehensive research project aimed at a detailed
understanding of the work practices, roles and environment of press ofcers in the Council
Secretariat. In this paper we intend to explore the press ofcers main communication tasks
when they communicate with the media as well as the way they perform these tasks.
A qualitative research approach was used to gather in-depth understanding of the
press ofcers tasks and communication activities (cf. Lindlof and Taylor, 2002; Denzin
and Lincoln, 2005). Qualitative research methods are appropriate for investigations of an
exploratory nature, since they provide textual descriptions of how people experience a given
research issue (cf. Given, 2008). Additionally, qualitative research methods have proven to
provide signicant contributions when the research intentions are to better understand a
phenomenon about which little is yet known (Strauss and Corbin, 1990).
Semi-structured face-to-face interviews with seven out of ten press ofcers of the Council
Press Service were conducted. All interviews were recorded and transcribed. Interview length
varied from forty-ve minutes to one hour and fteen minutes. Each interview consisted of
a few introductory questions on interviewees past professional experience and educational
background, followed by more specic questions on his/her current position, tasks and
functions as well as on his/her communication practices in the Council Press Service. In
order to increase the interviewees openness condentiality was assured (cf. Given, 2008).
In addition, we analysed other internal documents, such as the General Secretariat Mission
Statement, Council Secretariats Regulation and Code of Good Administrative Behaviour
and the Media Guide of the Council Secretariat. The nal goal of this study is to provide
a descriptive, theoretical understanding of the tasks and communication practices of the
press ofcers working at the Press Service of the Council of the European Union.
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
The Council of the European Union is the EUs main decision-making body. It is
composed of one minister from the government of each EU member state. The ministers
attending Council meetings vary according to the issues under consideration. Therefore
the deliberations in the Council take place in different Council congurations depending
on the subjects discussed. The Councils main function is to adopt EU legislation. In a
large number of policy areas (Community elds such as the Internal Market) the Council
shares legislative power with the European Parliament and acts on proposals drafted by
the European Commission but in some important areas (such as defence and external
relations) the Council has sole right of legislative initiative.
In the Council the 27 member states seek compromises through negotiation. Due to
opposing national and ideological interests, cultural differences and sitting governments
conicting political agendas this often entails lengthy and cumbersome discussions both at
the preparatory stages meetings of national experts (working parties) and ambassadors
(Coreper) and at ministerial level. Due to the fact that the Council is the forum where
member states often ght their battles in order to maximize national inuence, the Council
distils the bottom line in terms of the collective of national interests (Curtin 2007, 249).
Exactly this feature gives the Council its particular institutional avour. Negotiations among
member states delegations are orchestrated and chaired by the Presidency which is held
by each member state, on a rotating basis, for a period of six months. The Presidency seeks
to build consensus by mediating primarily between member states, but also between the
Council and the Commission and the Council and the European Parliament (Nugent, 2006:
205). Furthermore the Presidency sets the pace and to some extent the political priorities
in the legislative and political decision-making process. It does so particularly by convening
meetings, establishing agendas and drafting compromise proposals. The Presidency is
assisted in its work by the Council Secretariat.
The General Secretariat of the Council
The press activities of the Council Press Service are embedded in the General Secretariat
of the Council and the particular professional situation and behaviour of the Council press
ofcers can only be fully understood in the light of the missions, tasks and culture of this
institution. The Council Secretariat provides the practical as well as the intellectual and
strategic infrastructure necessary for the smooth operation of the Council decision-making
machinery. The practical tasks performed by the Secretariat include organizing meetings,
providing conference rooms, interpreting services and security staff, establishing agendas,
translating, reproducing and distributing documents and drafting minutes. These basic
administrative tasks have existed since the Secretariats early years in the 1950s. Gradually
new and more intellectual and strategic tasks and roles have been added. These include
functioning as the Councils institutional memory and as a bridge between the short rotating
Presidencies that fosters coherence and continuity in the Councils work; assisting the
Presidency with the formulation of compromise proposals; providing legal and procedural
advice to the Presidency; advising the Presidency on negotiation tactics on the basis of
th
the secretariats extensive knowledge of member states positions on various issues. In
certain policy areas (justice and home affairs as well as foreign and security policy) the
Secretariat has been entrusted with executive tasks (Christiansen, 2006; Christiansen &
Vanhoonacker, 2008; Westlake & Galloway, 2004).
The principles that guide the work of the Secretariat as a whole and of each member of its
staff are impartiality and devotion to the common European interest. This is in keeping with
the fact that the Secretariat, besides being of assistance to the Presidency, is at the service
of all member states. Furthermore the Secretariat needs to have an absolutely unblemished
reputation of neutrality in order to be able to full its role as a credible and trustworthy assistant
to the Presidency in its efforts to build consensus among member states. The ideals of
impartiality and devotion to the collective interest are an integral part of the dominant culture
in the Secretariat which seems to encourage members of staff to act as humble and discrete
service providers. The ofcial role of the Secretariat and its staff has been qualied as backroom
(Westlake & Galloway, 2004, 318) and it seems that the less its efforts stand out the better.

As it appears from the following gure the press ofce is located in DG (Directorate General)
F. DG B, C, E, G, H and I (policy DGs) largely concentrate on policy issues dealt with by
one or several Council congurations. Each policy DG thus concentrates on one or several
policy areas and the main tasks of staff in these DGs are to monitor policy developments
and to be of assistance to the Presidency as briey described above. Thus, e.g. staff in
DG B closely follows issues dealt with by the Agriculture and Fisheries Council whereas
staff in DG I more or less covers issues discussed in the three Council congurations
Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs, Environment and Education,
Youth and Culture. The staff in the policy DGs is among the press ofcers closest internal
collaboration partners since they are the Council staff with the most detailed and up-to-
date knowledge of the issues under way in the Council machinery.
Organisation of the General Secretariat of the Council

Secretary-General
High Representative for the
Common Foreign and Security
Policy
Deputy Secretary-General
Legal
service
DG A
Personnel &
Administrati
on
(including
production
and
translation
of
documents)

Human
resources
DG B
Agriculture
& Fisheries
DG C
Internal
Market

Customs
Union

Industrial
Policy

Telecommuni
cations

Information
society

Research

Energy

Transport
DG D
Press

Communicat
ion

Protocol
DG E
Economic
& Social
affairs
DG H
Justice &
Home
Affairs
DG I
Environment

Consumer
protection

Civil
protection

Health

Foodstuffs
legislation

Education

Youth

Culture

Audio-visual

th
COMMUNICATION TASKS AND PRACTICES IN
THE COUNCIL PRESS SERVICE
The Council press ofcers, who are civil servants like the majority of the staff of the Council
Secretariat, are attached to the Press Service which is one of three units of DG F
1
. Besides
providing the media with written and oral information on Council matters, the activities of the
Press Service include managing a press centre, organizing press conferences, monitoring
of the coverage of Council related issues by selected European media (press clippings), and
producing photographic and video based material related to the Councils activities. In the
Press Service currently ten full time press ofcers provide written and oral information on
a daily basis to the media on the activities of the Council and its preparatory bodies. Each
press ofcer specializes in subjects and policy areas covered by one or two specic Council
congurations. They are, as one interviewee said, the main entrance for information on
the Council. The bulk of the press ofcers communication activities concerns Council
meetings whereas the activities in the preparatory bodies (working parties and Coreper)
in general are of less interest to the media and therefore tend to be communicated only
if requested by journalists. The account below of the press ofcers tasks and practices
therefore only deals with communication pertaining to Council meetings. The rhythm of
the press ofcers work is dictated by meeting activities: before, during, after and between
Council meetings.
Before Council meetings: drafting background notes and brieng journalists
Before each Council meeting the press ofcer responsible for that particular Council
conguration drafts a note, ofcially labelled information note but internally known
as background note. This document (available from the Council website before the
meeting) accounts for all items on the agenda of the meeting (established by Coreper).
The background note is a highly structured document drafted on the basis of information
contained in minutes of meetings (held at working party, ambassadorial, and ministerial
level), information obtained from colleagues (so-called desk ofcers) in other DGs
who have in-depth knowledge of the policy areas covered in that particular Council
meeting, and information gathered from attending meetings at various levels where the
agenda items have been discussed. Since the core activity of the Council is adopting
EU legislation most items on the Council agenda are related to legislative proposals and
for each such item general information, such as history, background, motivations, aims,
and procedural matters is provided. In drafting the background note the press ofcer
seeks to identify the main issues of the Council meeting with the purpose of helping
journalists to know which are the subjects dealt with and where () problems can
arise (Interviewee no. 2).

Furthermore the press ofcer is present at the off-the-record brieng that the Presidency
gives before the Council meeting on the basis of the background note. Immediately after
1 The main activities of the two other units of DG F include respectively communication with the general public (mainly through
small articles posted on the Council website and paper based publications) and managing the Councils archives and the
general publics access to Council documents (transparency).
the Presidency brieng the press ofcer is available to the press for further oral information
on the agenda items.
2
During Council meetings: attending meeting and (possibly) brieng journalists
In general the press ofcer is present at the Council meeting in order for him or her to be
able to draft a press release on the outcomes immediately after the meeting. Press ofcers
may leave the meeting room in order to brief journalists on important developments in the
negotiations.
Furthermore and in order for the journalists to cover the Council meeting in real time the
Press Service makes available to the press the Councils conclusions on each agenda
item (prepared by the preparatory bodies and adopted and possibly amended by
the ministers) immediately after they have been adopted as well as in some cases ash
releases and fact sheets that are more targeted documents prepared by the press ofcer
in advance with more detailed information on selected issues and decisions.3
After Council meetings: drafting press release
Immediately after the Council meeting the press ofcer drafts a press release (available
from the Council website) accounting for the outcomes of the meeting. If ministers did not
reach agreement on a legislative proposal the press release often contains information as to
what will be the follow up to the discussions. To the extent that legislative proposals on the
agenda of the Council meeting are adopted much of the information from the background
note will also appear in the press release. However, one important difference between the
background note and the press release is that whereas the former is written exclusively for
journalists and needs not be approved in any way by the member states, the latter is of
a more ofcial nature since it is the rst ofcial account of the ministers discussions and
all member states in a certain way have to agree to what the press ofcer writes. As one
interviewee puts it,
There are certain things that we cant say in the press release that we would say in
the background note (...). What we write there has to be of a nature that wont upset
anybody, whereas if we say something in a background note which is maybe not the
same universal view shared by everybody then thats just too bad, people arent going to
start ringing us up about what we put in the background, but they would do if we put it in
a press release. (Interviewee no.1)
2 Council Secretariat DG F. Rapport dactivit 2008, p. 20-21; Council Secretariat: Media Guide. Practical Information. October
2009, p. 9
3 Ibidem.
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Between Council meetings: keeping updated on dossiers in the pipeline
For the individual press ofcer the workload tends to peak around meetings of the Council
conguration that he/she is responsible for. Between Council meetings press ofcers keep
themselves updated on the dossiers that are underway in the Council machinery, i.e. at
working party, Coreper and ministerial levels, and replies to phone calls and emails from
journalists who seek information on particular issues.
In order to provide correct and relevant information to the media press ofcers need to have
a thorough knowledge of the issues and dossiers dealt with by their Council formation. To
be updated the press ofcers read documents drafted by the Commission (e.g. legislative
proposals), the European Parliament (e.g. documents related to legislative proposals in
numerous areas where the Council shares legislative competence with the European
Parliament) or other Council ofcials, mainly staff in the relevant policy DGs (reports, minutes
of meetings, progress reports) but also experts from the Councils legal service (notes on
legal aspects of legislative proposals under discussion). Consequently they depend on staff
in the DGs for updated information on the individual dossiers. The following quote illustrates
this dependency:
So there [in the relevant DG] I know which person is responsible for which dossier. And
then if I have questions of understanding, or questions of procedure or questions of
history then I try to get in touch with these people to clarify that for myself rst of all, in
order to be able to answer as much as possible any question that comes from journalists
straight away, which is not always possible. So when there are questions I cant answer I
give a hold answer and say please let me get back to you as soon as possible. And then
I get in touch with the same desk ofcer again. (Interviewee no. 7)
Besides reading documents and liaising with DGs press ofcers attend a considerable
number of meetings at different levels in the Council machinery. Most of them only
occasionally attend meetings of national experts (working party level) as discussions at
this level tend to be technical and of limited interest to the media, whereas meetings at
ambassadorial and ministerial levels must be attended in order to grasp the nuances of the
different and often conicting ideological and national views on each dossier.
Written and oral communication
Press ofcers provide information in writing (background notes, press releases and ash
releases/fact sheets) as well as orally (face-to-face and telephone brieng). They perceive
written and oral communication to be very different activities highlighting particularly the
difference in degree of exibility in terms of style and content. The room for maneuver in
brieng is much wider than in written communication and several interviewees characterize
brieng as being the main communication form.
In terms of style written information tends to be bureaucratic - in order to identify the
institution and to be precise (Interviewee no. 2) -, formal and highly structured. As for
brieng no particular standards seem to exist, and press ofcers characterize brieng as
being informal and totally unstructured (Interviewee no. 1). The main difference between
the two modes of communication, however, concerns content. Whereas background notes
and press releases must contain information on all agenda items the topics dealt with
during brieng sessions mainly depend on which questions journalists raise themselves or
what the press ofcers believe to be of interest to journalists. Council press ofcers thus
do not seek to act as agenda setters, neither in writing nor orally. All interviewees concur
that they are in the business of reactive, not proactive, communication. The below quotes
illustrate this.
Journalists in Brussels are bombarded with information and I would create adverse
feelings if I were to bombard them with things that are not of their interest. (Interviewee
no. 5)
Mostly we do reactive communication. Journalists call me, which allows me to get a
good impression of what interests them. I can choose to put certain issues to the fore
by writing ash releases. But also this is determined largely by my impression of how
interested the press is. (Interviewee no. 5)
One thing is the topics raised, another is the nature of the information provided. The
information that press ofcers provide is mainly of a background nature. This includes
information on the issues under discussion, procedural questions, reasons why the
discussions are taking place at the EU level and not in the member states, what the
consequences of adopting or not adopting a proposal will be etc.
Information provided in writing has an ofcial status which is not the case with information
provided during brieng. As one interviewee puts it, because theyre published, there are
certain things you cant say in a background note that you can say very easily verbally
(Interviewee no. 1). This is due to the fact that contrary to the European Commissions
spokespersons press ofcers speak off the record i.e. they cannot be quoted by the
media. Sometimes the media refer to statements made by the press ofcers as an EU
ofcial said. This anonymity leaves the press ofcers with a signicant leeway in terms of
the kind of information they are able to provide to journalists verbally.
But the fact that we cant be quoted allows us to be quite free in what we say, without
having constantly to say oh whats he going to be writing. (...) We can maybe relax a little
bit more and be quite frank. Obviously when were talking we remain constantly attentive
to what the implications of what were saying might be, so obviously were on our guard
at the same time, but the main thrust of the relevant information that were providing in
terms of whats new is from what we say not from what we write. (Interviewee no. 1)
The written form is very very constrained, because everyone is going to read it. The oral
communication is more open and freer. Journalists respect condentiality and respect
the off-the-record information, which is of great value to them. Interviewee no. 2)
As a general rule press ofcers are only allowed to provide background information. In
reality, however, a grey zone exists where in certain situations they provide information of
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a more delicate nature. Among the information that journalists value most is information
on the bargaining process that takes place when the 27 member states ministers meet in
the Council. Writing mainly for their national audiences, journalists value such information
highly because it allows them to evaluate the performance of their ministers. In principle
press ofcers are not allowed to reveal the positions of individual member states or groups
of member states but in some situations most of them do under the cover of anonymity.
In this area press ofcers are in a difcult dilemma. One the one hand they are supposed
to explain what goes on in the meeting room but on the other hand they are not allowed
to reveal national positions. As one interviewee puts it, this is the most tricky part or our
job (Interviewee no. 2). Among the factors that inuence the extent to which press ofcers
nevertheless reveal information about individual member states negotiation practices and
positions are whether journalists already are familiar with national positions and only seek
conrmation by the press ofcer and whether the individual journalist can be trusted. It is
a grey zone where each press ofcer must decide for him- or herself how far he or she
will go. Consequently practices differ considerably among press ofcers as the following
quotes illustrate:
You cannot say to journalists Spain was against; France was in favour. You just have
to explain what the main difculties are, why ministers did not agree; sometimes they
understand why but sometimes you have to explain the reasons. (Interviewee no. 3)
In principle, I should not [state the position of member states]. But sometimes its
unavoidable. [] So if the minister is very proud of his position and communicating on
it, I can relay it. But Im very cautious not to give something to the outside which is not
public. Im always checking that it is in the newspaper. (Interviewee no. 3)
If they [journalists] really push me I will conrm the country that they proposed to me, but
it depends. (Interviewee no. 7)
DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS
The Council press ofcers perceive themselves as an important source information to
journalists covering EU issues and if they did not exist many insights of political negotiations
and discussions would most likely not be available to the general public. At the same time
communicating about negotiations in the Council is quite complex and as it appears from
our ndings certain issues are delicate and can only be communicated to a certain extent.
Gelders and others (2007) have pointed out that public sector communication differs
signicantly from communication in the corporate world because public sector organizations
and private sector organizations operate in different environments and under different
conditions. By comparison to private organisations, public sector organisations thus
operate in a more complicated and unstable environment, are subjected to additional legal
and formal restrictions, are characterized by more rigid operational and decision-making
procedures, and tend to offer more diverse products and to have ambiguous objectives
(Gelders and others, 2007). Our study corroborates the hypothesis of differences in terms
of communicative environment since press ofcers at the Council Press Service afrm to
be subject to at least three constraints that are of a different nature from constraints found
in the corporate world, i.e. dependency on other DGs for detailed information, the Council
Secretariats general guidelines for conducting media relations and member states and the
Presidencys often competing media agendas.
All interviewees report that they strive to be open and to give journalists the information they
seek but on a number of occasions they are not able to fully deliver. Occasionally they fall
prey to explicit limits to openness posed by highly placed bosses or the general resistance
by individuals in the DGs on whom they depend for updated information and who see
openness as disturbing and unnecessary.
Due to their position as civil servants in the Council Secretariat the press ofcers perform their
duties in a very particular cultural environment that is far from any corporate environment
and that seems to encourage them to act as humble and discrete service providers. The
ideals of impartiality and devotion to the collective interest prevent them from acting in
proactive and agenda setting ways.
The Presidency and occasionally individual member states can inuence the type and
quantity of information that press ofcers offer to the media due to the fact that the Council
Secretariats raison dtre is to assist the Presidency and only act in ways that are acceptable
to all 27 member states. This may appear to be in contradiction with the principles of
impartiality and transparent reporting that the majority of the interviewees adhere to.
The three restrictions are perceived by press ofcers to have an impact on what they
can say and how much they can say on a particular issue and clearly distinguishes the
conditions under which Council press ofcers work from the conditions of their colleagues
in the corporate sphere.
The Councils media relations activities not only differ from those of the corporate sector. They
also seem to be of a different nature from those performed by the European Commission.
As it appears from our ndings Council press ofcers communicate in a reactive and a non-
promotional way. In the Commission communication of a more proactive and promotional
nature is not unusual. Since Council press ofcers need to perform media relations activities
that are compatible with the cross-section of European interests, including those of EU
sceptical member states, they are under more scrutiny by various actors in the EU game
than the Commission press ofcers. The latter institution seems to have more room for
maneuver and, due to its role in the EU institutional framework, often seeks to be agenda
setting and to promote the interests of the European Union as such although some EU
sceptical member states and members of the European Parliament occasionally seek to
prevent it from going too far in its pro-EU communication efforts.
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Managing Political Crisis: An Interactional Approach to
Image Repair in Political Press Conferences
by Gran Eriksson and Mats Eriksson
INTRODUCTION
In this paper we discuss the theory of image repair and evolve what we choose to term an
interactional approach to image repair. With this approach, the aim is to progress image
repair theory and, also, to provide some insight into the conditions characterizing image repair
work, especially concerning political scandals. The paper is based on a case study of press
conferences with members of the Swedish Government
1
. These press conferences were held
to manage the politicians public aura after outbursts of criticism in the media describing the
politicians actions as immoral or insufcient.
Image repair theory (earlier image restoration theory) is closely tied to William Benoit, who
has published an extensive list of articles on the subject together with diverse colleagues.
Benoit (1995) progresses this theory with inuences from rhetorical criticism (e.g. Rosenfeld
1968; Ware and Linkugel 1973) and work on accounts (e.g. Scott and Lyman 1968), and a
basic assumption is that human beings repeatedly involve themselves in communication that is
intended to maintain a favorable reputation. During the past two decades, this theory has been
applied in a number of empirical studies, mainly of corporate organizations (e.g. Benoit 1997;
Blaney, Benoit & Brazeal 2002; Caldiero, Taylor & Ungureanu 2009), celebrities (e.g. Benoit
& Hanczor 1994; Legg 2009) and politicians (e.g. Benoit 2006; Benoit and Henson 2009; Liu
2007, 2008, Len-Ros and Benoit 2004; Sheldon & Sallot 2009; Zhanga & Benoit 2009). A more
general conclusion from this research is that the strategy of mortication, often in combination
with corrective action and/or bolstering, is more successful in repairing a tarnished image than
other strategies, such as denial and/or shifting blame (Benoit, Gullifor & Panici, 1991; Blaney &
Benoit, 2001; Len-Rios & Benoit, 2004).
Image repair research provides us with valuable insight into public apology processes and
offers essential suggestions for crisis communication management in practice, but it also has
its limitations and a need for development (see also e.g. Burns & Bruner 2000; Combs &
Holladay 1996; Johnson 2010; Sheldon & Sallot 2009). In analyses of image repair work,
researchers tend to focus on communicative actions (such as speeches, advertisements and
press releases) as performances; they examine communicative situations that the blamed
parties can control in order to counter the criticism. With the interactional approach, we stress
the fact that to some extent and to a great extent when politicians are involved image
1 This study is a part of the three-year project Press Conferences as a Public Arena at rebro University, funded by the Swedish
Research Council.
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repair actions are carried out in interaction with journalists, i.e. such repair work essentially
takes place in interviews. Although Benoit (2006) takes on a more dialogical view in a study
of George Bushs rhetorical strategies, altogether this is a dimension that image repair
research has thus far overlooked.
Therefore, the intention with the interactional approach is to understand how image repair
work is carried out in interviews. The approach is inuenced by Conversation Analysis
(henceforth CA), particularly the growing body of research carried out on political interviews
(see e.g. Clayman and Heritage 2002a, b; Hutchby 2006; Ekstrm, Nylund and Kroon
2006) and press conferences (see e.g. Clayman et al 2006, 2007; Clayman 2006; Banning
and Billingsley 2007). This research underlines that an interview is an institutionalized form
of talk characterized by a distinct pair of roles and certain interactional patterns, aspects
that draw the boundaries for the participants actions. For instance, the politicians are
restricted to answering questions, and questions do have a capacity to set an agenda
for the successive answers. Today, politicians and even business leaders pay large sums
to public relations consulting rms to be trained in the art of doing and saying the right
things when they face the media, even if a systemized scientic knowledge about interview
interaction is lacking in public relations research. Therefore, with this study we also have an
ambition to initiate a discussion on how such knowledge could be of help and be involved
in concrete crisis communication management.
The analysis we perform is based on two press conferences with members of former
Swedish governments. The conferences involve two ministers handling a situation in
which they are operating to restore their own image. In the media, these politicians
were accused of diverse wrongdoings that were portrayed as scandalous. We focus
particularly on the question-answer session, which according to Smith (1990:93) is the
heart of press conferences analysis /.../. This session is a moment when journalists can
perform journalistic tasks associated with core democratic functions; it is a situation
in which journalists have the opportunity to ask critical questions and hold politicians
accountable for their deeds. The analysis focuses particularly on the agenda-setting
function of journalistic questions and how questions enable or restrain politicians to
operate in order to restore their image.
IMAGE REPAIR THEORY: BRIEF PRESENTATION
Image repair theory is founded on two essential assumptions: communication is a goal-
directed activity, and preserving a positive image is one of its central objectives (see Benoit
1995:ch. 4). Benoit bases these assumptions on rhetorical criticism and work on accounts,
and underlines that wrong-doing is a recurring feature of human behavior (1995:68).
Therefore, human beings are necessarily, and recurrently, involved in communication
aimed at maintaining a favorable reputation. Benoits theory identies a typology of
communicative strategies that actors involved in image repair work could make use of in
crisis communication situations (summarized in Figure 1).
Figure 1: Image repair discourse strategies and tactics (Benoit 1997)
Strategy Tactic
Denial Simple denial: did not perform act
Shift the blame: another caused act
Evasion of Responsibility Provocation: respond to act of another
Defeasibility: lack of information or ability
Accident: mishap
Good intentions: meant well
Reduction of Offensiveness Bolstering: stress good traits
Minimization: act not serious
Differentiation: act less offensive than
similar ones
Transcendence: more important considerations
Attack accuser: reduce credibility of accuser
Compensation: reimburse victim
Corrective Action Plan to solve/prevent problem
Mortication Apologize
The strategies are organized into ve broad categories: denial, evading responsibility,
reducing offensiveness, corrective actions, and mortication. Each strategy involves one
or more tactics that the blamed part can use. Even though Benoit (1995) notes that the
image repair strategies are often used in combination in real life, he argues that an actor
who engages in the mortication strategy may best salvage a damaged reputation: these
actions can restore, at least partially, the actors image (p. 74).
Even if Benoits strategy concept has been of tremendous use in crisis management
research and practice, it has also been criticized (see e.g. Burns & Bruner 2000;
Combs & Holladay 1996; Johnson et al 2010; Sheldon & Sallot 2009). Benoit (2000)
admits that the theory has its limitations, and already in his 1995 book argues for its
future development and how it can be applied in other situations, for instance electoral
campaigns (Benoit 1995:164-7). A part of the criticism concerns the one-sided focus on
the communicator. For instance, Burns and Bruner (2000: 28) criticize the understanding
of text as something developed and delivered by the source. They argue for a more
audience-oriented approach that emphasizes the importance of involving the receiver in
the communication process. Burns and Bruner (2000: 37) suggest (among other things)
that future research investigate how and why specic public discourses interpellate
audiences. Another part of the criticism is directed at the case study design in Benoits
studies (see e.g. Coombs and Holladay 1996; Holtzhausen & Roberts 2009; Sheldon
& Sallot 2009). An important objection concerns the potential (or rather lack thereof) to
provide generally viable results with this methodology. In light of this criticism, additional
quantitative studies have been carried out in order to test the image repair strategies.
Coombs has also developed and tested his situational crisis communication theory (see
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e.g. Coombs 1998). However, these quantitative studies have reinforced the argument
about the usefulness of the image repair concept.
With the interactional approach, we point at what we believe is another blind spot of image
repair theory, i.e. the interaction that takes place in journalistic interviews. In a study of George
Bushs rhetorical strategies during a press conference on the war in Iraq, Benoit (2006)
incorporates a more dialogic view in his analysis when he sheds some light on the journalists
questions. However, he does not pay attention to the dynamics of interaction as he does not
deal with the relationship between questions, answers and image repair work. We believe
that image repair theory can be improved (both theoretically and pragmatically) through the
incorporation of a dialogical and dynamic view of interaction in the restoration process.
ANALYTICAL FRAME
The interactional approach we outline in this paper is informed by CA. CA was developed
as a distinct approach by Harvey Sacks (in association with Emanuel Schegloff and Gail
Jefferson (see Sacks 1992)), who, in turn, was inuenced by the works of Erving Goffman
and Harold Garnkel (for overviews and introductions on CA, see Hutchby and Wooftt
2008; Schegloff 2007; Sidnell 2009; ten Have 1999). An important concept is sequential
organization, which basically means that one turn of talk has specic consequences for
the turn that is to follow (see Schegloff 2007). Accordingly, the analytical procedure aims
at revealing how utterances are linked together in interaction. This means, among other
things, that great importance is placed on the immediate context of each utterance, i.e. that
each utterance is an action whose relationship to preceding and subsequent utterances is
highlighted. A major factor is how different participants are given, or take, the opportunity
to talk in ongoing conversations. CA is best described as an empirical, observation based
approach (Ekstrm 2007:965) and implies detailed analyses of what goes on between
the participants in certain forms of talk (e.g. in terms of overlapping talk, silences, points of
emphasis, etc.).
In particular, our approach is informed by the CA research that focuses on news interviews
and press conferences involving public gures (see e.g. Banning & Billingsley 2007; Clayman
and Heritage 2002ab; Clayman et al. 2006; 2007; Ekstrm 2007; Ekstrm, Kroon & Nylund
2006). Such interviews are an institutionalized form of talk that involves representatives of
two important societal institutions and has its own specic characteristics. For journalists,
interviews and press conferences are occasions that are closely associated with the
democratic function of journalism; these are moments when they can hold politicians
accountable for their words or actions. For the politicians, and particularly in the cases
studied in this paper, the interactional phase is part of a public appearance that is important
for their political careers. This appearance will be critically judged and reported in various
media and a poorer performance, that is, if they fail to provide adequate answers and
defend their actions, could mean obvious negative consequences to their public image.
It is a truly trivial statement to say that interviews consist of questions and answers, but
this simple fact is a necessary starting point to understand the roles, norms and patterns of
actions linked to the practice of interviewing. The journalist is the one operating as interviewer
and is restricted to questioning, while the counterpart is the interviewee and is limited to
answering the same questions (Clayman and Heritage 2002b). At face value, an interview
appears to be a predictable event containing a series of questions and answers, but since
interviews are unscripted talk they are not foreseeable in all aspects. Naturally, both parties
prepare and have their specic goal with the encounter, but the talk is unrehearsed and it is
not possible to predict how the involved participants will handle it.
For journalists, asking questions is a complex task as they fundamentally and necessarily
handle the competing journalistic norms of impartiality and adversarialness in their question
turns (see Clayman and Heritage 2002b:188). Interviews are performed for, and on the behalf
of, an (often absent and anonymous) audience, and journalists must therefore suppress
their own viewpoints and are not supposed to align with those of the interviewees. They
must also be capable of handling controversial issues and, when they nd it necessary,
acting as devils advocate and querying the interviewees utterances. For these purposes,
journalists use certain footing-shift techniques that, for instance, distance the interviewer
from controversial issues or make it possible to avoid afliating with or disafliating from
statements (see Clayman & Heritage 2002b).
As in many forms of institutionalized talk (courtrooms, police interrogations, medical
examinations, etc.), the role of questioner is a more powerful position than that of
answerer (Thornborrow 2002: ch. 4). In a news interview, the interviewer is the one who is
responsible for managing the interview. Besides asking questions, the interviewer handles
the opening (in which s/he presents the guest and agenda) and the closing of the talk
(Clayman and Heritage 2002b). What characterizes the turn-taking system of the political
press conference is that it is the answerer the politician who manages the interaction.
Clayman et al. (2006:251) point out that in comparison to the one-to-one interaction in
news interviews, the interactional phase of the press conference entail[s] a substantial shift
in the interactional balance of power that favors the public gure over the journalist. One
basic premise for this shift is that it is the politician (in Claymans case, the US President)
and his/her staff who organize these events and invite the journalists, often on short notice.
Another premise is that it is the politician, through the invitation and introductory speech,
who initially sets the topical agenda. Furthermore, a press conference is an event in which
journalists sometimes have to compete for the oor and the chance to pose questions.
Looking closer at questions and how they are constructed, one can easily notice that
they vary in complexity; they can be short and straightforward or more complicated and
involve prefatory statements. What is of great importance in this study is that questions
operate so as to condition answers in certain respects. Clayman and Heritage (2002b:ch.
6) point out at least four ways questions exert pressure on the respondent. Firstly, they
operate to establish certain agendas for the answers; they identify specic topical domains
as proper for the answer, and the interviewee can hardly (not without special arrangements)
go outside these boundaries. Secondly, questions can also contain specic assumptions
or propositions about the matter under discussion, or about the interviewee. Thirdly, they
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tend to suggest the action that the interviewee is likely to carry out. It could be to explain
words or actions, to make a judgment on issues or make comments. Finally, a question can
also be constructed in order to facilitate one form of answer over another. A typical example
of this is when journalists pose yes/no questions. Negatively formulated questions, like
Isnt this ... etc., strongly favor yes answers.
In the following analysis, in which we will put to test the interactional approach, we will focus
on the relationship between the strategies and tactics used in the introductory speech,
questions and politicians answers. More specically, we seek to answer the following
questions: What particular topical boundaries are set up by the journalists questions and
what assumptions (if any) do the questions contain? What actions do questions suggest for
the interviewees, and do the questions facilitate certain forms of answers?
THE CASES
In the following section we present a brief description of our cases. The rst press conference
is classied as a case of denial. At this press conference, the accused politician mainly tried
to use a combination of the strategies of shifting blame, evading responsibility and reducing
offensiveness in the performance part of the conference. The second press conference we
classify as an apology case, because the accused politician more explicitly tried to use a
strategy of corrective actions and mortication in the introducing speech.
Brief description of the denial case
In October 1995 it came to public knowledge that Assistant Prime Minister Mona Sahlin,
during her time as Minister of Labor, used her government credit cards for private expenses.
The Swedish tabloid Expressen reported that she had bought goods, rented cars and
taken out cash for private use at a value of 50,000 Swedish kronor. Sahlin argued that this
was a loan she had later repaid. At the time of the media debate, Sahlin had accepted to
run for the post of leader of the Social Democratic party. In the media she had often been
mentioned as a very likely candidate and as a successor to Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson.
The incident led to a police investigation of fraud, but no criminal acts were proven. However,
on 10 November 1995 (while the police investigation was still underway) Sahlin arranged a
press conference in which she announced a time-out from her government post. During
this period, she was also pressed by media headlines about credit card debt, tax arrears
and car parking penalties. During the speech part of the press conference, she defended
her actions and tried to shift the blame. Sahlins criticism of the journalists was harsh. She
said they should be ashamed of themselves and review their working methods:
What have you in the media done the past days? Youve eyed a politician who could be a
leader. Thats okay. Thats your job. /.../ But how did you do it and what proportions has
this been given? Its up to you to give an answer!
She also announced that she welcomed the police investigation and wanted to continue her
political career: I am combative and Ill be ghting. Im not dishonest and Im not a criminal.
Brief description of the apology case
In 2002 the Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet revealed that Jan O. Karlsson, Swedish Minister of
Migration and Foreign Aid from 2002 to 2003, had arranged a traditional Swedish craysh
party at his home and that this party had been paid for by the Foreign Ministry. After this
rst outburst of criticism, another discussion concerning his double incomes and morals
began. Besides his salary as a Minister, Karlsson also received a pension from the European
Commission, since he had been President of the European Court of Auditors. This fact was
well-known, but was brought up by journalists after a press conference. At this moment,
Karlsson lost his temper and barked at the journalists, and came off as offensive and self-
important (see also Kroon & Ekstrm 2006). After about a week of media criticism of his
actions and ethics, he arranged a press conference. During this conference he apologized
for his anger at the journalists a week earlier, and also stated that he understood very well
that people were upset about his actions:
I want to apologize for the way I responded to many of you a week ago. It was wrong to
answer your questions as irritably and arrogantly as I did. Above all, it was wrong of me
to try to challenge your right to ask questions - questions the Swedish people are actually
asking me through you.
Karlsson then attempted to clarify the complex situation surrounding his salary from the
European Union Court of Auditors. He also announced that he had decided to donate one
of his wages to the Olof Palme Memorial Fund as compensation. He also stated that he
intended to continue as Minister.
INTERACTION AND IMAGE REPAIR WORK
There are obvious resemblances between the question-and-answer session in our
cases. At both these press conferences, the journalists were playing devils advocate and
posing face-threatening questions. Above all, they were asking questions about what
the politicians thought about their own trustworthiness and whether the voters/citizens
could trust them in the future. Both politicians received the question of whether they could
keep their post. However, we can also identify important differences between these two
sessions. At the press conference with Sahlin, the journalists competition for the oor was
tough. Overlapping talk occurred frequently, and on several occasions Sahlin had a hard
time managing the talk; journalists took turns without being appointed by her. Overall, the
atmosphere during this interactional part was more intensive, and the journalists (as we
will show in the subsequent analysis) acted in a more hostile manner than in the question-
and-answer session with Karlsson. In the latter case, the journalists questions were more
deferential and open-ended. This gave Karlsson more space to maneuver and explain his
actions; he was set up in a more favorable position and given better chances to defend, and
in some sense restore, his image. In order to show the different consequence journalists
questions have for interviewees, and to illustrate the use of the interactional approach, we
will use two longer stretches of talk from the introducing parts of the interactional sections.
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ANALYSIS OF THE DENIAL CASE
Question turns often involve a prefatory statement, followed by a more concrete question.
At the Sahlin conference these more concrete questions were often constructed as yes-
no questions, and tended to position her in a situation that was complex and often tricky
to handle. The rst question in Example 1 starts with a prefatory statement (Lines 1 to 4)
relating to the end of her just-nished speech and concerns her trustworthiness. According
to the journalist, one of her most prominent resources as a politician was that she was
trusted (and popular among the voters). The journalist, by involving an unidentied party
(many, Line 1), distances himself from this judgment, and shows that this is not a personal
standpoint. He nishes his question turn by asking a yes/no question (Line 4).
Example 1 (Sahlin)
1 J: You talked about trust, Mona Sahlin. Many have
2 praised your political competence, but your
3 greatest asset may have been the high condence
4 in you as a person. Is the trust still there?
5 MS: Thats what I just asked myself in the speech. I
6 dont know. What is decisive now is whether the
7 trust remains. If it is damaged, and it certainly
8 is, is it possible to restore? And perhaps above
9 all, do I want that? Both the party and I need to
10 think about that.
The action Sahlin is likely to perform when she answers this question is to judge whether
she still has the voters trust which, for obvious reasons, cannot easily be done. Sahlin
answers this by relating to her introductory speech and says that she has asked herself
this question, and that she does not know the answer. The question is constructed as a
yes-no question, but Sahlins options to give a yes or a no answer are highly restricted. The
alternative to answering no would mean that she admits that the voters do not have any
trust in her, which could damage her political career. On the other hand, she cannot provide
a clear yes answer, as she mentioned this aspect in her introducing speech. Therefore, she
does not answer the question with yes or no. Instead, she involves herself in a discussion
about the trust and the fact that her future as a politician depends on her own will and what
the Social Democratic party thinks is reasonable (Lines 5 to 10).
The journalist treats this answer as evasive and replies with a follow-up question (see Example
2), which relates Sahlins credit card use to her possibility (as a possible future leader of the
Social Democratic party) to become Prime Minister (Lines 11 to 13). According to Banning
and Billingsley (2007:468), follow-up questions are salient indicators of adversarialness.
This follow-up question also involves a yes-no question.
Example 2 (Sahlin)
11 J: I mean the question is reasonable. Can a
12 person who cannot even manage her own
13 credit cards govern a country?
14 MS: Thats a good question. I have been careless with my
15 personal nances. But I am one of the few who have
16 also been ghting for the national nances.
17 Thats something that both the party and the voters
18 will have to consider.
Again, Sahlin is set up in a situation in which she is to make a judgment, and her alternatives
to give a clear answer are limited. With a no answer she would make a statement that
would question her own chances for becoming Prime Minister. With a yes answer, she
could appear ignorant to the heavy criticism directed at her in the media. Instead, she starts
her answer by stating Thats a good question, and goes on to say that it is up to the party
and the voters to decide Lines 14 to 18).
The journalist treats Sahlins actions as inadequate, and in his next question turn (see
Example 3) tries to get a clear-cut answer (Line 21). The journalist is clearly operating in
order to get Sahlin to give a positive answer to his previous question (see Example 2), but
she explicitly says she cannot provide him with such an answer (Lines 22-23).
Example 3 (Sahlin)
21 J: So is your answer to the question yes?
22 MS: Im not answering yes. Im answering that if the
23 party wants me to stay Ill stay.
The examples above (1 to 3) demonstrate how the journalist follows up what he seems to
understand as a series of evasive answers and challenges the politician to provide satisfactory
answers. The actions performed appear as face-threatening acts and adversarial actions
(see Clayman and Heritage 2002a). A reason for this rather aggressive atmosphere is that
Sahlin is repeatedly set up in tricky situations in which a straightforward answer (from her
point of view) is not possible. This also means that her opportunities to provide explanations
and to further explain and seek understanding for her actions, i.e. to defend or restore her
image, are vastly restricted.
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ANALYSIS OF THE APOLOGY CASE
In his introductory speech, Karlsson stresses that he understands peoples indignation with
how he has handled the craysh party and his double salaries, and explicitly apologizes for
his behavior. In contrast to Sahlin, Karlsson is able to stay in control of the turn-taking during
the interactional session. He starts this session by giving the oor to a certain journalist
(from TV4) (Example 4: Line 1) who has been one of his strongest critics during the affair.
According to the journalists question, several leading members of the Social Democratic
party and union leaders have said that Karlsson now has to resign (Lines 4-8). The journalist
also mentions one of the critics by name. This is a typical footing-shift through which the
journalist can handle the competing norms of neutralism and adversarialness. He ends this
turn by asking the Minister a wh question (Line 8).
Example 4 (Karlsson)
1 JK: Ulf Kristoffersson, youre entitled to the rst
2 question
3 (gentle laughter)
4 J Several prominent social democrats and union leaders
5 have said that due to the craysh party you now
6 have to resign, hes done, said member of
7 parliament Lennart Nilsson, for instance, it doesnt
8 matter what you do now, what is your answer to that?
9 JK eehh just before meeting with you here now, I had a
10 thorough talk with Gran Persson, as we said that we
11 would have today, and weve been discussing it, he
12 has asked for explanations for all those questions,
13 we have been thinking it through and I have tried to
14 show how I thought and what Ive done /.../
Wh questions are interrogatively constructed around terms like what, who and why,
and in a sense open up the oor for the answerer (see Clayman and Heritage 2002b).
In this case, the question that starts with what sets up the politician in a position from
which he has good chances to explain how he has handled the situation. Actually, this
question presupposes that the interviewee give some kind of explanation. Karlsson takes
this opportunity to make clear that before the press conference he has talked everything
through with Prime Minister Gran Persson and that they both feel that there is no reason
for Karlsson to resign.
This answer is followed by a follow-up question concerning Karlssons trustworthiness and
how he will operate to restore his trust when there is doubt.
18 J but how will you be able to restore your condence
19 when there is doubt
20 JK eeh to start with I think that - and I hope that
21 Lennart Nilsson can hear what I say now, and it is
22 also possible to talk to each other, which has not
23 been done, you can lose peoples trust very quickly,
24 it takes a long time to regain it, but I really want
25 to try when I feel I have the Prime Ministers
26 support /.../
This question presupposes that he will stay at his post, and also opens up for him to explain
how he will regain peoples trust. Compared to Sahlin, who was asked a yes-no question
that set her up in a position from which she was asked to judge her own situation, Karlsson
does get the chance to give more details about how he feels his reputation as a qualied
and knowledgeable politician can be restored (Lines 20-26).

This answer is in turn followed by a second and third follow-up question from the same
journalist, who asks if Karlsson has considered resigning during the past couple of days
(see Example 6: Lines 40 to 41). This is posed as a yes-no question, which Karlsson
answers positively (Line 42).
40 J Youve been thinking of resigning the past few days,
41 havent you?
42 yes, I have
43 but what then is it that leads you to this decision,
44 that you want stay on your post
45 JK the rst thing - you give the answer yourself -
46 that is that I want to stay, /.../
The journalist then poses another what question (Lines 43-44) that sets up the politician
in a position from which he can thoroughly explain the motives for his choice. Overall,
Karlsson has a much better possibility to display that he understands that his actions have
upset people. Through the more open-ended questions he gets a chance to clarify, explain
and justify his decision and state that it is reasonable that he stay at his post.
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DISCUSSION: THE NEED FOR AN INTERACTIONAL APPROACH
TO IMAGE REPAIR
The rst intention of this interactional approach to image repair was to understand how im-
age repair work is carried out in interviews, particularly at press conferences. The second
ambition of the study was to initiate a discussion on how this knowledge could be involved
in concrete crisis communication management. Our main conclusions are:
1. How journalists act during interviews and how they pose questions do have conse-
quences for the interviewees, the accused actors, abilities to restore his/her public
aura. Questions set the agenda, for both topics and actions, and have the potential to
delimit the blamed actors possibilities to carry out image repair work. This means that
more open-ended questions, like how and wh questions, tend to set up the blamed
party in a more favorable position, which makes it possible to explain or justify words
or actions. Other questions (in our case, yes-no questions) that favor a certain answer
restrict the interviewees alternatives to carry out image repair work.
2. Image repair strategies like apologizing and mortication during the speech section
of a press conference tend to give the accused greater opportunities to take control of
the interaction. Judging from our study, such strategies tend to disarm the journalists
hostility and establish a better situation for the accused actor to handle a complicated
and stressful situation.
Due to the preliminary status of the interactional approach and the fact that the analysis
involves a minimal number of cases, the above conclusion must be seen as provisional.
Nevertheless, it interesting to see that our study supports the ideas that the strategy of
mortication, often in combination with corrective action and/or bolstering, can be recom-
mended for actors who are set up to deal with journalists in interviews or at press confer-
ences. At press conferences, the mortication strategy tends to establish a frame for the
subsequent interaction between those who admit guilt and the questioning journalists: it
seems to lead to more options for the accused party in the press conference context. This
also seems to be in line with Burkes theory of guilt (see Benoit 1995), which states that the
strategy of placing the blame on oneself takes the edge off the accusation.
But even if a confession and an appeal for forgiveness appears to affect the framework
for interaction at the press conference, we do not know whether the apology strategy has
a positive effect on the media content and the image of the accused. Sheldon & Sallot
(2009), as previously mentioned, state that apologizing and admitting fault may not restore
a politicians reputation. Holtzhausen & Roberts (2009) go further, arguing that an apology
may even be totally ineffective. In their study of media coverage and the various types of
rhetorical strategies used in crisis management, they found that mortication overwhelm-
ingly produced negative media stories. To answer the question of causality between the
strategy used and the image achieved is therefore not an easy one. Nor is it a question we
can answer with our two single case studies. First of all, more extensive material is required
to shed light on the causality (see also Coombs & Holladay 1996). Secondly, it is necessary
to study culture and media coverage as additional factors impacting image repair strategies
(Huang 2006). There are also other contextual factors, not analyzed in this study, that may
explain the patterns of interaction between the accused politicians and the journalists in the
second part of the press conferences. Such a factor is the gender of the accused. Was the
female minister Mona Sahlin treated, and then later portrayed, in a different way because
she was a young, successful woman? This is what Kroon and Ekstrom (2006) claim in a
study of the photo coverage of these media scandals.
However, the interactional approach gives us new theoretical understanding of image re-
pair work in interviews and political press conferences. The approach also includes a new
requested methodological research design in this context, a design that takes into account
other signicant actors than simply the accused source in the image repair work (see e.g.
Burns & Bruner 2000; Johnson 2010). The interactional approach also has its weaknesses.
It does not take into account broader contextual factors such as media content, historical
events, culture differences, etc., to understand the outcome (see e.g. OConnell & Kowal
2006). This approach nonetheless seems to be one way (of many possible ways) to nd
a new, requested, knowledge about image repair work in general and image repair at
politicians press conferences in particular. The perspective and methods seem to produce
important knowledge for training courses in Public Relations and Crisis Management. For
example, with knowledge about questions and question design, the possibilities for blamed
actors to handle difcult interview situations could be improved.
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An Esoteric Notion:
Truth and Lies in Australian Government Communication
by Leanne Glenny
ABSTRACT
This paper argues that the esoteric notions of truth and lying can present signicant
challenges for Australian public service communicators and yet there is limited guidance on
their responsibilities in engaging with the Australian public. Despite expectations of a high
standard of ethical behaviour from public servants, general ethical frameworks are inadequate
in addressing the specic issues confronting communicators.
Research was conducted into three cases of government communication in order to develop
a broader understanding of the challenges that the truth and lying dichotomy provides for
public sector communicators. The three cases cover vastly different issues and styles of
communication activity within the public sector, including an information campaign, an
engagement program and a reactive communication activity. Nineteen public servants,
journalists, political advisors and interest group representatives were interviewed about their
involvement in communication between the Australian Government and its citizens. The
research found that a range of obstacles stood in the way of uncovering the truth and the
truthful dissemination of information. Although rare, justications for withholding the truth,
misleading or lying were also presented. These perceptions into the meanings that the notions
of truth and lying hold in a government communication context are useful for practice and the
further development of public relations ethics.
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INTRODUCTION
The idea of truth is central to many criticisms of government communication, with a
common expectation being that politicians will play with the truth in order to present a
favourable image to gain or maintain power. At the same time, professional bureaucrats
within government are expected to uphold a high standard of ethics at all times, presenting
a neutral and truthful position when communicating about government business. While
this may appear straightforward, in practice there is substantial ambiguity for the public
service communicator.
Truth is a dominant theme in most, if not all discussions of public relations and
communications ethics. The issue of what truth is has been debated for centuries, and
it is certainly not within the capability of this study to answer that dilemma. As Bok
states, The whole truth is out of reach [original emphasis] (Bok 1989, 4). However, as
communicators, public servants need to consider what truth and lying mean within the
context of government communication and how they should deal with such an esoteric
notion.
Government communication itself is a poorly dened term covering numerous activities and
involving many participants. This paper uses the denition of government communication as
the apolitical or non-partisan communication activities of the executive arm of government
concerning policy and operations (Glenny 2008, 153), which can include both politicians
and public servants, but focuses on the governing of the nation rather than the winning
of electoral support. While these two aims can at times be difcult to distinguish, this
paper focuses on the public servants role in government communication and therefore the
distinction is essential.
This paper focuses on the challenges faced by public service communicators operating
without specic guidance about the ethics of truth and lying. In doing so, it uncovers the
problems in dening truth that have been addressed by many, and in explaining the the
supposed dichotomy between truth [that] somewhat oversimplies the public relations role
and the sorts of choices that face practitioners (LEtang 1997, 35). Reporting on part of
a study into the ethics of government communication in Australia, this paper adopts a
qualitative approach to examine three cases of Australian government communication and
look beyond the prescriptive duty to tell the truth The ndings in this study revealed three
problematic areas concerning issues of truth for public sector communicators: determining
the truth, truthful dissemination of information, and concealing the truth.
DEFICIENCIES IN PRACTICAL GUIDANCE
Numerous codes of practice available to Australian government communicators reect
the importance of truth in communication, but an overview of this guidance reveals that
there is little detail about what constitutes truth or lying. As public servants, Australian
government communicators must abide by the legislated Australian Public Service (APS)
Values (Australian Public Service Commission 2002) and Code of Conduct (Australian Public
Service Commission n.d.), however these documents do not make any direct mention of
truth. Both mention the need for honesty; the Code of Conduct, in a general sense, as in
honest behaviour, and the Values in regards to advice to the Australian Government. In
terms of the relationship with the public, the APS Values discuss the delivery of services
using terms such as fairly, effectively, impartially and courteously, but there is no guidance
about the delivery or conduct of communication to the public. The Code of Conduct is
more specic, prohibiting public servants from provid[ing] false or misleading information,
but then limits this to in response to a request for information that is made for ofcial
purposes (Australian Public Service Commission n.d.).
There is no specic ethical guidance for Australian public service communicators and it
appears as though few are members of professional industry associations either. Two
organisations that have some government members, and could be considered relevant
professional associations are the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) and the
International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). In a similar manner to the
APS values and codes, the PRIA Code of Ethics discusses honesty and prohibits the use
of false or misleading information (Public Relations Institute of Australia). The IABC is more
specic, directing its members to engage in truthful, accurate and fair communication that
facilitates respect and mutual understanding and to correct any erroneous communication
(International Association of Business Communicators). Additionally, it encourages its
members to seek out the truth, emphasising the importance of being honest to themselves
as well as others.
THE COMPLEX NOTIONS OF TRUTH AND LYING
In a similar way to the practice-based codes of ethics, numerous models of ethical public
relations and communication contain references to honesty, veracity or duty (Sherman
1998; Public Relations Society of America 2000; Parsons 2004; Bowen 2008, 2005;
Boynton 2006). Some models do, however, refer directly to the need for truth. Baker and
Martinson (Baker and Martinson 2001) include truth as the rst of ve elements of their
TARES model of ethical persuasion. Fitzpatrick and Bronstein refer to the need for truth
and transparency (Fitzpatrick and Bronstein 2006). Other scholarly discussions consider
truth as a product of ethical dialogue and rhetoric (Johannesen 2002). Habermas (1984,
99) distinguishes between truth and truthfulness when discussing the validity claims
with which a speaker could be challenged. Bok (1989) attempts to redress balance in the
discussions of truth by examining the notions of lying and deception. Ethical decision-
making models such as Bowens Kantian model of ethical issues management (Bowen
2005) and Tilleys ethics pyramid (Tilley 2008) provide general points for consideration of
ethical issues and dilemmas. Some of these discussions start to unpack the complexity
of the notions of truth and lying, but there is room for more exploration, particularly in the
specic area of government communication.
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Although a single determination on the meaning of truth is a complex challenge that is
unlikely to gain total consensus (Deaver 1990), the literature reveals a number of approaches
that discuss common themes, such as objectivity, completeness, intention, deception,
and harm, which are applicable to an exploration of the meanings of truth and lying in
government communication.
Christians describes truth as communications master principle and set[ting] the standard
in communications (Christians 2005, ix). One of the difculties however lies in the often
philosophical debates about what constitutes truth and reality. Richards highlights
this tension in his discussion of the inuence of postmodernism and the development of
views that suggest the existence of a reality somewhere out there in the real world is
untenable (2005, 19).
The notion of truth is often equated to empirical fact and accuracy (Outhwaite 1994, 45;
Richards 2005, 27). Christians agrees that the mainstream view of truth relates in part to
factual accuracy, however he calls for a broader understanding of what constitutes truth
(Christians 2005, xi), believing that no hard line exists between fact and interpretation
(Christians 2005, xii). Habermas also argues, according to Outhwaite, that truth cannot
be determined by the direct correlation between a proposition and reality: The alleged
correspondence between true statements and reality can only be expressed in statements
Truth must instead be dened in terms of a projected consensus (Outhwaite 1994, 41).
The simplistic interpretation of truth that focuses on generalisations and accuracy alone is
inadequate when determining ethical responsibilities (Marlin 2002, 150).
Discussions of truth in journalism often invoke the notion of objectivity
1
, yet different
expectations are discussed for the public relations discipline. Public relations practitioners
are expected to be advocates for their organisations and an acknowledged bias or
favouritism is frequently accepted. Even though lying and deception are generally not
accepted, acting in the interest of their client can blur the line between ethical and unethical
communication. In the case of government communication, the appropriateness of this
advocacy role needs to be questioned by asking for whom the public servant should
be advocating. According to Borchers, the challenge comes in combining loyalty to the
organization with truthfulness to audience members (Borchers 2002, 72). This challenge
is demonstrated in the APS Values where one value states that public servants need to
remain responsive to government and another requires public servants to be apolitical
(Australian Public Service Commission 2002).
Day argues that to be judged ethical, public communication needs to be the promotion of
full confrontation of opposing opinions, arguments, and information relevant to a decision
(cited in Johannesen 1996, 30). The notion of truth as material and substantial completeness
that goes beyond factual accuracy is central to Baker and Martinsons description of the
principle of truth (Baker and Martinson 2002, 17). As Richards highlights, completeness
is not the same for all individuals and there may be situations in which it can never be
1 Although the notion of objectivity is also fraught with its own denitional and ethical dilemmas.
attained (Richards 2005, 29). In the complex and detailed world of government, there are
also challenges for the public sector communicator in determining what is material and
substantial completeness and how this should be used to achieve an end that has been
dictated by their political masters, such as the implementation of a policy.
The appropriateness of divulging complete information in communicating with the
Australian public is not always clear for the public servant. While it may be feasible prior to
policy formation, once a public servant has provided the diverse arguments to their political
masters and a policy has been decided, the appropriateness of communicating potentially
opposing views to the public is sometimes challenged. Equally, Englehardt argues that
there are times when it is not necessary and probably not appropriate to share or give
information (Englehardt and Evans 1994, 251).
A failure to provide material and substantial completeness could be considered deceptive.
Deception, which can either be intentional or unintentional, leads to coercion as it denies
the audience the necessary information to make an informed choice and, as such, could be
seen as an unethical form of persuasion. The persuader potentially impacts the receivers
ability for sound decision-making (Borchers 2002, 54). Manipulation of images, providing
inadequate information or too much information, or concealing the source, intent, methods
of persuasion or harmful consequences, could all be considered techniques of deception
(Borchers 2002, 54; Johnston 1994, 345-6).
While acknowledging that some scholars view deception wrong under any circumstance,
the obvious principle that deceptive persuasion is unethical is too simplistic (Johnston
1994, 56-8). Indeed, Nyberg argues its necessity, stating that:
Deception is not merely to be tolerated as an occasionally prudent aberration in a world
of truth telling: it is rather an essential component of our ability to organize and shape
the world... (Nyberg 1993,5).
From a government perspective Johnston reects on a case where the military gave false
information to reporters during the Gulf War of 1991 on the basis that they would report it
and the facts would mislead the enemy. She argues that if the government can validate
these actions, the watchdog role of the press is threatened and the public will not be able
to separate accurate and erroneous information (Johnston 1994, 57-58).
Continued trust in the government as a source of information is threatened by deception
and lying showing that the impact is not only on the receivers of the information but
also on those doing the lying. Bok argues that lying causes harm to the general level
of trust and cooperation and that the effect is both cumulative and hard to reverse
impacting on integrity and credibility (Bok 1989, 24). Levels of trust in government are
already questionable or damaged (Phillis 2004; Uhr 2005) and regardless of the causes
for this, lying will potentially aggravate the situation. For this reason, if it was accepted that
there was some perceived need for a public servant or government to lie to the Australian
public, there would need to be an extremely careful balancing of the possible short term
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benets and the long term reputation risks. Boks test for acceptability when considering a
lie has three steps: (1) search for alternatives to avoid the lie; (2) consideration of the moral
justication and counter-arguments; and (3) consideration of what a public of reasonable
persons might say about such lies(Bok 1989, 105-6).
What this short review of the literature shows is how the models that refer to honesty, or
truth, or integrity are highly abridged versions of much more complex notions that need to
be considered in the specic contexts within which they are to be applied.
UNCOVERING MULTIPLE PERCEPTIONS
As the discussion above demonstrates, there has been substantial reection on truth and
lying in the literature of both ethics and communication, often resulting in models and codes
designed to assist the practitioner deal with the complexity of ethical issues in their work.
The translation of this to the practical, day-to-day operations of government communication
and the implication for participants can perhaps be understood more thoroughly by asking
those involved. This study, as part of a broader study into the ethics of government
communication, uses a qualitative analysis of the perceptions of public servants, politicians,
journalists and interest group representatives, within three Australian case studies.
Recognising that there will be various perceptions of the context of truth and lying in each of
the cases, this study set out to explore the depth and breadth of experiences and views. It
aimed to better understand what the concepts of truth and lying mean within the context of
the work and responsibilities of the public service communicator. In-depth interviews were
conducted with 19 public servants (PS), political staffers (POL), journalists (J) and interest
group representatives (IG) about broader perceptions of ethics and the public service
communicator. Within these interviews, respondents were asked specically about notions
of truth and lying, and it is this part of the research that is reported here. The interviews
were transcribed and analysed in terms of common and disparate themes that emerged.
Three cases were selected to provide more breadth on the types of issues confronted
by public service communicators. Each case represented a different form of government
communication, including an informative campaign, a program of engagement on an issue,
and a reactive communication scenario. The issues at the heart of each case had different
levels of public acceptance, sometimes resulting in distinct ethical challenges for those
involved. All three cases occurred within the federal level of Australian government during
the period in which the Hon. John Howard, MP was Prime Minister (1996-2007).
The Welfare Payment (WP) case reected on a fairly standard and non-controversial
government information campaign which attempted to increase the number of welfare
recipients reporting changes in their circumstances to the welfare agency. The campaign,
under the banner of support the system that supports you was conducted in 2002 and
repeated in 2005 in an attempt to decrease the number of people who were being paid
incorrectly after their entitlements were calculated using out-dated information.
The second case involved communication from and to the government concerning the
issue of genetically modied (GM) food. Rather than being a purely information campaign,
as in the rst case, this case also attempted to engage the Australian public and be open to
comment and feedback. Numerous government agencies, such as Biotechnology Australia
and the Ofce of the Gene Technology Regulator held responsibilities for communication
about this issue. Interest groups such as Greenpeace and the Network of Concerned
Farmers presented opposing arguments and expressed concerns about the government
policies that were being implemented.
Perhaps the most controversial of the three cases, receiving extensive media coverage,
was that of the Children Overboard (CO) incident. Sometimes referred to truth overboard,
this case started with a claim made by the immigration minister to the media, following
verbal advice from the Department of Defence, that a child or children had been thrown
overboard from a boat of asylum seekers in October, 2001. No child had actually been
thrown overboard and a subsequent Senate inquiry found that the initial report was made as
a result of miscommunication through departmental channels to the minister. The problem
however was exacerbated by a delay in correcting the information and the presentation of
some photographs, by the Minister for Defence, a few days after the initial announcement.
The photographs were used as proof of the incident however they had been taken the day
following the alleged incident, when the boat sank leaving asylum seekers in the water. The
process of nding out the facts and ofcially correcting the record took some months, and
involved much speculation about motives and the roles that politicians, public servants and
the media played in the original claims and the search for truth that followed. The timing
of the original claim, during an election campaign in which border protection was a major
issue, fuelled public and media speculation about the motives.
Respondents were asked general questions about their perceptions of the notions of truth
and lying and discussed their various experiences both within these cases and at other
stages in their careers. Diverse perceptions were reported, potentially due to the case in
which they were involved, their level of communication experience, and their support or
opposition for the government policy or position.
UNCOVERING, DISSEMINATING AND CONCEALING THE TRUTH
Factual accuracy and objectivity were generally seen by respondents as the key to ethical
communication in government. Yet no clear distinction between truth and lying emerged
from the responses given in the interviews. Ideas on what constituted the truth were
initially posited by respondents, but as discussions progressed, these ideas were often
challenged by those who proposed them in the rst instance. What emerged from these
discussions were detailed reections of three themes. The rst theme concerned the
determination of the truth, addressing perceptions of what constitutes the truth and how
public service communicators can identify the truth before it is crafted into messages for
public consumption. The second theme considered the challenges for public servants in
the truthful dissemination of messages to the Australian public. Finally, perceptions on the
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appropriateness of concealing truth comprised the third theme. There were some common
perspectives in each of the cases, but the contrast in the types of communicative activity
provided variations which broadened the discussion of the truth-lying dichotomy.
Determining the truth
The rst theme had an internal focus on how public servants and their agencies determined
what was the truth. In all three cases, there was a search for some form of identiable,
tangible, scientic and objective truth that could be determined through procedures, rules,
and checking processes. Only one of the respondents, across all of the cases, spoke
directly about the difculty with notions of truth, arguing that there is no objective truth
that truth is a social construction rather than an objective reality (IG-GM2). The research
did however nd that determining the facts was more problematic in some cases than in
others, with most respondents describing challenges that they faced at the practical level.
According to the respondents in the Welfare Payment case, the facts were easily determined
by the rules and procedures concerning the eligibility and responsibility of those receiving
welfare payments, set out in the legislation (PS-WP2, PS-WP4, POL-WP1). Processes such
as the testing and approval of the messages through 20 million departments to make sure
it is accurate (POL-WP1) were used and no public criticisms in regards to accuracy were
received (J-WP1, POL-WP1). Rules and procedures at the centre of the GM Food case
related more to the use of scientic data, recognition of different voices, and the provision of
mechanisms to allow those different voices to speak. Public servants views of objectivity in
this case focused primarily on providing a factual, neutral and disinterested view of scientic
data. However one public servant (PS-GM1) also recognised that determining a true
position on the subject of GM foods was contestable with challenges made concerning the
accuracy, honesty and/or truthfulness of his agencys communication message.
In a sense, it was the short-cutting of rules and procedures in the Children Overboard case
that resulted in a misunderstanding of the facts in the original incident. An objective truth
was eventually identied: that is, that no child had been thrown overboard and that the
photographs were of a different event to the one they were initially claimed to represent.
Respondents attributed the reasons for the initial inability to determine these objective
facts to the bypassing of normal internal channels of communication and the speed with
which information was sought from the operational level, outside the normal channels and
procedures, for purely political motivations (PS-CO1, PS-CO2).
Public servants from two different government agencies stressed the need for government
to provide opportunities for external sources to feed information back to government,
correcting mistakes and inuencing decisions (PS-GM1, PS-GM-2). One public servant
believed that the procedures provided a channel for the truth to be challenged and
corrected if necessary (PS-GM2). However respondents from the interest groups believed
that their voices were often ignored, that government was not genuine in its efforts to
engage on the topic, that a limited version of the facts was being relayed to decision-
makers within government, and that public servants were often over-enthusiastic and
optimistic, using rubbery facts in the advice that they provided to politicians (IG-GM1,
IG-GM2). One respondent said that truth could not be uncovered until alternate views were
funded by the government instead of the current provision of having funding tied to the
control of the message (IG-GM2).
The research also found perceptions of where the determination of truth was hampered
either by unwillingness on the part of the Government to seek out the truth, or the
unwillingness of public servants to volunteer information that could have exposed the truth.
In the GM Food case, the perceptions of the Governments disinclination to uncover the
facts related more to an unquestioning faith in technology, and a lack of rational thought
and argument, according to an interest group representative who opposed the government
policy (IG-GM1). A journalist accused the Government of taking an unscientic approach by
proceeding with something about which the truth had not yet been determined. She viewed
truth as a potentially ongoing process of uncovering, exploring, debating, provoking,
discuss[ing] [and] revealing (J-GM3).
An unwillingness to have the facts uncovered during the inquiry processes in the Children
overboard case was suggested by two public servants (PS-CO2, PS-CO3). They claimed
that an inquiry deliberately set out not to nd out what happened [original emphasis],
and that investigating ofcers did not want all the facts or lacked power to uncover the
information. They also asserted that there was failure to subpoena witnesses, omission of
information from nal reports, and refusal to accept oral advice to correct the record even
though the original incorrect advice, also given orally, had been accepted. One of these
public servants also spoke of the Federal Oppositions unwillingness to uncover the facts,
expressing surprise that the truth had remained obscured:
... if youve got a forensic mind, you can join the dots. They either didnt join them or if
they joined them, they didnt use a lot of the material there for them to use. (PS-CO2).
Protection of others was also given as a reason why a complete picture of the Children
Overboard case has still not been uncovered. One respondent spoke of a reluctance to
divulge sensitive information which impacted on others, suggesting that this raised an
ethical issue in itself (PS-CO2). Self-protection was also a factor with another public
servant describing his decision not to volunteer evidence, arguing that the Senate did not
use its legal powers to demand his appearance at the inquiry:
If they didnt [subpoena me] well, why would I put my career on the line at that point in
time? (PS-CO3).
Perceptions of truthful dissemination
The shift from an internal focus on determining the truth to an external focus relating to the
dissemination of truthful information externally to the Australian public was the second
major theme to emerge in the ndings. A public servant (PS-GM1) and a journalist (J-GM1)
both described the need for the government to disseminate truthful information in order to
maintain a reputation as a trustworthy source. Emphasising that you dont just need to look
clean, you need to be clean [original emphasis], one public servant in the GM Food case
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considered himself lucky to have superiors with a strong sense of ethics in his current
workplace, in comparison with previous government employers who were willing to cut
corners, tell white lies consistently, anything to make it look squeaky clean (PS-GM1).
Selectivity in the information disseminated was encountered for a number of reasons,
such as the complexity of the issue, a need to emphasise a particular message and an
implied political imperative. In the GM Food case, the information in the scientic surveys
needed to be simplied, interpreted and abridged for a non-scientic audience. Both the
interest groups and the government accused each of being too selective in their release
of information. While an interest group representative admitted to using a form of spin,
he justied this on the basis that there was no pretence about his organisations actions
and motivations, unlike the biased government information which was promoted as
independent and non-partisan (IG-GM1).
Similar criticisms about selective use of information and the dissemination of incorrect
facts in the Children Overboard case were raised by the public servants interviewed.
One example related to an incident in which the Chief of Navy issued a media release,
attempting to clarify the interpretation of an earlier statement he made in the media. The
three sentence media release stated how a report describing his original comment was
inaccurate and how it was not contradictory to the governments position. It nished with
the statement, I conrm the Minister was advised that Defence believed children had been
thrown overboard (Department of Defence 2001). One public servant commented that the
statement itself was true but that it was not truthful in the sense that the minister had also
been advised that there was no evidence to support children being thrown in the water
[original emphasis] (PS-CO2). This respondent, and another (PS-CO1) spoke about the
unease they felt in these circumstances, raising the question as to what extent all details
need to be included for something to be considered the truth.
Respondents in the Children Overboard case claimed that there were numerous attempts
by senior public servants to advise their political and bureaucratic superiors of the
misrepresentation of the photographs almost immediately after their public release, yet
this additional information was not disseminated for some time. Claiming that it was a very
complex issue, one public servant nevertheless spoke about complicitness and a reading
between the lines of what the government wants, and doesnt want (PS-C2).
The responsibility of public servants to publicly correcting the record was not clear to some
of those involved. The main reason given about why they had not personally contributed to
a full public disclosure at the time of the incident related to an attempt to remain apolitical as
events were unravelling, with one specically revealing a desire not to become embroiled
in the politics, and distancing myself from the government agenda (PS-CO2). Another
spoke of a personal dilemma in that he wasnt convinced that it was the right thing to do
It simply wasnt clear in my head (PS-CO3). Later in the interview he expressed the view
that government doesnt work if everybody can go and talk about whatever they want,
wherever they want, whenever they want (PS-CO3).
One public servant was of the view that his responsibility did not extend to clarifying the
truth publicly, but in fact ended with ensuring that the ministers ofce had the accurate
information (PS-CO1). Yet he and another public servant indicated they had contemplated
the act of leaking information to the media and others when it became obvious to them that
the minister was not going to clarify the truth of the incident. To one, the ethical dilemma
was in whether to follow your philosophy of what a public servant was about and to
remain silent, or whether to leak the information (PS-CO2). Both spoke about how, based
on previous cases, they expected someone in the organisation to leak and were surprised
when that did not happen: I suppose I was secretly hoping that it would leak. Everything
else seemed to have leaked before. Why in the world in this particular incidence had it not?
(PS-CO2).
Rather than a public servant providing information directly to the media, two respondents
(PS-CO1, POL-CO1) suggested that contact was made to the Opposition during the inquiry
process. Both claimed that a public servant had alerted the Opposition to the existence
of some important, politically sensitive information. The information itself was not leaked
to the Opposition, but advice was given about the need to carefully question a particular
witness.
Concealing the truth and lying
Respondents were asked about their general views on the appropriateness of withhold-
ing information, misleading the public and lying in government communication. The study
found a few strong views against any of these actions, with instant rejection of suggestions
that they could be appropriate or ethical. But the majority of respondents were willing to
concede that there may be occasions, albeit somewhat rare, when some form of conceal-
ment of the truth by the government could be considered ethical or appropriate. Even
though some respondents appeared to have considered and rationalised these issues prior
to the interviews, there were others who were less condent in their answers, and unsure
or uncomfortable with their position. Justications given by respondents for the conceal-
ment of information included protecting national security, shielding privacy, and preventing
the undermining of the economy or unnecessary disruption to the governing of the nation.
A ministerial staffer (POL-GM1) and a public servant (PS-GM1) both discussed how they
were bound by privacy legislation in some cases, which often created difculties for them:
we often cop a hammering because customers have actually lied to the media but
because of our adherence to privacy principles, and the law, we will not give a journalist
a background brieng (PS-WP1).
A public servant in the GM Food case believed that legislation such as the Privacy Act
provided a clear demarcation of when it was appropriate for governments to withhold
information (PS-GM2). To this public servant, training in administrative law and the
documenting of decisions generally prevented unethical behavior in this area.
Two public servants and a ministerial adviser considered that there was justication for
controlling the release of information to ensure the smooth running of government. The
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ministerial adviser was concerned about creating an image of the government as being
indecisive, [and] incapable of good management (POL-WP1) if information was released
before a solution had been identied. The concern of the public servant however, was in
having an issue turned into a popular media scare story in which the truth would be
distorted (PS-GM1). Another public servant claimed that in the tactical game of media
relations, his section had a role to ensure we protect the organisation, that we protect
government and the minister and that journalists understood and accepted this (PS-
WP1).
Two respondents in particular emphasised however that concealment should be the
exception rather than the rule as it was less sustainable in the long-term (POL-WP1,
J-GM3). Both described it in terms of risk management, with one describing the need to
put information out in the public arena, contextualise it, and deal with the consequences
(J-GM3).
When questioned about whether there could be circumstance in which misleading or lying
to the public could be considered ethical, a small number of individuals were very quick to
reply that it was never acceptable. Some respondents initially struggled to decide on an
ethical distinction between withholding information and misleading the public, considering
that omission itself was really a lie and therefore unacceptable. In contrast, two others
clearly saw a difference saying:
we may put a positive spin on an issue, we may omit certain things, but we will never
mislead [original emphasis]. (PS-WP1)
Im not saying I misledI just didnt tell the whole truth. But I will always be ethical. (J-
GM1)
Some respondents who believed misleading and lying were not acceptable, conceded
that others may see it differently depending on the issues being covered (J-WP1, IG-GM1).
A public servant who admitted to having lied when in a previous position, for reasons of
operational security, argued that the context of the message was sometime more important
than the fact that it was misleading, in order to ensure the safety of peoples lives (PS-CO3).
Another public servant could see that there could be appropriate and ethical reasons for
the government to lie, particularly if it was in the best interests of the Australian community
(PS-WP1). A journalist respondent also admitted to having lied when in a public service
appointment, arguing that it was something that he had to do professionally to protect
commercial interests:
Thats a very strong example of how I didnt tell the truth, but I was ethical. (J-GM1)
Public accusations of the government intentionally misleading the public were prominent
in the Children Overboard case. In the interviews however, much of the blame for this was
placed on the ministers rather than the public servants as the politicians were attempting
to project an image of being rm on border protection for the upcoming election. While
the original statement that a child had been thrown overboard was generally accepted as
an error, the reluctance to clarify the facts and the continued use of the photographs as
evidence of something that had not occurred were seen as misleading. One of the public
servants claimed that there had been a conscious decision in the political ofce to mislead
the public, and that he was told by someone in the ofce the day after the photographs
were released that theyre not going to do anything about ittheyre going to leave them
out there(PS-CO2).
Summary of ndings
Determination of what constituted truth within government appeared to be based
signicantly on the level of support for the governments position on the issue under
discussion. Challenges to determining objective facts ranged from the unintentional
technical problems, through the intentional disregard for truth, to the more philosophical
challenge of interpretation. Subjectivity was also seen in the dissemination of information
external to government, with public servants placed in positions in which they were required
to be selective in what was released. And although withholding of information was generally
accepted, within limits, decisions as to whether to mislead or lie presented far more ethical
challenges, although they were not dismissed totally either.
DISCUSSION
The complexities concerning what constitutes truth and objectivity that were discussed
in the review of the literature are also reected in the ndings of this research, supporting
Christianss view of the difculty in distinguishing between facts and interpretation
(Christians 2005, xii). The three cases in this study revealed a level of comfort with objective
facts based on policy and procedures. But challenges to determining truth arose when
having to communicate about policies that were not yet formed, were contentious or
politically sensitive, or when the facts were not self-evident.
Whether as a spokespeople, or simply in the crafting of messages to be passed to the
public, communicators are often not in a position to know all the facts. To a certain extent
they rely and need to trust those within the organisation to pass on truthful information in
the rst instance. Baker and Martinson place some responsibility on the communicators,
by suggesting that they ask themselves such questions as What can I do to ensure this
persuasive message is truthful? (Baker and Martinson 2001, 161). This research shows
that public service communicators can nd this difcult to answer.
When do communicators need to challenge what they have been told and what are their
responsibilities in uncovering the truth? These challenges are not peculiar to communicators
within the public service alone, but it could be argued that the role they play in the democratic
process raises the importance of these questions. This research shows that there is
confusion about that role. Should public service communicators simply act as messengers
who pass on information to various sources? Should they have a greater role in facilitating
understanding and striving for some form of consensus or is their role something else
altogether? While clarication of their role will not eliminate all barriers to uncovering the
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truth, it may start to clarify the responsibilities that public service communicators have to
both the political process and the public.
Public servants in this research believed that the truth was being told most of the time, but
there were challenges to revealing more complete truth in some instances. Factors such
as the need to simplify complex concepts, political dominance (through direct and indirect
inuence), conicting loyalties and self-interest were all revealed as practical examples of
barriers to either the truth, or the whole truth being disseminated by government. Awareness
of ethical expectations and a desire to do the right thing were not enough in this ethically
challenging environment.
In the GM Food case, one challenge was in the framing of simple, but truthful,
messages. In the Children Overboard case, political dominance and self-interest (of
both the politician and the bureaucrat) appeared to stand in the way of the truth being
claried, despite any desires of public servants to uphold high ethical values. This
could be seen as a failure of ethics, or simply a reality that needs to be acknowledged
and discussed in order to arm those involved with the knowledge and authority to
be able to make more ethical judgments. The issue of leaking as an unsanctioned
form of dissemination of information to the media was accepted by some outside the
government as being ethical, but it was a dilemma for those who actually faced the
option. In the Children Overboard case, public servants were looking for less direct
routes for the passage of information to the media and the formal inquiries, without
becoming involved in the political argument.
When truth is so hard to dene, considering the consequences of its absence may be
another way to approach government communication. Preston argues that It is probably
easier to identify lying than it is to nominate the truth(Preston 2007, 81). Yet the discussion
of lying also shows an absence of absolutes. Bok discusses the difculties in dening lying,
eventually resting on what she sees as a more neutral, and therefore wider, denition of a
lie: an intentionally deceptive message in the form of a statement (Bok 1989, 15). But she
sees this as part of a broader category of deception, which is more inclusive of the notions
of withholding and misleading that also emerged in this study.
The respondents in this study appeared to struggle personally with all of these issues.
Perceptions reported came from the absolutists who argued that lying could never be
ethically justied, through to those who agreed but then found it difcult to distinguish
exactly what a lie was, to those who stated that it could be justied in particular
circumstances. This last group included respondents from all three cases and from
all employment categories, however they also generally had greater communication
experience or higher level positions than those with the negative responses. The
confusion, doubt and uncertainty shown in the range of responses reinforce the need
for further discussion of this matter in practice. One of the difculties in doing that, at
this time, is the absence of fora for communication specialists within the APS, and a
low level of interest in joining professional industry associations which could help form
a community of practice.
Broad guidelines are provided that claim it is appropriate to withhold information when it
could jeopardise international security or reputationput the lives of Australian ofcials and
others at risk[and] damage the relationship of trust between the government of the day
and its public service advisers (Australian Public Service Commission 2009). This study
shows how some respondents struggled to see a difference between simply withholding
information and lying and needed clearer denitions of when it would be appropriate to
make such a judgment. Matters concerning how these circumstances are assessed and
who makes the assessment are largely left unresolved.
While there are those who state that lying can never be justied, others argue that there
may be circumstances in which justication may be possible (Marlin 2002, 141; Englehardt
and Evans 1994, 252). Reports of deceptive practices that were occurring, although
minimal, also highlighted the need for any such practice to be able to be justied. Bok
suggests that adopting Aristotles premise that truth is preferable to lying in the absence
of special considerationsplaces the burden of proof squarely on those who assume
the liars perspective(Bok 1989, 30). This research shows that this burden of proof was
clearly expected of public servants involved in any form of deception. Yet it also suggested
that the determination of a justication for deception was occurring at an individual level,
presenting the dangerous situation where those who confront difcult moral choices
between truthfulness and deception often make up their own rules. They think up their
own excuses and evaluate their own arguments (Bok 1989, 11). In the cases in this
study, there appeared to be little formal application of a framework such as Boks test for
acceptability (Bok 1989, 105-6) in making decisions on a potential course of action.
CONCLUSION
This research builds on previous understandings of the complexities inherent in the notions
of truth and lying in a communication context. It reveals some specic challenges for
public servants attempting to communicate about government matters with citizens while
being mindful of their responsibilities to both their political masters and the public. Three
problematic and often contradictory areas concerning issues of truth for Australian public
sector communicators were highlighted: determining the truth, truthful dissemination of
information and concealment of the truth.
Although based on a small, unrepresentative sample of public sector communicators in
one nation only, this research contributes to the ongoing examination of public relations
in government by highlighting particularly problematic and contentious ethical issues that
present dilemmas for public servants and attract criticism from outside government. It
also reveals some of the challenges to democratic ideals of openness and transparency
within government and the limitations of existing ethical guidance for public relations
professionals serving the government. Finally, the results also have relevance for the wider
public relations debate about truth and ethics. As communicators, public servants need to
consider what truth and lying means within the context of their work and how they should
deal with such an esoteric notion.
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Critical Approach: Communication Failures as a Risk
to Government Public Relations
by KajaTampere
INTRODUCTION
In order for democracy to function efciently, the government has to communicate with their
citizens. Citizens have the right to know what the ministries and other government bodies
are doing and why the various administrative decisions are being made. In a democratically
organised country, any decision-making process must be transparent (OECD 1999, p
19). Citizens have the right to ask and receive information about any decision made by
the authorities. The interests of representatives are best served by taking into account and
analysing the voices and wishes of the citizenry and to practice participation and dialogue,
in order to ensure through communication the legitimacy of exercising the authority of the
state and to increase their chances of being re-elected. Therefore, in terms of the principle of
democracy and the role of the people within it, the issues of how the relationships between
state authorities have been organised and what opportunities citizens have for participating in
the decision making process besides referendums and elections are important to understand.
Society expects the government (the state) to protect it against the threat of war, to ensure
law and order, to formulate foreign policy, organise taxes, trade and industry, postal services,
foster health care, education, social welfare and many other elds (McKevitt 1998, p 20). I
would add the obligation to provide information as another duty of the government. Society
expects from the government all the functions McKevitt refers to, but in performing these
functions government must discuss matters and inform citizens of the choice, content and
consequences of the measures that would lead to the desired aim. This is a basic requirement
of a democratic system of government and consequently the state has to understand its
obligation to communicate.
The present study aimed to analyse communication between a particular Ministry of the
Republic of Estonia and the Ministrys main stakeholder groups which represent citizens from
different points of view. The present paper critically analyses the relationships of both the
communication processes and the communicative results in the context of the concrete role of
state institutions in developing democracy through involving citizens and the more concrete or
specic stakeholder groups in the decision-making process and practicing dialogue.
The results identied (i) the biggest problems in the Ministrys relationships with stakeholders, (ii)
the kind of risks programmed in to the communication processes and (iii) how these risks can
inuence an organisations legitimacy in the stakeholders viewpoint and (iv) how to improve
th
decision-making, participation and communication processes effectiveness between
stakeholder groups and the Ministry and increase the legitimacy of the organisation.
THE NATURE OF THE COMMUNICATIVE PARADIGM IN PUBLIC
RELATIONS PRACTICE
The paradox is that the communication problems are not really, only, communication
problems. Through communication we build up connotations for other processes in an
organisations existence. This is the complexity of social, political, cultural and economic
aspects, which can make a sense in general and which can be a tool to justify the existence
of organization or in other words - to legitimise the organizations existence.
Figure 1: The role of public relations in state organizations managing the
communication ow and building up relationships strategically.
The irony is that any communication ow is always full (Figure 1) and particularly in the
public arena where is sufcient competition to permanently ll this ow with information.
Organizations not using the possibility to ll communication ow will lose the opportunity to
manage their inter-organizational relationships. Dramatically expressed, this also means that
they lose control over all their processes, because through communication, connotations
for all organizational functions are made. Now the important issues in order to justify an
organizations existence and develop legitimacy are: how to manage the communication
process, how to minimize communication failures and how to minimize communication
risks in the relationships building process, And whose responsibility is it to manage the
process?.
THE PHENOMENON OF GOVERNMENT PUBLIC RELATIONS
To organize communication internally and externally is usually the role of public relations
departments in the state organizations in Estonia. The public relations (PR) department,
therefore, not only has a huge responsibility to organize communication and relationships
between the state, the citizens and the support organizations strategic goals to develop
dialogue and understanding between the organisation and the stakeholders. But, the PR
department is also responsible towards democracy through effective and open informing.
PR departments, in order to realize their responsibility in organizational life should
understand their role in democratic society, and realization of this role is possible only
through a strategic and holistic approach.
PR is a phenomenon of democratic society. Many researchers give credit to PR for
heightening the attention to social and public responsibilities among government
administrators. They also emphasize the role that PR plays in making organizations
responsive to public (stakeholder) interests. Other researchers note PRs essential
contribution to the public information system, through which democratic society functions.
PR also helps organizations anticipate and react to signicant public perceptions and
opinions, new values and life-styles in the marketplace, power shifts among the electorate
and within legislative bodies, and other changes in the social, economic, technological and
political environment. PR helps make organizations responsive to others by monitoring
their needs and interests, interpreting those needs in light of organizational decisions and
actions, and providing feedback and counsel to management. The role of PR contributes
to making the democratic process more effective. Another social utility of PR is the
facilitation of the democratic process by making information available. The ultimate
outcome of public relations is the adjustment and maintenance of the social system that
provides for physical and social needs (Cutlip 1985: 17). As all social decisions are nally
tried in the court of public opinion, PR plays a major role in resolving cases of competing
interests in society. PRs social function is served when it replaces ignorance, coercion,
and intransigence with knowledge, compromise, and adjustment. PR has an impact on
individual, organizational and social behavior. Those people professionally engaged in
helping organizations identify, establish, and maintain mutually benecial relationships with
their stakeholders perform an essential management function that has an impact on the
larger society. This social responsibility motivates the increasing interest in PR and the
growing recognition of its essentiality. Social responsibility drives development of the body
of knowledge underpinning public relations practice. Public relations responds to social
needs, not special interests (Cutlip 1985: 17).
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As seen, professional literature is explaining the nature of PR in democratic society quite
clearly. But the separate issue is how it works in practice. Practitioners opinions are quite
often quite contrasting in this issue. While some are sure that the idealistic model presented
in the professional literature is adequate and works well in everyday practice others are sure
that such professional dilemmas like organizational needs versus public needs, and social
interests versus special interests are highly complex in everyday reality. In the background
of these existential questions, very concrete processes are continuously on-going. The
biggest problem is that in PR research we more often will analyze only communication
processes and forget the results. We analyze from a very tactical and technical point of
view. What does this mean? This means that our practices are mostly single action oriented,
mediations between organization and stakeholders, without a general holistic picture and
evaluations, which if they are in use at all, are descriptive more than critical. The problem
is how to organize dialog, which can be the most effective possibility to develop good
relations.
THE ROLE OF CRITICAL ANALYSES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS
PROCESSES
In academic terms, critical analysis means considering the claims of theorists, governments,
authorities and so on, what they are based on, and how far they seem to apply or are relevant
to a particular situation. In PR practice such an approach means analyses of potential risks,
which can inuence the development of relationships and the communication process. This
can be useful because of the contradictory nature of PR everyday practice. Herkenhoff
(2006) contends communication risks are part of organizational communication processes
and they can be visible in the communication and relationship processes with the main
stakeholder groups.
In the present analysis, we need to separate important key phases, which also can be
dened as factors for communication failures:
1) Organizational messages. Factors of communication failures can be hidden in the
formulation of organisational messages. What does this mean? An organisation has a
role, mission and vision for existence, which are expressions of organisational values. An
organisation also has decisions (connected with events, products, services, and other
situations in the organisation), which are expressions of organisational activities, which are
also realisations of organisational values (Figure 2). The result will be always an idealized
image (or an imago) about the organisation in the stakeholders mind. The paradox is that
this imago will be the biggest inuencer in relationship building process. If the imago is
good, relations will be good, but if the imago is not good there is the possibility for
development.
Figure 2: Pyramid of organisational communication
2) Decision making process. Factors of communication failures can also be hidden in the
organisational decision-making process. If decisions are not acceptable for stakeholders
groups, it is quite hard to build up good relations with them. Even more so organisational
decisions, not agreed or not accepted by stakeholders can strongly inuence organisational
imagos in the relevant stakeholders mind. A corporate image is the picture about the
organization in stakeholders minds created though emotions, impressions and perceptions.
An image mirrors the organizations identity with varying degrees of accuracy. Attempts to
inuence the image are quite complicated, because the phrase is socio-psychological and
very subjective by nature. The image [gets] distorted (a) as the company tries to manipulate
its public through advertising and other forms of self-presentation, or (b) as rumors develop
from the unofcial statements of employees to peers, analysts, and reporters. [] [D]ifferent
images form, some consistent, some less so. (Fombrun 1996: 37). Or in a briefer way,
corporate image is a set of beliefs and feelings about an organization (Dowling 2001: 19)
that are forever changing in stakeholders minds as a result of the organizations activities.
The audiences [or stakeholders] relationship with a rm is based on the image of the rm
created in the audience members mind regardless of how that person is exposed to the
rm or its products. [] All exposure to information about the rm goes into the audiences
development of a complete image. (Dowling 2001:19)
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An organizations image can be identied as real or ideal. The ideal image is directly derived
from the corporate identity the way the organization wants to be perceived. The real image,
however, is the way the stakeholders actually perceive the organization. Organizations use
strategic planning to pave the way from the current identity that produces the current real
image towards the ideal image. Communication or PR professionals, within or outside the
organization, work to keep the organization on the track to attaining the ideal image. The
bigger the difference between the ideal image and real image, the more out of touch the
company is with its environment and stakeholders.
In order to create a positive image, the organization must have a good reputation. Reputation
is in the organizations hands is something the organization can manage through
decisions, behavior and action. Reputation derives from the identity of the organization,
and will be an expression of organizational values.
These three elements identity, image and reputation are in a cyclical interdependent
relationship. If the identity of an organization is well dened, clear and based on an
organizational values system, then reputation can be managed and curbed, and as a result
of organizational internal processes an organizational image in stakeholders mind is formed.
Another paradox in this circulation is that the image, in turn, inuences how the organization
sees itself its self-identity. Self-identity is possible through reections of organizational
messages circulating in the public sphere and also sent directly to stakeholders.
The outcome of the reputation management cycle determines the organizations
relationships with its stakeholders. From identity, which is the collection of values, decisions
arise and from the decisions come organizational behavior and action. Image is a result of
impressions, which are result of action and behavior, which are result of decisions (Figure
3). Reputation is formed as a result of organizational actions, decisions and behaviors.
Different stakeholders of the organization have varying images about the company, which
all together create a corporate reputation.
Figure 3. Corporate reputation management cycle (Tampere 2009)
Corporate reputation derives from the corporate images produced and indicates the quality
and quantity of the relationships the organization has with stakeholders. A corporate
reputation embodies the general estimation in which a company is held by employees,
customers, suppliers, distributors, competitors, and the public. [] [R]eputation consists of
perceptions how others see [the organization]. Because a reputation is not directly under
anyones control, it is difcult to manipulate (Fombrun 1996: 59).
In order to be able to manage an organizations reputation, the identity and image need to
be clear. Fombrun (1996, 59) explains a companys reputation [] derives from several
things: its ability to directly manage impressions, its ability to build strong relationships with
key constituents, and the indirect rumor mongering engaged in indirect observers, such as
analysts and reporters.
Alro Brady (2003) argues the seven elements of reputation are: knowledge and skills;
emotional connections; leadership, vision and desire; quality; nancial credibility; social
credibility and environmental credibility. When a company serves its constituents well, its
name becomes a valuable asset. It creates reputational capital a form of intangible wealth
[] [also knows as] goodwill and [] brand equity (Fombrun 1996: 11). Fombrun (2000)
goes on to say the publics view of a company not only acts as a reservoir of goodwill, but
also boosts the bottom line.
Corporate reputation derives from its identity and develops as the organization attempts to
establish a favorable image (Fombrun 1996: 9-11). Reputation provides the organization
with advantages and privileges as stakeholders give their respect to the organization as a
result of identity communication processes upon which the images are formed.
The basis of modern communications management is formed by the principles of integrated
two-way communication: the principle of unity between an organisations internal and
external communication and the principle of symmetric two-way communication with
stakeholder groups. Applied to the communication of the Ministry of the present study,
it basically means the principle of unity between the organisations internal and external
communication. The principle of two-way communication is especially important in an
organisations relationships with its stakeholder groups, for example involving different
citizens associations and other stakeholder organisations as partners in the work processes
and discussions, systematically getting to know their opinions and proposals and taking
them into account in the decision-making process.
The Ministry, of present research, is an organisation towards which all the stakeholder
groups have very high but at the same time also very different expectations. Communication
in the Ministry needs to consider the expectations of all the different stakeholder groups
and formulate its main messages on the basis of common values with as wide a support
as possible, at the same time modifying the messages to be sent to different stakeholder
groups as needed. The activities of the Ministry, including their communicational activities,
always earn much criticism due to the important role this eld plays in the society. This
is something that the authorities of the Ministry and its administration must keep in mind
and prevent criticism and misunderstandings if ever possible. Strategically and dialogically
planned communication is the method to achieve this.

REPUTATION
IMAGE IDENTITY
Decisions: how to
act and how to
behave
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THE STUDY METHOD AND DATA COLLECTION
The study was conducted by means of both standardised and free interviews. A general
framework of questions was prepared for the interviews. Standardised answers were
analysed using the statistical data analysis program SPSS and free answers were analysed
using the method of text analysis.
The identication of the stakeholder groups was based on the list of contacts and
organisations of various elds drawn up by the Ministry, which was further improved by
the researchers of the study and on the basis of which the nal selection was made. The
selection principle was that all the elds of activity be represented proportionally both in
terms of issues and geography.
In the study, 94 people were interviewed.
RESEARCH RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
The study showed that the nature of the communication that reaches the public from the
Ministry originates from the fact that because communication is not regulated and managed,
it uses many channels and is carried by many voices the principles of action and division
of tasks are uncoordinated. The stakeholder groups of the Ministrys communication are
provided with very different information due to this complicated communication system.
A part of them receives information only or primarily through the media, others through
direct relations with the parties, others through personal direct relations and others use the
possibilities offered by the Internet. The most active ones use all the mentioned options. A
homogeneous message system is missing. The risks for communication failures are exist.
Cooperation between the Ministry and its stakeholder groups is poor in many aspects it
is a forced cooperation and often they do not understand nor feel each others real needs,
and they do not see the power of synergy that comes from cooperation. Even though
they may know it in theory, in reality in a work process this synergy is not realised. The
respondents answers indicate the Ministry has serious problems to ll their communication
ow in a systemic way and in controlling it.
Responses given by respondents from Ministrys two different stakeholders group - the eld
of social affairs and from the eld of labour and health were very different. The background
of these two large target groups is also completely different, as was their attitude towards
the Ministry and even towards the present study. The eld of social affairs was ready to
answer and their responses generally had a positive undertone, or if they did criticise
something they never did it unpleasantly and depreciatingly. They used to giving feedback
and their experience with the Ministrys behaviour and action were positive in the sense that
they recognized their involvement to the decision making process. Also the Ministrys image
in their opinion was quite positive.
From the eld of labour and health, the respondents attitude was much cooler, more critical
and suspicious, and more deprecating towards the Ministry. For example, they asked the
researchers if they had authorization to conduct the study a clear example about mistrust
toward activities connected with Ministry. They also doubted whether the researchers had
the right to turn to them in the name of the Ministry, etc.
As to participation in the study, most of the respondents from the eld of social affairs who
had promised to participate, did eventually participate. While those in the eld of labour and
health with whom many contacts were made, gave promises that remained just promises
and the actual interviews never occurred.
The content of the answers also showed that the target and stakeholder organisations
in the eld of social affairs do not have such high levels of bureaucracy and are not as
demanding towards the Ministry as the representatives of the eld of labour and health.
What was common in both groups, however, was that they do wish to be more involved in
the work of the Ministry, and participate in the preparation of legislation and other decisions.
In many cases and in many different contexts, it was revealed that the Ministrys actions give
the impression as if they only involve partners and cooperate with them in order to be able
to tick the appropriate box. This leads us to the rst major conclusion of the study there
are no dialogical relations with target and stakeholder groups. Important stakeholder
groups have no information on how much and in which context their proposals have been
taken into account, and information also lacks on why the proposed ideas were not used.
Lack of dialogue manifests itself also in the analysis of communication processes and
communication channels as a rule, the representatives of stakeholder groups are
themselves active and in the end nd the information that they need, but the provision of
information by the Ministry is insufcient, both in reality and formally. This means that
the Ministry is passive and mostly reactive when providing information to the stakeholder
groups. The Ministry assumes that stakeholder groups are the active party. The web page
created by the Ministry is an oasis in the desert but the information presented there is not
always up-to-date and errors do occur.
The stakeholder groups knowledge of the Ministrys PR unit is limited. The Ministrys PR
unit as a resource is very poorly applied in this relationship. Another aspect that raises
questions in view of the study results is the prole of the Ministrys PR unit, which is directed
at media relations, certainly at a much larger scale than the target, and stakeholder groups
value the media as a communication channel. Media publications are not a very important
source of (specic) information to the target groups. Television is more appreciated than the
either print media or radio. Although the news presented there are often selected randomly,
the information provided is considered to be more reliable and this in particular due to the
representation of many sides of a matter.
The awareness of the Ministrys main stakeholder groups was average in the results
of present research and its purposeful increase would be a good opportunity to improve
relations and attitudes in the future.
th
The answers given during the study left a general impression that the Ministry is not viewed
as very necessary, because the respondents did not hesitate to question the Ministrys
competence and be critical of the activities of the Ministry (distant from real life, etc.). Rather,
the Ministry is viewed as something inevitable.
The study results indicated quite clearly the Ministrys staff problems the turnover of
staff is high and, as a result, there is a constant inow of new young and inexperienced
people who are good at theory and have a good education but who do not possess the
image of an expert in the eyes of the stakeholder groups.
However, the attitudes of stakeholder groups themselves referred to the fact that they
do not always have time to actively participate in the joint work processes many of the
respondents sit on the management of several organisations and therefore lack the time.
An important detail in the relationships between the Ministry and the target and stakeholder
groups is the hierarchical nature of the relationships. They see the Ministry as a group
of important and distant superiors and themselves as doing the real work and being
undervalued. Dialogue with this attitude is not very effective.
Suggestions and ideas for the Ministrys future stakeholder relationship-building process:
In order to achieve high-quality work in the cooperation with different target and stakeholder
groups, the relationships and communication should be made regularly and it should
always and in every situation be based on the principle of dialogue. A proper procedure
and a routine should be established.
An important part of dialogical way of thinking is the creation of a feedback system and the
consideration of that feedback. An organisation needs to learn to listen to society as well
as to its target and stakeholder groups, cooperation partners.
Communication with target and stakeholder groups should happen on the basis of their
special character but more formally, so that the provision of information and involvement
would not depend on relationships between individuals and personal contacts. The
communication channels need to be more diverse and their number has to be increased,
employing modern information technology opportunities to the maximum.
More information should be provided to target and stakeholder groups without the
participation of the media for example by reorganising the home page into an information
portal, by launching a special information bulletin, or by using other options.
The Ministry should also thoroughly analyse its staff policy, so that there would be less
turnover of staff and that the young specialists who have come straight from the university
would not move on to better positions in a few months so that these young and
inexperienced people could become competent and considerable experts.
Cooperation with target and stakeholder groups should move towards joint efforts to
achieve a common goal and not towards opposition and hierarchical communication.
The Ministry should also pay more attention to educating the public and changing the
general attitudes in the elds of health, social affairs and labour. The current relationships
between the Ministry of Social Affairs, its partners and administrative area, and the public is
strongly inuenced by stereotypes, which in turn has a negative effect on the communication
between the Ministry and its direct target and stakeholder groups, because the attitude
towards the Ministry itself is unfortunately also based on stereotypes.
A communication strategy that is directly based on the target and stakeholder groups logic
would probably be very helpful and efcient in these situations.
CONCLUSION, THE LIST OF ASPECTS, WHICH ARE CONNECTED
WITH COMMUNICATION AND WHICH CAN RAISE RISKS FOR
PUBLIC RELATIONS
The main problem stated in the present research communication failures as risks for state
organisations PR had many answers. On the basis of research results we can conclude:
1. Good relations with stakeholders are a result of strategically well planned communications
2. Assumption for organisational legitimacy in the eyes of stakeholders provides a good
image about the organisation in stakeholders mind.
3. Assumption for good image is ability to manage reputation
4. Reputation is the sole responsibility of the organizations, and is handled through the
organisations decisions, according to which the organisation will act, behave and
communicate.
5. Role of PR can be effective only through strategic practice and holistic approach in
strategic planning
6. Stakeholders expect dialogue along with participation, and stakeholder relationships
work better when realized holistically. Really good relationships between an organisation
and its stakeholders mean not only dialogue but also responsibility, which is coming
together with cooperation.
7. Openness with positive and negative news is the key for legitimacy.
8. One of public sector difference is the connection with political arena. Ministries
stakeholders opinions about mixing political and institutional information were very
negative. Separation from political promotion was one of the most important aspects
in stakeholders attitudes.
9. Internal communication problems are too powerfully inuential in stakeholders
relationships homogeneous message strategy is one of the keys.
th
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Brady, Arlo 2003. 7elements. ArloBrady.com. 9 Apr. 2003. 12 Feb. 2004. <http://www.cus.cam.
ac.uk/~akob2/7%20elements.html>.
Cutlip, S. M., Center, A. H., Broom G. M. (1985). Effective Public Relations. Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Dowling, Grahame 2001. Creating Corporate Reputations. Identity, Image, and Performance.
Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001.
Fombrun, Charles J 1996. Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image. Boston: Harvard
Business School Press, 1996.
Herkenhoff, Frank 2006. Risikomanagement fr Public Relations. Theoretische Fundierungen und
instrumentelle Systematik zur Handhabung publizistischer Risiken.
McKevitt, David (1998). Managing Core Public Services. Blackwell Publishers
OECD Development Centre (1999) Development Centre Seminars Fiscal Decentralisation in
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Tampere, Kaja 2009. Head Halvad Snumid. Riski ja kriisikommunikatsiooni alused (In Estonian).
ripev Publisher, Tallinn
th
External PR Consulting in The Field of Political Communication
Theoretical Foundations and Empirical Findings from Germany
by Ulrike Rttger and Joachim Preusse
INTRODUCTION
1
Political agents, as one might assume, depend more than ever before on professional
expertise in order to be able to make the right decisions when dealing with the public and the
media. An increase in the importance of Public Relations in the eld of political communication,
therefore, has not only been noted in the Anglo-American sphere but also in continental
European countries such as Germany. One of the ways in which this has become apparent
is through the increasing expansion of specialised roles in political parties, ministries and
associations for PR experts whose particular mandate is to create, manage and stabilise
the communicative relationships between political agents and the public. At the same time,
processes of externalisation, that is to say the increasing utilisation of external PR services,
are being observed. Academic publications as well as the daily media regularly thematise the
dangers to certain democratic processes with regard to the utilisation of PR consulting by
political agents; in particular, these dangers are expressed in the assumption that the growing
support provided to political agents by external PR agencies affects the actual politics of
decision-making in the corridors of power in such a negative way that this is reduced to a
purely symbolic politics (Sarcinelli 1987) or politics of spectacle (Ksler et al. 1991: 24).
It is immediately apparent that such a triumph of the politics of communication over the
politics of substance (Mnch 1993: 267) would be consequently bound up with considerable
restrictions on the possibilities of political participation and control available to the population.
From an academic perspective, therefore, the question which is also signicant in terms of
democratic theory arises regarding the extent to which the regular utilisation of external PR
consulting affects the format of political communication.
To date, there are hardly any theoretical or empirically based ndings concerning the status of
external PR in politics and the specic roles and functions performed by external PR service
providers. The objective of the present contribution, therefore, is to systematically analyse the
role and status of external PR consultants in the eld of political communication in Germany
and, for the rst time, provide ndings concerning the status of PR services in the daily business
of politics. To this end, a theoretical foundation for PR consulting (Chapter 2) is rst of all
required. The current state of research on PR consulting in politics will then be briey reviewed
(Chapter 3) and nally, selected ndings of the empirical study will be presented (Chapter 4).
1 All foreign-language citations were translated by the authors.
th
BUILDING BLOCKS OF A THEORY OF PR CONSULTING
The objective of this chapter is to identify the key building blocks of a theory of PR consulting
(for details cf. Rttger/Zielmann 2010; Rttger/Zielmann 2009). For this purpose, recourse
is made to the theory of systemic consulting as the most well-elaborated theoretical
approach to consulting at the present time.
Consulting as a multifarious phenomenon
As is understood in the everyday usage of the term, consulting broadly encompasses the
process of giving and taking advice and, with regard to consulting services, describes an
activity that is centred on problem-solving. Consulting is a
Process of exerting social inuence whereby the consultant, on behalf of the client
or a third party, endeavours to exert an inuence on the client in order to change the
attitudes and behavior of the client. (Saam 2001: 23)
The task of professional consultants, broadly speaking, is to optimise the clients ability
to act, to support clients in seeking out alternative courses of action and to help them
implement solutions that have been developed. Consulting, understood as a service that is
paid for by a client, is normally a working relationship for a xed period of time. As well as
scientists, lawyers, IT consultants and others, the circle of consulting service providers also
includes PR consultants.
In view of the universality of consulting services used in all areas of society, the multitude of
existing scholarly denitions in consulting research in sociology, psychology and business
management, among other elds, cannot be surprising (cf., among others, Titscher 2001:
17ff.). Moreover, broad sections of the literature available on consulting are marked by
a very narrow focus on practical areas of application (cf. Iding 2001: 72; Scherf 2002:
5). The literature on management consulting, in particular, is largely practice-oriented
and characterised by a low degree of scientic reection on the practice of consulting.
A sociology of consulting is only in its infancy, particularly with regard to the state of
empirical research.
Systemic consulting
The most well-elaborated theoretical approach to consulting is currently provided by the
theory of systemic consulting.
2
The organisation that is to be advised (client system) is
conceived of as an autopoietic and hence self-referential and operatively closed system
in the theory of systemic consulting. This closedness only concerns the deep structures of
self-management (cf. Maturana 1982: 35), i.e. the basic circularity of the self-management
of their own reproduction (cf. Willke 1999: 102) and does not exclude the possibility of
assimilating energy and information. The boundaries of social systems are boundaries of
meaning. They determine what is excluded and the conditions under which whatever is
included becomes self-reliant.
2 The terms systemic consulting and theory of systemic consulting will henceforth be used as umbrella terms for the multitude
of various concepts and approaches that apply to consulting founded on systems theory.
Following Heinz von Foerster (1997: 357ff.), social systems may be described as non-trivial
systems. Whereas in trivial systems, a given input x into an operation f(x) which remains
constant always leads to the same output y, non-trivial systems defy this simple causal
logic. Non-trivial systems process input internally and autonomously in accordance with
their own rules. Social systems as non-trivial systems, therefore, cannot simply be changed
or restructured from outside an assumption which has far-reaching consequences for the
understanding of consulting and consultant intervention. The effects of external interventions
are if the closedness of autopoietic systems with regard to the self-management of their
own reproduction is assumed dependent on the internal operating mode of the particular
system forming the object of management (cf. Willke 1999: 109). Systemic consultants
therefore need to free themselves from the belief in the possibility of exerting a direct inuence
on organisations. There are no simple, directly managerial or determining interventions
made by consultants in an organisation which they are advising. (Knigswieser/Exner
2001: 22) Consultants can only by means of perturbations prompt changes since a
system can only change by itself. Intervention does not amount to the communication of
ready-made solutions but consists of impulses for change. The improbability of successful
intervention (Willke 1999: 4) thus becomes the norm in systemic consulting.
Systemic consulting, as a (managerial) intervention, must present itself as an occurrence in
the perceptive domain of the system in which the intervention is taking place in order to be
planted as relevant information in the operative cycles of the system receiving advice and
trigger processes of change. To provide appropriate impulses for change, the consultant
must be able to form a suitably complex idea of the operational modes of the client system
in order to link up with its operational logic. This occurs in the framework of the consulting
system, which arises from the interaction of consultant and client (cf. Carqueville 1991).
Fig. 1: The consulting system
Source: authors design
The central difference between classical approaches to organisational consulting and
systemic consulting lies in the understanding of the consultants role: Whereas the role of
the consultant in systemic consulting is primarily that of an observer who supports the client
system through forms of systemic learning and self-reection when overcoming complexity,
th
classical approaches assign a more directive role to consultants. At the forefront are the
introduction of expert knowledge in problem-solving and the communication of content or
process knowledge by the consultant. The notion of feasible and propitious management
through direct intervention by a third party found in classical approaches stands in contrast
to the assumption that self-organisation requires contextual interventions found in systemic
approaches.
The outlined conception of the possibilities of consultant intervention in classical non-
systemic approaches and the corresponding roles of the consultant goes hand in hand
with specic and usually highly intervention-oriented consulting functions (cf. Strasser
1992: 15; Nicolai 2000: 246ff.):
1. the transfer of experience and knowledge (knowledge transfer function)
2. the provision of technical or human resource capacities (capacity expansion function)
3. the introduction of a neutral perspective (neutrality function)
4. the support for the contracting party in executing decisions which have already been
made (execution or policy function)
5. the use of external consultants for the legitimation of controversial decisions
(legitimation function).
Against the background of a systemic conception of consulting, the enumerated aspects
are not to be understood as functions of consulting in a strict sense but as possible client
expectations of the functions performed by consultants. From a systemic viewpoint, the
legitimation of the consultants in terms of providing advice lies, on the one hand, in their
position as outside observers, which offers them perspectives on the client organisation that
they themselves cannot develop, and, on the other hand, in their professional competence.
The potential for intervention lies in the observational possibilities of consultants external
to the system which the system itself does not have. As external second-order observers,
consultants can observe which discrepancy underlies the rst-order observation on the
part of the client and which restrictions apply to the distinction used. This is only possible
because consultants are second-order observers and, moreover, are not part of the client
system (cf. Groth 1999: 65ff.). The consultants second-order observation, however,
is as previously indicated subject to limitations: Consultants can neither completely
understand nor control the inner operational mode of a system; the client system remains
partly intransparent to them. In terms of the theory of systemic consulting, the operative
closedness of the client system is an accepted premise which has consequences for the
conception of consulting: Consideration of the individual logic specic to autonomous
systems is indispensable for systemic consulting. Ultimately, it is necessary to relinquish the
belief in the superiority of the consultant as every observer even a second-order observer
treats his or her own distinction with naivety.
Each systems own particular distinction thus becomes a natural necessity for the
system, whereas the distinction made by others becomes a semantics that is articial,
contingent, selected and replaceable. (Luhmann/Fuchs 1989: 217)
Second-order observation is therefore of no higher value than rst-order observation;
consultants do not have ideal solutions at their disposal and observations made by
consultants are observations which do not necessarily concur with those of the client
system. The theory of systemic consulting provides the theoretical and empirical analysis of
(political) PR consulting with an established basis from which to proceed, for instance, by
systematising the basic constellation of the consulting situation and by looking at potentials
and limitations of consultant intervention as well as possible resistance to intervention on
the part of the client system.
DEFINITION AND FUNCTIONS OF PR CONSULTING
In the organisational context, PR functions as the situational, forward-looking management
of observational and interactional processes between the customer and its environments
(for more detail cf. Jarren/Rttger 2009). PR therefore makes a relevant contribution to
the control and inuence of organisations over their environments. Alongside continuous
environmental observation, PR carries out self-observation. In ideal-typical terms, the
function performed within the domain of self-observation consists in enabling processes
of reection (reection of the organisation) which, from a systems theory viewpoint, are to
be put forward as a specic dimension of second-order observation. Reection is a form of
second-order self-observation within whose framework a system observes and veries its
own system-environment distinction, that is to say, it turns its unity into the subject matter
of its communication and thereby conceives of itself as being the environment of other
systems (cf. Willke 2006: 100; Luhmann 1984: 617). Reection allows systems to attain a
higher level of complexity because it helps environmental complexity to be processed more
swiftly (cf. Luhmann 2005 [1970]: 134). Environmental observation and self-observation
(reection), as well as the attempts at environmental management and organisational self-
management which are based on them, have the objective of promoting the coorientation
between the commissioning organisation and the individual and collective agents in the
environment and aim to harmonise descriptions by self and others with regard to the
organisation. PR consultants, through the perturbation caused by self-description, can
therefore make a contribution towards facilitating decision-making based on observations
(cf. Jansen 2007: 111f.).
PR consulting can be regarded as a special case of organisational consulting. Following
accepted denitions of organisational consulting (cf., among others, Hafner/Reineke 1992:
30f.), PR consulting is dened here as
a case-specic, complex provision of service offered by external individual consultants
as well as consulting organisations aiming at advancing the clients ability to reect and
solving problems of decision-making which concern the establishment and formation
of communicative relations with the environment or are affected by them. (Rttger/
Zielmann 2009: 40)
th
DISTINCTION BETWEEN INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PR
External PR consultants do not only feature as economically independent units providing a
service to their customer within a commercial relationship (cf. Nthe 1994: 66), but may also
be systematically distinguished from internal PR practitioners on the basis of the particular
observational operations in each case (see g. 2, cf. Rttger 2005).
Fig. 2: Observational operations of internal and external PR
Source: Rttger 2005: 16
From its location on the periphery of organisations, internal PR optimises the observational
capacities of these organisations. As a component of the organisation, it is charged with
the internal observation of the organisation itself (B(i)) and the observation of relevant
stakeholders in the organisations environment from the organisations perspective (B(st)).
In order to facilitate the organisations reection and provide input for decisions when
dealing with the discrepancies between self-description and description by others, PR also
attempts to anticipate the perspective of external stakeholders: Internal PR observes the
organisation in the sense of a simulation of the foreign perspective through the eyes of the
stakeholders. This is the central dilemma of internal PR: it has to observe the organisation
from a virtually external perspective yet it is part of the organisation itself.

By contrast, external PR functionaries, who, as independent units, are not part of the
organisation, are able to observe the organisation not merely from a simulated perspective
but from a genuinely external perspective. Externality, in this respect, can be regarded as a
favourable condition for support with the reection of organisations (cf. Hoffmann/Steiner/
Jarren 2007: 49). Furthermore, the externality has further consequences, for example, with
regard to the knowledge available to those operating externally.
Specics of the objects of PR consulting
Since PR consulting focuses on decisions which are to be dealt with communicatively
and which arise from the reciprocal observational and interactional relationships between
an organisation and its environments, it always operates with reference to public
communication, whether as an attempt to prevent public communication or in relation to
communicative relationships that are brokered or at least partially observable in public. This
has consequences for the minimum structure of the interactional relationships: Whereas
in classical organisational consulting, the dyad (consultant/client), may be regarded as the
standard structure, the triad (consultant/client/reference groups or public) is regarded as
the minimum structure in PR consulting (cf. Saam 2009: 33).
The typical triadic structure necessary for PR consulting (cf. Bentele/Nothhaft 2004;
Rttger 2009) makes clear that the customer and the user of the service are consistently
non-identical. PR services are generally not performed on the client (customer) itself but
on its reference groups. A quality or performance evaluation based on the customers own
experience is therefore either limited in possibility or not possible at all.
The objects of PR consulting are the potentially publicly observable (communicative)
relationships of an organisation with its stakeholders. Organisations which communicate
publicly and their PR consultants generally act without exact knowledge of the consequences
of their actions and under the condition of the limited controllability of public processes of
communication and thematisation. From the perspective of the PR consultants, this means
that they consistently have to develop solution proposals with regard to the handling of
situations in which action must be taken in spite of a lack of knowledge of the effect of ones
own actions or those of the clients actions and a lack of clarity in the ways and means
of achieving the objective. Consulting which deals with the relational eld of organisations
and with reciprocal observations and descriptions is consistently confronted with complex
situations that are difcult to structure and unforeseeable developments in which causal
linear solutions are limited in the extent to which they can be recognised or applied with a
high degree of certainty as to their effect.
PR consulting roles
As well as taking into consideration the complex characteristics of the objects of PR
consulting, it is also necessary to systematise different roles of PR consultants in order to
explicitly comprehend the reciprocal expectations and interpretations within the consulting
system. PR consulting roles are not features of an individual agent but abstractions of
tasks and functions performed by his or her organisation. The distinction of micro and
meso-levels, and hence that of the individual PR consultant on the one hand and the
consulting organisation (agency) on the other hand, is signicant. Furthermore, both
levels are interdependent: Expectations of the role of the consulting organisation are
reected at the micro-level in expectations of the role of individual consultants and vice
versa. A differentiated observation of the constellations of PR consulting roles has yet to
th
be achieved; existing typologies were, as a rule, not developed with theory in mind and
are correspondingly unsystematic. However, two central, more concrete role dimensions,
which face one another from opposite poles and take the difference between advice and
action as their point of departure, can be deduced from the literature:
Role dimension 1: expert consulting versus process consulting
Role dimension 2: conceptual consulting versus implementation-oriented consulting
Fig. 3: Ideal-typical role dimensions of PR consulting
Source: authors design
The delegation of problem-solving from the client to the consultant is typical in expert
consulting; expert consultants provide ideas, information and interpretations and develop
concrete solution proposals for the client system. Experts work on problems in terms
of justiable, factually logical and rule-governed deductions, and primarily apply their
knowledge of rules in a technical and instrumental sense (cf. Dewe et al. 1995: 17f.). Process
consulting, by contrast, puts a stronger emphasis on helping people to help themselves:
The consultant initiates and structures the processes of problem-solving without personally
being involved in the development of the solution. He or she is assigned the task of making
the necessary process know-how available to the client system and improving its problem-
solving capacity.
In ideal-typical terms, consulting ought to be distinguished analytically from operationally
oriented services: consulting is not making decisions and consulting is not implementation.
Nevertheless, different forms of PR consulting can however be differentiated according
to their proximity to concrete issues of implementation: Whereas conceptual consulting
engages with fundamental questions of communications strategy and communications
management, implementation-oriented consulting gives advice regarding the planning
and implementation of concrete communicative measures. Both forms of consulting
critically seize on the fundamental difference between advice and action, although the
proximity to operationally executable tasks is considerably greater in the particular case of
implementation-oriented consulting.
Although the pure consulting function is to be regarded as the ideal type of PR consulting,
a look at the practice reveals that the transitions from advice to action are seamless and
consulting which purely gives advice and is far removed from implementation is presumably
rather rare in PR. PR consulting is, in practice, heavily involved in implementation. Many
forms of empirically identiable consulting must therefore be described more in terms of
an operative service and less in terms of consulting in a strict sense.
PR consulting which takes place in a way that is fully detached from questions of
implementation exists, in practice, only in exceptional cases, in contrast to management
consulting for instance. As a consequence, it is less possible for the consultant to distance
himself or herself from concrete results than is the case in other, more strongly management-
oriented forms of organisational consulting. Fundamentally, however, it is to be assumed
that PR consulting roles in various forms can be described as being between the poles
outlined.
The marked proximity of external PR service providers to implementation has expected
consequences: As long as PR consultants offer to implement the content of their advice,
they run the risk of forfeiting some of their autonomy through their own involvement in
organisational processes. This is because PR consultants who work with a strong orientation
towards implementation become partially affected and as such are deemed to have lower
credibility and greater vested interests of their own than agents who are not involved.
EXTERNAL PR SERVICE PROVIDERS AS CONSULTANTS
IN THE FIELD OF POLITICS STATE OF RESEARCH
Despite the generally accepted increase in the importance of the eld of PR specically
for the political system in recent years (for the UK cf., e.g., Miller/Dinan 2000, for the
USA cf. Thurber/Nelson 2000; Medvic 2001), a systematic survey of the working eld of
PR consulting still remains to be done. As regards the academic interest in political PR
consulting, it is apparent that the few empirical studies only examine a part of political PR
consulting, namely, as a general rule, the management of election campaigns (cf., among
others, Hofer 2005; Plasser/Plasser 2003; Kamps 2000; Medvic 2003).
(Election) campaigns can be chronologically delimited with relative exactness and better
th
analysed ex post because of the high level of media coverage in comparison to the quieter
political normality outside of the election campaign. This methodological advantage,
however, is accompanied by a serious disadvantage: it neglects PR consulting in the
everyday business of politics for which professional consultants in the form of individuals
and agencies are increasingly being called upon.
One of the few studies that explicitly deals with external PR consulting consists in the work
of Hoffmann, Steiner and Jarren (2007). In an explorative study, they have investigated three
types of external political services in Switzerland which they subsume under the concept
of Public Affairs. The three types comprise a) political PR, b) lobbying and c) the execution
of voting/election campaigns.
Also worth mentioning is the study entitled politische Kommunikationsdienstleister
(political communication service providers) (Vowe/Opitz 2006; Opitz/Vowe 2007 and
2009), which has yet to be completed. The planned structuring and description of the
eld is empirically based on 50 problem-focused guideline interviews. The sample includes
45 prototypical organisations from the eld of political communications consulting in
Germany, which have been purposely selected using a theory-based ideal typology (cf.
www.kommunikationsdienstleister.de). The rst published ndings of the study (cf. Opitz/
Vowe 2009) indicate that the eld of external political communication service providers is
very heterogeneous and the service providers very frequently offer lobbying as well as PR
services.
SELECTED RESULTS OF AN EMPIRICAL STUDY
In order to redress the aforementioned research decit, an empirical analysis has been
carried out to ascertain how the concrete consulting relationships between the federal
ministries (Bundesministerien) and federal parties and their PR consultants are arranged.
The selected results presented here are based on a total of 30 guideline interviews
conducted between the 11th February and 8th May 2009. Questions were asked to 14
representatives of PR agencies, ve representatives of selected federal ministries and
nine communications managers and executives of the six largest parties represented
in the German parliament (Bundestag) (CDU, CSU, SPD, FDP, Bndnis 90 / DIE
GRNEN, Die Linke) responsible for selecting and working with PR agencies. In addition,
two individual consultants were questioned (for methodological details and eld access
cf. Rttger / Zielmann 2010).
In the following section, some characteristics of PR consultants and the services offered
by them will be observed more closely with the aid of typical quotations. The abbreviation
EX will designate the representatives of external PR agencies, BMinA a ministerial
communications manager responsible for selecting and working with agencies, PA the
corresponding communications manager of a party and Bgeschf the federal executive of
a party.
SURPRISINGLY FEW PROVIDERS
It appears that the eld of consultants is readily assessable: No more than three dozen PR
agencies operate in this area, or at least not in terms of providing more extensive services
with a large human resource requirement or budget. One reason for this undoubtedly lies
in the fact that political customers are not particularly wealthy. Both sides predominantly
attribute the foremost importance to the price-performance ratio when it comes to criteria
for deciding on a consulting mandate. As a rule of thumb, clients from the political eld do
not (or cannot) pay more than a third of the fee paid by businesses. A further reason lies in
the fact that ministries in particular, but also individual parties, profess not to work with PR
agencies outside of election campaigns.
In total, an estimated 200 PR agencies are at least partially active in federal politics. In the
vastly overwhelming majority of cases, however, they are only considered for the technical
implementation of print materials of whatever kind and logistical support at events. When
asked about the total number of PR agencies they would consider for larger assignments
such as the planning and execution of a campaign, the agents asked narrowed the eld
down to between ten and fteen agencies.
CLIENTS LOOK FOR POWERS OF IMPLEMENTATION
From the clients perspective, the cooperation with external PR service providers takes
place in particular to redress human resource decits in partly understaffed press and
communications departments and to bring in specialist know-how, for instance, for
campaigns or new communications technologies. In light of the generally low number of
internal communications staff in the ministries and parties, day-to-day operations in many
instances either cannot be carried out or can only be carried out to a limited extent without
recourse to external PR service providers:
What is crucial (is) the agencys power of implementation, the clout, so to speak, and
the certainty that whatever it is that we want can be implemented within a short period
of time. (PA5: 2657-2658)
There is only a minor demand for the central consulting functions in the proper sense of the
term, namely the support of processes of reection and the increase of ones own decision-
making ability. Consulting is, in some instances, explicitly rejected because the domain of
policy is regarded as being too sensitive and the consultants as being unsuitable:
Our experience in this matter, unfortunately, is that the (...) existing agencies (...) master
the forms of product marketing but seldom have the feel for the particular demands of
a political party. Because of this, we realised over the years that strategic consulting (...)
cannot take place within the outsourcing process because the proximity to the product
in the case of politics is very much a necessity and because you have to know the
details in order to engage with something. (PA3: 1466-1472)
th
Nearly all clients stressed that politics is done internally as a matter of course without
calling upon PR consultants. The channel of communication by which a political decision
is to be broadcast is often already decided upon internally and the creative functions
performed by the PR service providers are tightly controlled, for instance, by demands for
numerous steps to ne-tune them.
With regard to implementation, on the other hand, the clients expect the consultants to
have an exact knowledge of the political matter. This means it is taken for granted that the
agencies are familiar with earlier communication measures and the illustrations used not
only by the party commissioning them but also by all other parties including the messages
and their implementation at the European level of the party. In many cases, forms of
cooperation have lasted for several years and short-term consulting mandates of limited
duration represent a small fraction that is on the verge of disappearing. It is mostly the
clients who perceive an advantage in such arrangements because they see the possibility
of becoming a well-rehearsed team and because they see previous positive experiences as
the best means of minimising risk when dealing with external service providers.
SELF-CONCEPTION OF THE AGENCIES
With few exceptions, the agency representatives questioned do not see themselves
primarily as consultants whose function rst and foremost consists in advising the clients
and supporting their self-reection and decision-making. The agency representatives
questioned see themselves rst and foremost as rapid, reliable service providers who
know of the communication and decision-making channels, which are structured both
informally and within formal hierarchies in ministries and / or parties, and who full the
expectations of their clients in supporting operational processes of implementation to
an optimal extent in social, factual and temporal terms. The agency representatives do
not perceive their strong orientation towards implementation as a limitation or deciency
but instead consciously differentiate themselves from the few existing consultants in the
proper sense of the term.
Yes, its ludicrous of course that many people go around fancying themselves as min-
istry consultants. There are mandates, in individual cases, (...) where an agency (...) has
an explicit consulting mandate. In those cases, it genuinely is a case of consulting and
not implementation. (...). This, however, is not the way in which (name of agency, NB
UR/SZ) positions itself. (...) Our core range of services is simply the development and
implementation of large campaigns. (...) I wouldnt go around out there in the market
saying Im a top political consultant as I know who does consulting for ministries. The
agency does that in only the rarest cases. (EX1: 207-221)
In principle, many PR agencies would very much like to be able to carry out conceptual pro-
cess consulting on a large scale and with a higher degree of intensity. Since it is not actively
requested by the clients (from the eld of politics), however, this service is consequently not
offered on an intensive basis.
There are only a few consultants two in our sample whose concern is fundamentally
to give advice and who actively seek to utilise the advantage of their position as external
observers with regard to the client:
As they say, good consultants arent those who act blindly and without reection as
subcontractors, so to speak, (...), we (provide) services which must also be regarded
in classical terms of implementation but the development begins beforehand and here
its a question of strategies and of developing the right strategy, which is actually done
through the number one mandate of consulting, that is to say perturbation. In most
cases, this is precisely what enables you to observe a subject matter from a bit more
of a distance and to arrive at a (...) solution from this position of distance. (EX13:
8501-8511)
RECOURSE TO CONSULTANTS FOR CAPACITY EXPANSION
In terms of what is referred to in the classical literature on organisational consulting as
consulting functions, it appears that PR consulting in the political eld almost exclusively
takes on the functions of knowledge transfer and capacity expansion. PR is not assigned
a relevant role in micro-political negotiation processes and in the execution of decisions
(legitimation, execution and policy functions). Political agents in the eld of federal politics
do not request external PR consultants to provide a neutral perspective aside from in
exceptional cases. Without support from external PR service providers, the internal
communications resources of the parties and ministries would have to be augmented
considerably. From the consultants viewpoint, however, these resources are not put to
continuous use but rather only used when certain communicative matters are at hand.
They themselves therefore do not consider an augmentation of internal resources to
be sensible. In this context, a strategy of consultants in the proper sense of the term
consists in passing on measures for implementation to sub-service providers with whom
they themselves have been cooperating for a long time.
SMALL PARTIES AND INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS AS PIONEERS
On the whole, it is apparent that it is primarily the small parties which want a PR consult-
ing function, although they often stress in virtually the same breath that they will carefully
consider for themselves how they will handle the advice of consultants or implement it as
the case may be:
To a certain extent, we are all professionally blinkered as responsible members in a
political party. Indeed extremely so because the level of communication and pressure
within the party is very high, and this is precisely a reason in favour of having external
consultants or service providers who are able to say, please just step out of the room for
a moment; although you could carry on talking about the cold in here, the sun is shining
th
outside. ((BGeschf1: 196-200) (...), this is far from saying that I (...) take the advice on
board but thats what I expect. (ibid.: 189-190)
On the one hand, the small parties presumably have shorter voting procedures as they
have to pay less attention to hierarchical sensibilities and, on the other hand, they have a
particular interest in trying out something new because they have less to lose.
In the case of consulting systems comprised of political clients and individual consultants,
much stronger perturbations take centre stage than in individual cases in which coopera-
tion with agencies takes place. It is more important for the individual consultant to address
unexpected aspects and indeed to ask unpleasant questions, for example, in order to
coach individual politicians not least when it comes to questions about their own per-
sonality. However, working with individual consultants in the rst place is not a matter of
course. This does not take place in the respective communications departments of the
ministries questioned. The individuals from the parties who were questioned make refer-
ence to individual consultants working in other areas of the party, particularly within the
party leadership.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
The empirical ndings of the study demonstrate very clearly that in practice, external
PR service providers only full a consulting function in its proper sense supporting
the clients capacity to reect when dealing with problems of communication and
perception in public (media) to a very limited extent. Of the 14 agencies questioned,
only three could be designated as consultancies in the strict sense of the term. The main
focus is on operationally oriented implementation functions. Furthermore, it becomes
clear that the theoretically justiable distinction between advice and action, consulting
and implementation and hence the role dimensions associated with them does not
correspond to the practice: External service providers that correspond to the outlined
ideal type of a consultant do not exist in practice. The eld of political PR consultants
proves to be multifarious and heterogeneous: There appear to be more isolated special
cases than common characteristics which, for instance, allow a summary to be made
of special types of consulting (see also Opitz/Vowe 2009). This multifariousness or
low level of standardisation of the service portfolio of the external service providers
can be interpreted as the possible consequence of a strong orientation towards the
heterogeneous expectations and interests of the clients. The differentiation and structural
openness of the market for external PR services goes hand in hand with the clients
difculties in terms of orientation and selection: Clients often nd it difcult to select new
service providers from the quantitatively very readily assessable pool of consultants that
will full their expectations with a high degree of certainty.
With regard to the clients, further studies might examine whether and, if so, to what extent
consulting is carried out by other agents lawyers, lobbyists and scientists among others
when dealing with descriptions and thematisations by others in public (media). Also, can
the inuence of these different consultants be observed in the manner in which problems
are perceived and communicative solutions developed be it at the level of content, form or
style of communication? Which consequences, if any, does this have for the communication
and reception of political decisions?
th
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5. KEYNOTE
SPEAKERS
Nada Serajnik Sraka Matja Kek
Branko Vidrih
Nada Serajnik Sraka, M.Sc., ABC is a senior communication consultant in the Government
Communication Office, responsible for direct communication with citizens. Public relations
and organisational communications have been her professional occupation since 1983.
Her professional expertise covers various aspects, from gaining experience in corporate
business, marketing agency and government.
She has BA in Geography and English Language (Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana,
Slovenia) and a master degree in communication (Faculty of Social Studies in Ljubljana,
Slovenia).
She is the founding member of Public Relations Society of Slovenia (PRSS) and IABC Slov-
enia and also one of the Past Presidents of IABC Slovenia and Presidents of PRSS.
She regularly writes and lectures about various aspects of public relations and communica-
tion. In 2009 she published a book Communication Campaigns A manual for planning,
managing and evaluating communication campaigns.
Matja Kek studied at the Faculty of Sociology, Political Sciences and Journalism of the
University of Ljubljana, graduating in journalism in 1980. He was awarded the Preeren
Student Award for his graduation paper.
He was rst employed by the then National Council of the Trade Unions of Slovenia, where
he was responsible for the public information and communication system. At the time, he
was also involved in the working group which prepared the Public Media Act at the former
National Information Committee, and in 1987 became employed by this committee as
Head of the Public Information Department. Within this committee, which later became the
Ministry of Information, and now the Government Communication Ofce, he has been suc-
cessfully performing and managing various assignments. The most challenging part of this
work was in dealing with foreign public on the events that occurred in Slovenia during its
struggle for independence. When Slovenia became independent, he took over the Depart-
ment for international Public Relations and in 1997 became Head of the European Affairs
Department, where he successfully managed the Slovenian public information programme
on the EU and on Slovenias accession to the EU. From 18 March 2004 until 31 December
2005 he was the Director of the Government Public Relations and Media Ofce. At present
he is the head of the Department for Communications Projects in the Government Com-
munication Ofce.
Has graduated in journalism and is currently employed at Government Communication Of-
ce. he Public relations have been his professional occupation since 1987 when he started
to work at Republic Information Committee the current Government Communication Of-
ce. His professional expertise covers various aspects of governmental public relations,
with emphasis on media relations. He is the head of the media relations sector.
th
th
Capacity Building in Government Communication
The Case of Slovenia: from Capacity Building to Professionalism
by Nada Serajnik Sraka, Matja Kek in Branko Vidrih
ABSTRACT
Government communication, like other types of communication, is affected by signicant
changes on the one hand, and the demands and expectations of all actors in society on the
other. This situation calls not only for new approaches in government communication, but also
for competent professionals, stable organisational structures and operational procedures that
enable the implementation of efcient and reliable communication activities.
Capacity building is understood in practice as assistance in developing certain skills or
competences for upgrading performance. In reality, it should be much more. Capacity building
is about organising the environment, setting up appropriate legal and administrative frameworks
and management structures, implementing processes and procedures, developing human
resources, and equipping individuals with the skills, knowledge and training which will enable
them to perform effectively.
The aim of the paper is to present the development of capacity building in government
communication specically, the development of government communication in Slovenia.
The case of Slovenia is interesting to explore, as the country after declaring independence in
1991 had to set up its own public administration, and learn, develop and adopt the multitude
of methods of government communication.
Keywords: government communication, government public relations, capacity building
INTRODUCTION
While there is probably no government today that does not communicate with the public,
the means and methods of public communication differ considerably from one to another.
Particularly noticeable are differences in the understanding of communication and related
communication activities. Some countries have developed their communication for
decades, and now this is not used only to promote political views, but also to inform the
public about government activities policies and actions the creation of which often
involves various representatives of the public. Countries with a well developed public
communication system also boast an efcient structure, as well as high standards, which
ensure that communication is on a par with other government functions.
But there are also governments that often do not realize that communication is essential
part of their job and is fundamental for its functioning. They believe that the knowledge is
power and sharing it would diminish their power and inuence. In these countries do not
see the need to raise their own communication capacities because they believe that media
outlets, in some cases even state-owned radio and newspapers, are sufcient for spreading
the government messages to population (CommGAP, 2010: 2). Too often this vital part
of the government process is referred to as just PR, publicity budgets, propaganda
machines or spin doctors and is in slim times cut more easily than other core business
like police protection, road building, human services (Cutlip, Center, Broom, 1994: 466).
Government communication (also public information, public affairs, government information,
government public relations
1
) encompasses the communication activities of government
bodies which are aimed at informing the public, encouraging dialogue, reaching consensus,
and acquiring support for the implementation of the government's policies. Government
communication, when properly used, can be an effective tool in implementing the political,
administrative and social reforms that have to be introduced, by involving people more
closely in government decisions and activities.
The majority of politicians, and the public, sees no difference between public relations and
media relations. Government ofcials greatly depend on public support and public opinion,
and the mass media can provide the greatest dissemination of messages and views. These
activities are focused more on immediate results. Media relations take up the greatest part
of all communication activities.
Undoubtedly, the mass media are among the most important publics, but they are not the
only one. The stakeholders in government public relations are a vast and diverse group of
internal and external publics (i.e. employees, interest groups, state and local ofcials, the
1 The terms are often used interchangeably. The most commonly used term today is communication, since public relations no
longer has a positive connotation in the public sector. In the article, we use both government communication and government
public relations.
business community, political parties, professional associations, citizens), which cannot be
reached only through the mass media. Many other channels and tools are required for this.
Yet government communication should be viewed as the management of communication
with different internal and external publics, and not merely as publicity or propaganda.
Communication should be recognised as a policy itself, but also as part of policy making. In
practice, communication is mainly used when a particular policy is ready to be implemented,
and less so in the process of its creation.
OECD (2001) advocates strengthening relations between governments and citizens.
Engaging citizens in policy making is a sound investment and a core element of good
governance. It allows governments to nd new sources of policy-relevant ideas, information
and resources when making decisions. In addition, it contributes to building public trust,
raising the quality of democracy and strengthening civic capacity.
THE AIMS OF GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION
Government public relations activities have developed as a political and administrative
response to achieve various organizational goals (Cutlip, Center, Broom, 1994: 264).
Public sector organisations are required under law to uphold the principles of openness
(responsiveness, listening and willingness to cooperate), transparency (availability of
information) and accountability (clear identication of public authorities and their accountability
for their governance). These criteria cannot be met without quality public relations. The
principles of accountability, transparency and openness are also communication principles.
A good public sector organisation is one which provides good services and communicates
efciently (Veri and Bagon, 2006: 302).
For years, the two main aims of government public relations were considered to be informing
about government decisions, policies, programmes and projects, and maintaining or
cultivating the image of the government and its institutions. For decades, the public was
informed in traditional ways, chiey through the mass media.
As a result of many changes in society, the changed role of the media, the widespread
use of new technology, the development of democratic standards (e.g. new legislation
the Access to Public Information Act), and the development of participatory methods
of engagement in policy making, government communication has changed, too. The
traditional conveying of information to the public through the media has been augmented
by a number of methods of direct and integrated communication utilising a wide variety
of communication techniques and tools through which governments address the publics
and seek their participation in dialogue.

th
The goals of government communication are:
1. informing (providing citizens with adequate information on government decisions and
activities, their rights, benets and obligations);
2. advocating or persuading in order to win acceptance of existing, new or proposed
budgets, policies, laws or regulations;
3. engaging (generating feedback, ensuring deliberation and cooperation, compliance in
regulatory programmes and participation);
4. fostering popular support for established policies and programmes.
5. (Assum, 2001; Cutlip, Center and Broom, 1994; Baker, 1997; OECD PUMA, 2001;
CommGAP, 2010)

OECD (2001) maintains that efcient government-citizen relations comprise three stages:
information (one way relation), consultation (two-way communication) and participation
(a relation based on partnership). Providing complete, objective, timely and relevant
information to citizens is a basic prerequisite for good relations. Although consultation has
not been fully recognised, it is a central element of public policy making. Active participation
allowing citizens to discuss and generate policy options independently is a new frontier.
Only a few OECD countries have begun to explore such approaches.
Communication is responsible for improving three principle elements of government:
effectiveness (building broad support and legitimacy for programmes), responsiveness
(knowing citizens needs and responding to them), and accountability (explaining
government stewardship and providing mechanisms to hold governments accountable)
(CommGAP, 2010: 2).
The characteristics of government communication
Communicators often claim that government public relations differ from PR in corporations,
associations and non-prot organisations, and indeed there are many important differences.
Public relations in the public sphere are subject to specic legal, legislative, administrative
conditions, rules and principles, such as:
Government public relations embody the right to information (i.e. the right to access
to public information), which is a fundamental human right.
Transparency of work is a statutory requirement. Exceptions pertain to issues of
national security, sensitive public procurement, business secrets, internal procedures,
etc.
Communication depends on the formal and informal nature of the political system
and process in a particular government. Besides, media systems and the general level
of development affect communication (Grunig and Jaatinen, 1998).
The nature and practice of government communication vary widely among countries,
according to their legislation (i.e. the Freedom of Information Act). In some countries,
communication is designed to provide the public with relatively free access to the
majority of government information and records. In countries with severe domestic or
national security concerns, communication is more controlled.
The government should observe sets of guiding principles in policy making
(commitment, rights, clarity, time, objectivity, accountability, evaluation, active
citizenship), new public administration management (openness, transparency, political
neutrality and professional independence, user orientation, compatibility, rationality
and efciency) (OECD, 2001; Phillis, 2004).
Communication priorities are connected with limited tenures and often change due to
changes in the political or administrative leadership.
The goals and functions of public relations activities are closely linked to personal
leadership styles, formal and informal organisational structures and the cultural norms
of their organisations. A change of political or administrative leader can signicantly and
immediately affect the communication style and practice (Grunig, 1995).
Government communicators often face a conict of interests between political
coordination and direction and governance laws, rules or ethical standards of conduct
to which civil servants are bound. Very often communication managers must follow
a vision set by others (their political or administrative seniors) and have limited ability
to inuence it. Even when managers help in designing the vision, it is subject to annual
change and validation in the budget legislation process (Grunig, 1995).
The scope and diversity of goals and activities in government are much greater
than in any other area of public relations practice (Baker and Caywood, 1997).
The stakeholders in government public relations are a vast and diverse group of
internal and external audiences with different agendas. Some interest groups
closely monitor the governments communication programmes and often inuence
the governments actions through exercising their budgetary power or affecting public
opinion (Baker and Caywood, 1997).
The implementation of communication activities depends on annual state budgets
distributed among government bodies, and is often subject to budgetary restrictions.
Some communication departments even do not have their own budgets.
Public procurement regulations must be strictly adhered to when cooperating
with external partners. The rigid rules and conditions governing public procurement
often prolong or postpone procedures, limit creativity and disable the free selection of
partners which are awarded public contracts.
Although government communicators have to observe more rules and principles, the
authors of the IABC Excellence Study theorised that principles of public relations for
governments are the same as for corporations. Solely because of specic conditions must
the principles be applied differently.The IABC study shows that government agencies use
mostly public information and press agentry models. Two-way asymmetrical and two-
way symmetrical models are used in some specic cases, i.e. in some public campaigns on
health and environmental issues (Grunig, 1995; Grunig and Jaatinen, 1998).
Some authors claim that there are limits to symmetry, while a large part of government
communication deals with agendas, decisions, laws, regulations, controls sanctions and
services that are set up and controlled by the government. But the communication process
th
may contain symmetric elements, such as research, in order to establish what communication
channels target groups prefer (Assum, 2001).
Grunig and Jaatinen (1999) claim that government public relations also differ among
countries because of different concepts of governance. Some prefer the public information
model, while others follow the principles of excellence in public relations. The reason for
this is the pluralistic versus the corporativist perception of governance. In a pluralistic
environment, public authorities do not need to build strategic public relations, since
they expect that activist groups would demand a particular service by themselves. In a
corporativist environment, public authorities themselves opt for collaboration with the
powerful stakeholders (Sommerville and Thaeker, 2004).
Despite specic conditions and limitations, government communication should demonstrate
the value of its work, just as in the for-prot sector. It should not be primarily concerned with
itself or only with selected projects. The government should communicate citizens rights,
obligations and social benets, and secure support in policy making. Communication
experts should assist political ofcials, policy makers and other internal structures to
provide information about their work, and explain and support government policy making
to enable them to make policy understandable, but also to make understandable policy
(Veenman, 2007).
The complexity of projects and their management in todays challenging environment entails
the professional conduct of all government communicators and strict adherence to all
professional and ethical standards. Effective and professional government communication
requires the creation of an empowered communication environment with a rm understanding
of communication, appropriate organisational structure and competent staff.
CAPACITY BUILDING
The term capacity building mainly refers to assistance provided in the development of skills
and competences in order to upgrade the performance of a body or organisation. The
approach was developed in the United Nations, its organisations and specialised agencies
that assist in establishing and running civil society organisations as technical assistance of
developed to developing countries. Capacity building can also be seen as assistance to
candidate countries, which need to develop suitable legal and administrative capacities, and
put in place appropriate standards to facilitate their international integration (EU, NATO, etc.).
Although capacity building is often simplied to refer to human resources development,
particularly training, it is much more heterogeneous. The United Nations Development
Program (UNDP), which was charged by the United Nations with dening capacity
building, proposed the following denition:
The creation of an enabling environment with appropriate policy and legal frameworks,
institutional development, including community participation (of women in particular),
human resources development and strengthening of managerial systems. The
capacity building is recognized as a long-term, continuing process, in which all stakeholders
participate (ministries, local authorities, non-governmental organizations, professional
associations, academics and others).
2
WCO (World Customs organisation) denes capacity building as activities, which strengthen
the knowledge, abilities, skills and behaviour of individuals and improve institutional
structures and processes such that the organization can efciently meet its mission and
goals in a sustainable way."
3
Deborah Linnell (2003) distinguishes between capacity building for organisations and
individuals. Capacity building for organisations may relate to almost any aspect of their
work: improved governance, leadership, mission and strategy, administration (including
human resources, nancial management, and legal matters), programme development
and implementation, fundraising and income generation, diversity, partnerships and
collaboration, evaluation, advocacy and policy change, marketing, positioning, planning,
etc. Capacity building for individuals may relate to leadership development, advocacy skills,
training/speaking abilities, technical skills, organising skills, and other areas of personal and
professional development.
The needs for capacity building are great, but appreciation of the problem is still relatively
low. Interest is greatest among local governments, communities and NGOs, but central
governments and the private commercial sector also need support. There are no ready-
made solutions. Experiences and expertise can be shared between various partners,
and programmes can be developed or tailored to meet the needs of individual countries,
organisations or departments. Every organisation is capable of building its own capacity,
but it must be ready to do so. The organisation must be open to change and willing to move
forward. It should be prepared to commit the necessary time and resources. Capacity
building is a long-term process with activities integrated into the organisations work.
Although the literature reveals many different approaches, the essential building blocks of
capacity building are:
Development of a legal and Institutional framework legal and regulatory changes to
enable organisations, institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors to enhance their
capacities, understand needs and expectations and develop working or ethical principles.
Infrastructure and organisation the combination of governance, organisational design,
individual job descriptions and inter-functional coordination shape the organisations legal
and management structures.
Management the set of actions and programmes aimed at fullling organisational goals;
the sum of capabilities (leadership, adaptive capacity, management capacity, technical
capacity) for providing directions, monitoring, assessment and responding to internal and
external changes, ensuring the effective and efcient use of organisational resources, and
implementing all key organisational and programmatic functions.
2 Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacity_building (May 2010)
3 Source: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacity_building (May 2010)
th
Cooperation is more effective with the sum of capabilities and skills, like project
assessments, project strategic planning (collaborative planning), project design
management, conict resolution, nance management, team building, performance
management.
Resources the most important resources are human, nance, equipment, skills,
knowledge, experience that most directly support and affect the quality of the delivery of
programmes and services.
Professional development the most utilised method for building capacity is training
(formal and informal), but also access to referential literature, case studies, peer exchange
opportunities and research studies.
Benchmarks interventions/opportunities for participants such as consulting engagements,
peer conventions/gatherings, exchange opportunities, professional networking, and
coaching provide measurements of an organisation's internal performances, and enable
the adoption and adaptation of best practices from other organisations.
We should not forget culture - the connective tissue that binds together shared values,
behavioural norms and the organisations orientation towards performance.
CAPACITY BUILDING IN GOVERNMENT
Capacity building is often discussed in connection with government communication.
Although the transition countries of the CEE seem to be researching the eld more
extensively, mature democracies, too, are exploring various aspects of capacity building.
There are different denitions of the term, the one most often used by practitioners being
improving the effectiveness of government communication by all kinds of means to
exchange knowledge and experience (Veenman, 2009)
4
.
A review of the available literature shows that authors mostly describe the nature and features
of government communication, but also, between the lines, mention communication
capacities as a prerequisite for organising effective government communication. They
describe communication capacity as a strong central and departmental communication
structure with clear job descriptions, clear instructions on delegating and sharing the
responsibilities of the communication function, pertinent communication training, peer-to-
peer learning, professional standards, etc. (Baker, 1997; Edes, 2000; Phillis, 2004; Veri
and Aman, 2002; CommGAP, 2009).
Different countries approach the function and development of government communication
in different ways. Some are aware of the importance of an ordered environment that enables
planned and coordinated communication by the government and its agencies. But practice
also reveals cases where communication structures are decentralised and uncoordinated,
and no regular budget for continuing communication efforts is assured. Across ministries,
4 Presentation at the Capacity Building Workshop, Club of Venice, October 2009
there is a lack of qualied communication staff, and they are often uneven in capacity, status
and organisation. The staffs lack a clear job description, regular communication training
and the necessary support to perform their tasks effectively. Many important changes to
government communication in several countries (e.g. the Netherlands, the UK) were a
result of the parliament or some other independent body raising the issue of accountability
in public communication.
Capacity building in government is affected by a number of factors (history, politics, economy
and culture), and some EU members boast a tradition of several decades when it comes
to government communication. They have developed and time-tested all support systems
and many standards, which they continuously upgrade in order to ensure professional
services administered by skilled communication professionals, provide training to their civil
servants and policy advisers, and develop new knowledge (e.g. the Netherlands, the UK).
The transition countries of the CEE require more time, as they need to establish and develop
a modern civil service and implement standards, which enable efcient and responsible
governance.
Several studies of the state and role of government communication in selected CEE countries
in the early 2000s (Edes, 2000; UNDP Pilot Phase 2001; UNDP Pilot Phase Summary
2002; Veri and Aman, 2002) showed there is a range of problems, from confusion
between information and communication, different priorities in coalition governments,
lack of clarity between political and civil service role, disinterest of politicians in government
communication, to inadequate resources and uncooperative public servants.
Communication is neither recognised as part of policy, nor as policy itself. Many governments
rely heavily on the media and internet. News stories often report trivial and incomplete
accounts, and information vital to citizens is often overlooked as not being newsworthy. In
government communication capacities there is a shortage of formal education in practices
and standards (managerial techniques, interpersonal skills, service orientation, ethical
norms, etc.). Recruitment and promotion is sometimes carried out on the basis of friendship
and political alliance rather than on the basis of merit.
The reports show that despite general dissatisfaction with the situation, there is a strong
desire to develop or upgrade the eld with the assistance of outside support (mostly from
donor countries, associations and organisations, e.g. Canada, the Netherlands, UNDP, EU
institutions, the World Bank).
With regard to building capacity, some countries seem unaware of the importance of
systematic regulation, either because of a lack of political will or resources. The World
Bank suggests that government communication capacity can be increased by exploiting
traditional systems of communication that are already in place, and planned coordination
among government departments. Methods of work should be interactive, citizen-based,
and focused on peer-to-peer networks to exchange the experiences. It is important to raise
the status of communication professionals and recognise the value of good practices.
th
OECD (2001) emphasises that governments must invest adequate time, resources and
commitment in building robust legal, policy and institutional frameworks, developing ap-
propriate tools and evaluating their own performance in engaging citizens in policy-making.
The Canadian Institute on Governance (2001) recommends six important areas in building
or strengthening communication capacities:
building commitment by creating understanding of the role of communication at all
levels, by ministers, state secretaries and civil service managers;
building a solid communication structure with clear and distinct roles for political and
civil service communication staff, developing a model of a communication unit and
communication network;
introducing strategic planning at government, ministry and cross-government
communication levels;
coordinating government communication at all levels;
developing communication policy (with basic principles, dened roles, responsibilities
and working guidelines), and having it adopted by the government and implemented;
providing professional development for communicators, and communication
awareness for senior ofcials, policy and programme staff;
securing resources (in personnel, budgets and knowledge).
What happens in practice? The fact that capacity building is rapidly gaining ground in
everyday practice is attested to by it being discussed at meetings and workshops of the
Club of Venice
5
. The Club of Venice has also produced an overview of the organisation
of government communication in EU member states (2005)
6
. This shows that, while all
systems are similar, each has its own distinctive features.
In all countries, government communication is institutionalised, and all powers and
responsibilities are dened in detail by legislation. Most of the countries have a list of
major objectives and guidelines for civil servants some also pertaining to government
communication that includes openness, accessibility and transparency of government
work. In the majority of countries, government communication is the domain of ofcial
spokespersons, and the central and PR ofces of government agencies.
All EU Prime Ministers have their own press ofcers and a PR service, often as part of their
cabinet. In many countries, the PMs press ofcer and his/her spokespersons are political
appointees. The PMs PR ofce usually organises press conferences and drafts press
releases following government sessions, informs the public about government decisions
(e.g. through web sites), designs and coordinates information campaigns, conducts public
opinion polls and follows media reports.
5 The Club of Venice is an informal group comprising the most senior communication professionals from the governments of EU
Member and Candidate States; and from the European institutions
6 Government Communication at Central Level Report, Club of Venice, 2005
Ministries are usually autonomous when it comes to public communication, and have
their own PR ofces that communicate both with the media and the general public. Their
PR ofces are internally divided into strong media relations units and other units (e.g. for
campaigns, web communication, analyses, strategies, EU communication, publishing
and audiovisual, etc.). In most EU countries, press ofcers are appointed by individual
ministries. As a rule, ministry press ofcers do not change, although at some ministries they
are encouraged to change their area of work. The number of PR employees and budget
funds allocated for PR services differ from country to country. Smaller countries employ
some 100 people for this purpose, while larger countries employ anywhere from several
hundred to a few thousand; the allocation of budget funds naturally follows these numbers.
Most countries have centralised communication departments (Austria, Germany, Ireland,
Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, the UK). These
function as separate government agencies or ofces; some are directly subordinate to
the PM, while others are part of a ministry (e.g. for general affairs) or part of a government
secretariat general. No EU member state has an information minister, while the PM
sometimes has the role of communications coordinator.
In some countries, different units regularly coordinate their activities. Press ofcers or heads
of PR services meet weekly. Either the PMs PR ofce or the central information ofce
heads coordination. Only in very few countries is such cooperation formalised (e.g. the
Information Council in the Netherlands).
In most countries, access to public information is regulated by law, which also makes
provisions for government communication the domain of PR ofces. Countries with
special ethical and general guidelines regarding public communication include Finland,
Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and the UK.
At present, no member state or EU institution provides systematic and continuous training
to its communication staff. Communication staffs improve their knowledge and expertise
through study visits to counterpart organisations in other countries and EU institutions,
and develop special guidelines and toolboxes for newcomers and other employees. Only
the Netherlands has a Government Communication Academy aimed at strengthening and
improving government communication in policy making
7
.
7 Information gathered at the Club of Venice workshop, 2008
th
The Club of Venice maintains that despite differing social contexts, government,
political and administrative structures and systems, communication professionals in
the EU have to meet similar challenges. The international exchange of knowledge and
experience is an essential aspect of capacity building. The Club of Venice contributes
to these efforts by drafting a position paper, which countries can use to support their
requests for structural investment in capacity building as an international standard8.
CASE STUDY: SLOVENIA
The development and implementation of government communication in countries, which
had to establish and develop government communication systems e.g. the transition
countries of the CEE shows that capacity building can be understood in a broader
sense than just staff training. Slovenia can provide an interesting example for studying
the development, organisation and implementation of government public relations. After
gaining independence in 1991, Slovenia had to establish anew all functions and systems of
its civil service, including government public relations.
National prole and political environment
9
Slovenia is a country in Central Europe, with a population of two million people. Between
1918 and 1991, it was part of Yugoslavia, but in 1991 it became independent. Today,
Slovenia is a member of the European Union, NATO and OECD.
Slovenia is a constitutional democracy with a division of powers between the executive,
legislative and judiciary branches. The parliament has two chambers the National
Assembly and the National Council. Since 1991, Slovenia has had nine governments, all
coalitions.
The Government of the Republic of Slovenia is a body with executive power and the highest
civil authority. The Government functions as a cabinet of ministers led by a Prime Minister.
The number of ministers is determined by law, each government coalition deciding on the
number according to its needs and political goals. The incumbent government consists of
the Prime Minister and 18 ministers (3 without portfolio).
The Government works and takes decisions during regular and correspondence sessions.
The work of the Government is public. The openness of the Governments work is ensured
through press conferences, online presentations and reports via other information and
telecommunications media. The Government responds to all queries, initiatives and
suggestions via ministries and government ofces.

The Slovenian public administration, coordinated by the Ministry of Public Administration,
observes the principles of legality and legal safety, political neutrality and professional
8 Outcome of the Workshop on Capacity Building, Brussels, 15 October 2009
9 Source: About Slovenia the web site of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. http://www.vlada.si/en/about_slovenia/
independence, openness and user orientation, expertise and quality, compatibility,
rationality and efciency
10
.
The development of government public relations
Although the rst pseudo-PR efforts in Slovenia can be traced to the mid-1980s, public
relations proper began to develop in 1991, when the country became independent. Among
the rst to use public relations were nancial institutions and telecommunication companies.
The government and public sector lagged behind (Veri, 2004).
Government public relations in Slovenia have a relatively short tradition. Prior to 1990,
there were practically no PR advisers in the Slovenian civil service. One exception was the
Ministry of the Interior, with a department where a single person was employed to handle
public relations, i.e. inform the media and the general public about the Ministrys work.
However, the government had a central information ofce whose organisation and tasks
varied through the years.
The beginnings of the government information ofce go back to 1945, when a Press Ofce
was established as part of the Peoples Government of Slovenia. Its tasks included collecting
information about and studying the economic, social and political situation in Slovenia, the work
of civil authorities and mass organisations, and providing this information to the domestic and
foreign press, publishing, establishing and maintaining connections with foreign government
representatives, journalists and newspapers. The Ofce of Information established in 1958,
was responsible for tasks similar to todays i.e. informing the public about the work and
decisions of the Executive Council and republic authorities and institutes, and following press
and radio reports. It was succeeded by the Executive Council Information Secretariat in
1960, and the Republic Information Committee in 1980.
The 1980s saw the beginning of organised government public relations. Committees and
secretariats, which were part of the Executive Council of the Assembly of the Socialist
Republic of Slovenia, appointed so-called liaison ofcers who worked as PR contacts
in their respective organisations, collected information about major public events and
upcoming regulations, and liaised with the Republic Information Committee. This was a
time of open meetings of the Executive Council, which the press was invited to attend, and
of communiqus which preceded todays press releases. The most senior representatives
of republic authorities would meet the press and give press conferences, but only on major
events.
After the rst democratic election in Slovenia in 1990, the Republic Information Committee
was renamed the Republic Information Secretariat, and later, just ahead of Slovenias
declaration of independence, became one of 22 ministries, i.e. the Ministry of Information.
In 1993, it was transformed into the Government Public Relations and Media Ofce, a
separate professional government service. A government decision laid down the Ofces
key tasks: informing the domestic public about the work of the government and ministries,
10 Source: http://www.mju.gov.si/en/about_the_ministry/
th
and informing the foreign public about the work of the government, the Prime Minister,
ministries and the President. The Ofce also handled the promotion of Slovenia.
In 2003, the Ofce was additionally tasked with providing support to the government
spokesperson, public relations departments in ministries and government ofces, and
planning, implementing and coordinating the countrys promotion. In 2007, it was renamed
the Government Communication Ofce.
Milestones in development
At the time of Slovenias struggle for independence, the then information ofce faced a
great challenge and played a major role in informing the world about what was happening
in Slovenia. During the war, the ofce ran a media centre for the domestic and international
press, learning some of the most important aspects of its work in the process.
No sooner had Slovenia gained independence than it had to establish itself as a new
sovereign country in the map of the world. In addition to public relations, national branding
and public diplomacy had become important, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no
such department. The lack of experience meant that Slovenia would simply have to learn
by doing. Of course, one can only learn so much on ones own. Slovenian government
communicators attended major international events (e.g. the Olympics, world expos,
conferences and congresses), and liaised with their West European counterparts to gain
experience. The 1990s saw several monumental events (two visits by the Pope, a visit by
the US President Bill Clinton, and the Bush-Putin Summit in Slovenia, rst appearances
at the Lisbon and Hannover expos, a meeting of CEFTA heads of state or government,
etc.). While these events directed international attention to Slovenia, they presented an
unprecedented professional challenge. The Government PR and Media Ofce earned its
reputation as a highly professional institution even among the foreign media.
The late 1990s and the onset of the twenty-rst century were marked by Slovenias joining
the EU and NATO. Citizen communication was the key, and the Ofce made its rst attempts
at planning and implementing communication campaigns. At rst, the Ofce was assisted
by foreign advisers and implementation consortia of domestic and foreign communication
agencies. During this time, the Ofce established a networked communication infrastructure
(web sites, toll-free telephone lines, information centres, etc.), which are still very much in
use today.
Soon after the EU and NATO accessions (2004), preparations began for another two major
government projects the introduction of the euro (2007), and Slovenias Presidency
of the Council of the EU (2008). Both presented a tremendous logistical, administrative
and communications operation. At the same time, the Ofce designed, developed and
implemented at rst at home and later abroad the national brand I feel Slovenia.
After 2008, when there seemed to be no major challenges left for government
communicators, we took on new and even more demanding tasks. The nancial, economic
and social crisis did away with the old communication models. Crisis communication of
reform measures entails a better understanding, mutual trust and cooperation between
policy-makers and communicators. And it is here that the signicance of capacity building
becomes evident not just in the sense of establishing a network of communication units,
but also in appreciating the role of communication in the policy-making process. The latter
has yet to be mastered.
CAPACITY BUILDING IN SLOVENIA
The legal and institutional framework
Government public relations in Slovenia embody the right to information, i.e. the right to
access to public information, which is a fundamental human right, and is dened in more
detail by the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, the Access to Public Information Act
(2003), and the Public Media Act.
The Government Rules of Procedure stipulate that the governments work is public. The
public character of the governments work is ensured through press conferences, internal
presentations and communications distributed via other information and telecommunication
media. The government PR ofcer and the Government Communication Ofce ensure that
the work of the government and ministries is public.
The beginnings of the systematic organisation of ministry and government PR ofces go
back to 1994, when the Government took several decisions concerning the activities of the
Government Information Ofce aimed at domestic publics, and its organisation, including
a decision which required all ministries acting upon the Public Media Act to draft
regulations to speedily implement suitable methods of ensuring the public character of
their work, disseminating information to the public and appoint an individual responsible
for ensuring that all work is public. These decisions provided a legal basis for a systematic
approach to ensuring that the work of government institutions is open to the public.
The competences and organisation of the central government PR ofce are laid down in
the Decision dening the tasks of the Government Public Relations and Media Ofce, which
stipulates the Ofces main tasks, viz. ensuring the public character of the governments
work, providing professional support to the government spokesperson and PR departments
of ministries and government ofces, and planning, implementing and coordinating the
governments general promotional activities. In 2007, the Government PR and Media Ofce
was renamed the Government Communication Ofce (GCO)
11
.
The Civil Servants Act also stipulates the separation of political and professional functions.
When the act was passed in 2003, the previously combined functions of Government
Spokesperson and Director of the Government Communication Ofce were separated.
11 The initiative to change the name was due to the fact that in addition to informing the public, the Ofce carries out a number
of communication activities with a view to fostering dialogue, reaching consensus and acquiring support for the government
programme.
th
While the former moved to the Ofce of the Prime Minister, in terms of work the post has
remained strongly tied to the GCO.
As departments and the list of communication functions grew, the need emerged to
organise them systematically and implement communication principles. In collaboration
with external partners, the GCO developed the Organisational Model of Government
Communication of the Republic of Slovenia, which was approved by the Government
in 2007 and is still used. The document provides the basis for organising public relations
and communication services within the government, ministries, and government ofces,
establishes uniform professional standards, and determines the mode of coordination
between ofces i.e. public relations advisers of individual government institutions with the
Government Spokesperson and the Government Communication Ofce, thus establishing
the standards for the communication of government policies to the public.
Communication infrastructure
Government communication is planned and carried out by a central communication ofce
and by the communication units in line ministries or other agencies. The Government
Communication Ofce is a professional service, headed by the Director (a civil servant
appointed by the government) who, together with the Government Spokesperson,
ensures the circulation of information between the government, its representatives, and the
domestic and foreign publics. While the Ofce is subordinate to the Government Secretary
General, it communicates the policies and activities of the whole Government. The Ofce
consists of two departments, one for communication with the domestic and foreign media
and the other for direct communication projects. Its main tasks include informing, advising,
supporting, coordinating and liaising.
The Government Spokesperson, located within the Ofce of the Prime Minister, issues
statements on behalf of the government, heads press conferences following cabinet
sessions, and answers journalists questions on government decisions. He is a political
appointee.
Each ministry and some of their ofces have separate communication units, which provide
comprehensive and prompt information about matters pertaining to the work of individual
ministries and/or government ofces. Organisation permitting, units may be divided into
two sections one for media relations and the other for public relations.
The roles of political and civil service communication staff are separated. In this way,
continuity of work is preserved regardless of political changes. A minister may appoint
the head of PR or their personal spokesperson a post dependent on the ministers term
in ofce as the ministry spokesperson. At present, only three ministries have political
communication advisors, while ofcial spokespersons are virtually unheard of (exceptions
being, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Police and the Armed Forces). However, Slovenia
did employ spokespersons during its EU Presidency in 2008
12
.
12 Policy-makers and communicators were trained as spokespersons specically for the Presidency. The function ended with
the Presidency.
Larger bodies under the ministry (such as the Police, the Slovenian Armed Forces, the Tax
Administration, the Customs Administration, the Environmental Agency, and the Veterinary
Administration) employ their own communication ofcers. These work within a separate
unit; in some cases they coordinate their work with communication ofcers of competent
ministries or the heads of communication services of the ministries in question.
Managing communication
Ministries today see the role of PR as maintaining relations with the media, informing the
general public and taking care of promotion. But only few ministries give much thought to
internal communication. Some PR units have protocol duties and produce reminders. Their
most typical tasks include written communication (pres releases, web content and Q&A),
editing publications and web sites, and organising events. So far, there has been very
limited use of the social media
13
.
Centralised strategic communication planning is not a usual practice, and annual plans
(joint or exclusively for ministries) are not a general rule. Communication ofcers must often
focus on short-term, operational concerns, which prevent them from taking on new tasks,
such as systematic audience research, strategic planning, evaluation of communication
programmes or direct communication with the public.
Ministries use a variety of consultation and participation approaches when dealing with
target publics; most publish draft acts and preliminary measures on their web site before
these are actually discussed by the cabinet. One step towards improving communication
between citizens and the Government is the online application Predlagam vladi (I purpose
to the government), which enables the public to contribute their suggestions to improve
government policies and measures.
Cooperation and coordination
Government PR ofcers cooperate on a daily basis in covering major government events
and policies, coordinating answers to questions posed by the media and other publics, and
coordinating press releases following cabinet sessions.
There is less strategic inter-departmental coordination. As a rule, ministries run their
own communication projects. With major government initiatives (the pro EU and NATO
accession campaign, euro introduction and events of national signicance), the Government
Communication Ofce takes over strategic planning, leadership and coordination, and
collaborates with the relevant government bodies and external partners. When more
specialised issues need to be communicated (e.g. anti-crisis measures, social reforms,
climate change), there is less collaboration. Since ministries are relatively independent as to
their communication methods and agenda, good coordination often depends on political
will and understanding of a particular project.
13 Data from the 2010 survey.
th
There is ample professional support for government communication. The Ofce is the main
body responsible for following domestic and international media (monitoring and press
clipping), analysing media reporting, drafting key points for public opinion polls (monthly
polls from 2001 to 200614), monitoring viewer ratings of the main TV programmes, and
organising training courses for government PR ofcers.
Collaboration between the Government Spokesperson, the GCO and PR ofcers of
ministries is vital for keeping the public abreast government decisions. Such collaboration
includes the timely discussion of major issues, selecting government representatives, and
drafting press releases and other materials. Although a coordinating body of all PR ofcers
has been proposed, it has not yet been formalised. Under the incumbent Government,
however, ministry PR ofcers meet on a regular basis to exchange information and
coordinate activities.
RESOURCES
At present, some 100 civil servants (44 in the Police and the Armed Forces) occupy
communication positions at the national level. The Government Communication Ofce
(GCO) employs 43 staff, 30 of whom work on communication projects; all are civil servants.
There is also a small PR service working for the Prime Minister (currently employing two
people), while the GCO provides professional and technical assistance. At present the
Government does not have a spokesperson.
Most ministries have relatively small press/public relations units; the number of staff varies.
The incumbent government (20082012) has 17 PR departments at ministries. Most (12)
are separate units, while some are part of the Ministers ofce. All PR heads have access
to the ministry leadership. Although communicators are civil servants, some may lose their
position when governments change, which disturbs the continuity of PR services.
Staff numbers in PR ofces have always been low. If, in the 1990s, ministries employed one
or two people, todays average is two to ve employees. One exception is the Ministry of
Defence with the Slovenian Armed Forces (17) and the Police (27). As a rule, government
ofces employ one PR ofcer each.
The employees use two titles a civil servants grade and a professional title. The highest
civil servant grade is Secretary (11), followed by undersecretary (5), and several ranks of
advisers (23). The two professional titles are PR Advisor and PR Ofcer. The stafng of PR
departments is the domain of individual ministries. Most communication ofcers are trained
in journalism, marketing communication, economics, political science, or related elds. All
PR staff should be familiar with the know-how and skills of strategic and operational PR.
14 Public opinion polls were conducted by the Public Opinion and Mass Communication Research Centre (CJMMK) of the Fac-
ulty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana. They are publicly accessible at the GCO web site: http://www.ukom.gov.si/si/
medijski_koticek/javno_mnenje_2001_2008/
The Model
15
lays down the responsibilities and competences of a PR advisor, and ministries
generally consider these. Task descriptions vary in practice and seldom reect what
employees actually do. Some ministries have developed internal handbooks of standards,
which have not necessarily been coordinated with those of other ministries.
In addition to the PR and communication departments, in some ministries other staff also
carry out information and communication duties, although they are not linked to the PR and
communication unit. A survey in 2010 lists several tens of employees who take on protocol
duties, provide technical or editorial support for web sites, assist in organising events, or
publishing materials separately from the PR department.
Activities planned by the GCO are nanced from the state budget. Only a few ministry PR
departments have their own funding; most are required to apply for funds on a project-by-
project basis, which greatly reduces their responsiveness and efciency.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
In accordance with the Civil Servants Act, PR ofcers have the right and duty to be trained
at work and improve their expertise. However, no system of professional training for civil
servants is currently in place.
Between 2004 and 2007, the GCO organised training on a regular basis (seminars were
organised in collaboration with the Dutch Government Information Service (GIS)16. In
2006 and 2007, the GCO, in collaboration with Slovenian and international government
PR advisors, organised modular training, which served as a preparatory course before the
EU Presidency.
The GCO and GIS discussed with the Administration Academy of the Republic of Slovenia
the possibility of organising regular training for communicators, and including a module on
communication for administrative managers; unfortunately, the talks were unsuccessful.
After 2008, the Academy began outsourcing most of its programme. In recent years, the
GCO has organised occasional lectures or thematic meetings where case studies are
presented and knowledge on a particular specialised topic is exchanged.
Some government communicators are members of professional associations and unions,
such as the Public Relations Society of Slovenia (PRSS) and IABC Slovenia, and they attend
events for professionals (meetings, the annual conference). The activities of the professional
association are mainly suited for practitioners in the private sector. In 2010, the Public Sector
Section
17
was revived; it will strive to focus more on government public relations.
15 Organisational Model of Government Communication of the Government of Slovenia
16 The Netherlands Government Information Service (GIS) provided technical assistance to EU candidate countries. Collaboration
also lasted for several years after Slovenia had joined the EU.
17 The Public Sector Section was active for only a few years in the 1990s. At that time it adopted the Seven Principles of Public
Life and Recommendations for Keeping Public Sectors Work Public.
th
There are few opportunities for public relations training in Slovenia; they are limited to short
courses by a variety of providers, which concentrate mainly on PR tactics in the for-prot
sector. A more comprehensive, modular programme is provided by the London School of
Public Relations (LSPR)
18
, which is also attended by government PR ofcers.
University students gain only limited knowledge of government PR during the course of
their studies and mainly learn about the different areas where PR is used. Despite this,
interest in government PR is relatively high, and faculty libraries hold an abundance of
student works about the practice of government communication.
Benchmarks
There is ample interest in international examples and cooperation with foreign government
PR ofcials, which is also carried out in practice. Soon after Slovenia declared
independence, the GCOs predecessor began collaborating with domestic professionals
(university professors, agency consultants, etc.), later jointly organising projects with foreign
government experts.
The most important project was collaboration with the Dutch GIS (19992007), which
helped Slovenian government communicators familiarise themselves with practices from
the Netherlands and the rest of Europe. The Dutch government PR system also served as a
model for Slovenias own Organisational Model of Government Communication and several
other professional standards.
As part of the preparations for the EU and NATO accession and the introduction of the
euro, the GCO enlisted the help of international experts, particularly PR professionals from
EU institutions and NATO. As part of the preparations for the EU Presidency, Slovenian
communicators exchanged experience with their colleagues from other EU member
states that had presided over the Council of the EU before (Austria, Ireland, Finland, the
Netherlands, Germany). To support the introduction of the euro in Slovenia, the European
Commission provided professional assistance in the form of a twinning project in which
Slovenian representatives collaborated with the Dutch and Lithuanian.
Since 2004, the GCOs representatives have been actively participating in the Club of
Venice. Such collaboration provides a view of the public relations practice of other EU
member states, facilitates the exchange of experience and serves as a model for designing
professional standards.
Towards professionalism
Government public relations in Slovenia have not existed even for two decades. They
began as modest efforts, developed through learning by doing, and made it to adulthood.
18 London School of Public Relations, organised by SPEM Communications, Maribor, Slovenia
To be able to appreciate the development, we might compare the current situation with
that in Veri and Amans report (2002). The report concludes that as a result of a
consensus reached within the government and with the media and CSOs, government
communication improved in the 1990s, but still needs a substantial upgrade if it is to satisfy
the criteria of accountability, transparency and open governance. Communication is not
yet recognised as a feature of new public management (based on information, consultation
and participation). It is understaffed, underfunded and undermanaged, and it is rarely used
as a policy instrument. The government communication structure in Slovenia is under-
institutionalised; however, a change in political culture is also needed. There is insufcient
guidance and coordination of communication within the government and between the
government and citizens.
The authors urge that the government and public administration understand and
accept the good governance principles of accountability, transparency and openness,
which should also guide government communication policy. The roles of political and
civil service communication staff need to be clearly dened and separated. People
already performing communication tasks need to be educated for the role. At both
government and ministerial levels, the overall, annual and project communication
plans are clearly needed. All plans should include evaluation procedures to determine
their effectiveness and efciency.

The Government Communication Ofce requires a civil service manager to ensure proper
management and continuity. A council of government communication ofcers is needed
to ensure proper coordination within the government. Government communication policy,
strategy and standards must be explicated and presented in a written form.
The government and public administration communication staff require continuous
professional education and training. This must be ensured within the Administration
Academy and within the public educational system. The Administration Academy must
educate and train all civil servants in the basics of communication principles and skills.
While the comparison with the present state shows signicant progress, it also reveals
drawbacks that are no cause for celebration. The governments greatest achievement at
the system level is the approval of a model of organisation and activities. Although the
model is good, it is not being consistently followed in practice.
Today, all government bodies have separate PR units. The communication system has
been institutionalised, yet there are still differences among bodies. Unfortunately, there is a
serious lack of staff, and given the current stafng limits in the civil service, the situation will
not change soon. The division into political and professional functions is being observed.
The GCO has strengthened its role as a strategic leader and liaison institution. Work is
successfully coordinated between government bodies; however, this is rather on the tactical
than strategic level. The communication coordination of heads of PR units has not been
formalised. Training is sporadic; there is a lack of a systemic long-term training programme.
th
Further steps need to be taken towards the professionalisation of the eld in order to improve
the efciency, responsiveness and accountability of government public relations in Slovenia.
The Organisational Model could be upgraded with a clear and widely accepted government
communication policy adhered to by all government bodies. The communication system
requires greater stability (maintaining or strengthening PR units), the strategic aspect of
communication needs to be highlighted (communication should become an integral part
of policy-making), and a system of regular long-term education should be established for a
variety of users (novices, junior and senior PR ofcers, administrative managers).
CONCLUSION
Different people perceive capacity building differently. Those only beginning to
develop a particular discipline see it as a tool for setting up a system, infrastructure
and organisation. Those who have already developed their infrastructure, seek to
enrich their experience and gain new knowledge and skills.
This could be applied to government communication. The example of Slovenia may conrm
the rst claim. The experiences of the countries
19
where capacity building is explored as
what are the requirements of a communication expert within government' and 'what basic
knowledge about communication is needed by other civil servants like policy advisors'
may well support the second claim.
Capacity building in government communication is relatively unknown and under-
researched. The ndings presented here are mainly based on the authors practical
observations and anecdotal evidence, which the authors
20
have collected in collaboration
with other professionals. When faced with the challenges and the demands in government
communication, we may well consider the approaches and methods of capacity building
developed in the NGO sector. And there is indeed plenty of room for detailed scientic
study of the discipline.
When we discuss capacity building in government communication, we should not
settle for merely setting up communication functions and developing knowledge and
skills for more effective and efcient communication, but adopt a holistic approach and
develop competences that ensure greater openness, transparency and accountability of
governance, enable the support to develop government programmes, and contribute to
enhancing political stability and democratic processes.
19 Findings presented at the Capacity Building Workshop, Club of Venice, October 2009.
20 The authors of the paper are senior communication advisors with more than 20 years of experiences in government and public
relations
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(Canada) under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme Regional Bureau for
Eastern Europe and the CIS UNDP RBEC sub-regional project RER/01/003/A08/13. Improving
Communication from Government to Societies.
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th
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Support and Field-Building Organizations In the Nonprot Sector. The Conservation Company. http://
www.tccgrp.com/pdfs/buildingthecapacityofcapacitybuilders.pdf, May 2010
Citizens as Partners: OECD Handbook on Information, Consultation and Public Participation in
Policy-Making. OECD, 2001.
Communication for Good Governance. CommGAP. World Bank Technical Briefs. 2010. http://
siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/Governanceweb.pdf
(April 2010)
Cutlip Scott M., Center Allen H., Broom Gleb M. (1994): Effective Public Relations, New Jersey:
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Effective Capacity Building in Nonprot Organizations. 2001. Venture Philantrophy Partners.
http://vppartners.org/learning/reports/capacity/capacity.html (May 2010)
Engaging Citizens in Policy making: Information, Consultation and Public Participation. (2001).OECD.
Public Management (PUMA) Policy Brief No. 10
Dening Capacity Building, http://www.gdrc.org/uem/capacity-dene.html, May 2010
Government Response to the Report At the Service of Democracy, report by the Committee on the
Future of Government Communication (2002). Netherlands Government Information Service.
th
Government Communication at Central Level Report. Working document based on 19 questionaires
completed by members of the Club of Venice, 2005.
Gruning, E. James (1995): Public Relations Management in Government and Business. Revised
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York: Marcel Dekker Publishers.
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Pilot Phase. (2001).UNDP RBEC sub regional project RER/01/003/A08/13. 1
st
International Workshop
on Government/Citizens Communication. Riga, Latvia.
Linnell, Deborah: (2003): Evaluation of Capacity Building: Lessons from the Field. Published by the
Alliance for Nonprot Management.
Many voices, one song: A new approach to government communications in the Republic of Latvia.
(2001). A report & recommendations prepared by the Institute on Governance under the auspices
of the Public Sector Bridge Programme of the Canadian International Development Agency. 1
st

International Workshop on Government/Citizens Communication. Riga, Latvia.
Organisational Model of Government Communication of the Government of the Republic of
Slovenia. Adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, February 2007
Phillis, Bob (2004): An Independent Review of Government Communication (UK). Presented to the
Minister for the Cabinet Ofce
Public Information Act (Zakon o dostopu do informacij javnega znaaja, UPB2,
Ofcial Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 51/06. http://www.mju.gov.si/en/freedom_of_public_
information/
Rijnja, Guido in den Besten, Ageeth (2005): Communication in Policy Development and Policy
Communication: the role and position of the communication adviser in the policy making process.
V den Besten, Agnes in Volmer, Fred (ur.): Government Communication. The Dutch Experience.
Developments, functions, tools and competences. Government Information Service, Ministry of
General Affairs.
Serajnik, Nada, Vidrih, Branko (2001): Vladni odnosi z javnostmi. Teorija in praksa. Let. 38/4, pp.650-
674.
Sklepno poroilo k raziskavi komunikacijskih vein in znanj za Urad vlade RS za komuniciranje.
Pristop 1998
Sommerville, Ian (2004): Public relations, Politics and Media. In Thaeker, Alison: The Public Relations
Handbook. Routledge.
The Contribution of Government Communication Capacity to Achieving Good Governance
Outcomes. Raporteurs' Report. CommGAP and The George Washington University's Elliott School
for International Affairs, February 2009
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTGOVACC/Resources/GWCommGAProundtablerapporteursr
eport.pdf (April 2010)
Veeneman, Jan (2007): Capacity building on government communication (NL government).
Presentatation paper, Club of Venice Meeting, November 2007
Veri Dejan (2004): Slovenia. In van Ruller, Betteke, Veri, Dejan: Public Relations and Communication
Managemement in Europe. A Nation-by Nation Introduction to Public Relations Theory and Practice.
Mouton de Gruyter. Berlin, New York.
Veri, Dejan, Aman, Alenka (2002): Communication between government and citizens in Slovenia.
Report and Recommendations. Under the auspices of the United Nations Development Programme
Regional Bureau for Eastern Europe and the CIS UNDP RBEC sub-regional project RER/01/003/
A08/13. Improving Communication from Government to Societies.
Veri, Dejan (2006): Odnosi z javnostmi. Odprtost, odgovornost, preglednost igrajmo z odprtimi
kartami. V Bagon, Judita et al.: Prironik za javne menederje. Portis, Ljubljana
th
Public Diplomacy - New Diplomacy in a Globalized World:
How Diplomats will Communicate in the Future
by Klavs A. Holm
Modern diplomacy is undergoing a dramatic transformation to adapt to change of inuence
patterns. In their pursuit for inuence diplomats can no longer limit themselves to working with
national state players in host countries. Globalization and the communications revolution have
given non-state players inuence over the classic political and diplomatic decision-makers.
Media, NGOs, multinational businesses, individuals, the political consumer, religious leaders
and many others play today their part in decision making. Consequently, many diplomatic
services undergo profound changes in structure and working methods these years in order to
adapt to this new working environment. Especially, the way of communicating in order to reach
these new stakeholders will be pivotal in the future. Old fashion formal ways of communicating
will yield to the use of internet based communication, i.e. through social and other mass media.
th
Anne M. Chermak
Anne M. Chermak is an international public affairs and policy expert who in her diplomatic
career served in U.S. embassies across Europe and Eurasia, attaining the rank of Minister
Counselor. In Moscow, she directed the State Departments largest overseas exchange
program with a budget of $40 million. In Berlin, she signicantly expanded U.S. engage-
ment with Muslim minorities and the embassys use of new information technologies. In
Washington, she played a key role in shaping new U.S. Government programs to promote
democracy and free markets in Central and Eastern Europe. The rst U.S. diplomat to
serve as visiting professor at Russias leading international affairs university, MGIMO, Anne
was also Diplomat in Residence at the University of Southern Californias Center on Public
Diplomacy in Los Angeles. Ms. Chermak received a B.A. degree with honors from the Uni-
versity of Michigan and completed executive leadership seminars conducted by Harvard
Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government. She is currently Co-Director of Dillen
Associates LLC, a strategic communications consulting rm based in San Francisco and
Croatia.
th
After the 1989 Revolutions: The Wonder Years
by Anne M. Chermak
We will bury you Nikita Khrushchev, 1956
Communism. Whats that? I think we talked about it in a history lesson, but I was ill. 2008,
a 17-year-old student at the Carl von Linne School in what was East Berlin
1
American children, myself included, who grew up during the Cold War watching Khrushchev
shouting and banging his shoe at the UN and threatening to bury them, along with vivid
images of the Iron Curtain dividing Europe, never thought they would see in their lifetimes that
hated Wall fall and the communist system collapse. When it came in November 1989, there
was jubilation, relief, and suddenly a tremendous opportunity to help make Europe democratic,
whole and free.

That same month, the Support for East European Democracy (SEED) Act was passed by the
U.S. Congress and became law, with an authorization of $938 million dollars. The primary
goal of the SEED Act of 1989 was to promote democratic and free market transitions in the
countries of Central and Eastern Europe, to enable them to overcome their communist legacy
and become reliable, productive members of the Euro-Atlantic community.
How the U.S. used public diplomacy as part of that effort and whether the lessons learned are
relevant in todays world are the subject of this analysis. This paper will examine these issues
from a practitioners perspective.
New assistance coordination departments were created at the United States Information
Agency (USIA), which had responsibility for the U.S. Governments public diplomacy programs;
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of State. Staffs
at U.S. embassies throughout the region were expanded, and new embassies established in
capitals that had been part of the Soviet empire. I was the Deputy Director of the Ofce of the
Presidents East European Initiative, which played the leading role in coordinated our public
diplomacy assistance efforts.
th
THE VIEWS PRESENTED HERE ARE THE AUTHORS AND
DO NOT REPRESENT THOSE OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT.
A November 1990 USIA program report on the rst year of SEED stated that more than
1,000 East Europeans had participated in USIAs programs, organized under four pillars,
named after illustrious Americans:
The John Marshall Pillar, honoring our distinguished Supreme Court Chief Justice,
emphasized democratic governance, rule of law, legislative and judicial reform. Programs
in this area included John Marshall Chairs at Central and Eastern European universities,
visits to the U.S. by local government, parliamentary, and political ofcials to meet with
professional counterparts, and U.S. Academic Specialists sent to Central and Eastern
Europe in the elds of law and politics;
The Alexander Hamilton Pillar, named after the rst U.S. Treasury Secretary, supported
free enterprise, management training, and entrepreneurship; it provided fellowships for
young East European entrepreneurs, and sent American experts on management and free
markets to teach in the region;
Noah Webster, known as the father of U.S.education as well as being an esteemed
lexicographer, was the name given to programs that included book translations and
donations, educational advising, English teaching, and internships and training for media
specialists.
Samuel Gompers was a prominent American labor union leader, and in his name two-
way exchanges on labor-management relations, workplace issues, and free trade unionism
were conducted.
Available funding that rst year was $3 million from SEED, $3 million from USIAs base
budget, and $350 thousand for media training from a supplemental congressional
appropriation. The report noted that USIA had not only met, but exceeded the Presidents
commitment for support to the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe.
2
Two
major initiatives I developed and organized during those rst years were:
-- A White House Conference on Economies in Transition: Management Training and Market
Economics Education in Central and Eastern Europe in February 1991. This brought
together CEOs from Fortune 500 companies and top American university presidents to
brainstorm ideas and proposals with education, business and government leaders from
CEE countries. President Bush addressed the group.
-- The Charter Conference of the Alliance of Universities for Democracy, in November
1990, in Budapest, Hungary. A delegation of about 15 U.S. university presidents, led by
University of Tennessee President Lamar Alexander, met with CEE counterparts to forge
partnerships with universities in the region.
United States Information Centers, open to citizens long denied access to accurate
information about the West and its democratic and free market systems, proliferated.Tens
of thousands of students and professionals came to the U.S. to study and meet with
professional counterparts. American media, legislative, managerial and legal specialists
traveled to Central and Eastern Europe to provide training and advice.
IT WAS A WONDER DECADE.
THERE WAS AN EXHILARATING QUALITY TO IT ALL.
Jerry Aumente, a veteran journalist and professor who conducted training programs all
over the region, remarked, Learning about media independence has to be done on the
job. The process is akin to changing from propeller to jet engines while the plane is in ight:
Just staying aloft is a great challenge.
3

Within the U.S. Government, there was extraordinary cooperation across institutional lines
to respond to this once in a lifetime opportunity. Congress introduced and passed SEED
in a matter of weeks. I believe everyone across all branches of the U.S. Government
saw this as an historic opportunity after over 40 years of Cold War. We had lived with
the Cold War so long-- for many, our entire lives-- that the political will was very strong to
seize the initiative and move forward quickly. The U.S. government bureaucracy dedicated
substantial human and nancial resources, and engaged the private sector and NGOs, to
make it all work.
Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. Government invested $4.8 billion in Central and East
European countries through SEED; 14% of that total was devoted to strengthening
democratic institutions. That amount was signicantly augmented through the regular
budgets of the agencies and departments engaged in the region.
4

Did the American contribution to building democracy and free markets in Central and
Eastern Europe result in countries having a favorable impression of the United States? In
the denition of soft power coined by eminent Harvard Professor Joseph Nye, did the U.S.
succeed in getting others to want what it wanted? I believe the answer is a resounding
yes.
The State Departments 2007 Report to Congress on the SEED ACT noted that the 16
countries covered by the Act had made signicant, and at times dramatic, progress over
the intervening years, and added, By helping move these countries toward Euro-Atlantic
integration, USG assistance created lasting partnerships and promoted long-term stability
in the region. At that point, 10 SEED recipient nations had become NATO members,
now there are 12, and 10 were EU members, with Croatia and Macedonia now candidate
countries.
But was it all smooth sailing? What was going on behind the scenes? What were the
dynamic tensions in the decision-making and implementation process?
th
If foreign affairs agencies and departments supporting the transition effort in CEE were
doing their jobs well, why were their funds cut in succeeding years, and in some cases entire
agencies, namely, the U.S. Information Agency, dissolved and their functions absorbed into
larger bureaucracies?
Even as USIA was moving ahead smartly to meet the challenges of democratic and free
market transition in CEE, utilizing the best tools of PD: listening to what key players in the
region needed
5
; responding with an array of exchanges and training programs that brought
students and professionals to the U.S. and sent American specialists to the region; and
enlisting the support of the private sector and the NGO community, those successes were
not sufcient to stave off budget cuts, downsizing, and ultimately, the abolishment of USIA
and folding of the public diplomacy function into the State Department in October 1999.
Several factors were at work here, and together, they created the perfect storm that led to
USIAs demise, and the resulting weakening of U.S. ability to conduct its public diplomacy.
It failed to cast off its Cold War Agency moniker. While it was true that USIA was created
at the start of the Cold War, it was not conceived solely as a Cold War instrument.
6
Was it
not the case that all U.S. foreign affairs and national security entities were ghting the Cold
War in the post-WW II era? And yet, no one referred to the State Department or the CIA
as Cold War agencies. All the foreign affairs agencies were dealing with the crucial foreign
policy and national security issues of the time, and USIA was shaping and implementing
public diplomacy that supported our national security goals.
In addition, USIA failed to assert its leadership in democratization efforts in Central and
Eastern Europe. While a key player in SEED implementation, given its expertise in the
region and primacy in public diplomacy, USIA ceded the lead role to the U.S. Agency for
International Development, based largely on that agencys ability to process and parcel
out very large grants, as well as USAIDs experience in conducting practical training as
opposed to exchanges. There was a failure of leadership at the top.
7
As Joseph Nye observed in an analysis in 2004 in the journal Foreign Affairs:
With the end of the Cold War, soft power seemed expendable, and Americans became
more interested in saving money than in investing in soft power.
Americans wanted a peace dividend. It was the end of history and the West had
triumphed. We had CNN to communicate with the world. The Clinton Administration, from
1993 onward, was determined to downsize, and reinvent the Federal Government, and
then in 1994, Republican Senator Jesse Helms became Chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee and set as a top priority consolidating the foreign affairs agencies
into the State Department.
8
Even as foreign affairs agencies continued to receive special
appropriations for their work in Central and Eastern Europe and the countries of the former
Soviet Union, the USIA base budget was steadily shrinking, staffs cut, libraries closed, and
programs, such as magazines, exhibits, and cultural offerings were either severely reduced
or done away with entirely.
Citing Joseph Nye again, During this period, resources for the U.S. mission in Indonesia,
the worlds largest Muslim nation, were cut in half. By the time it was taken over by the
State Department at the end of the decade, USIA had only 6,715 employees (compared
to 12,000 at its peak in the mid-1960s). Soft power had become so identied with ghting
the Cold War that few Americans noticed that, with the advent of the information revolution,
soft power was becoming more important, not less.
As we all learned, it was not the end of history. We just moved to a new chapter. We had
to do our best to face new challenges, as 9/11 so tragically taught us.
Were there lessons learned and best practices from our work in Central and Eastern Europe
and the countries of the former Soviet Union that could be applied to public diplomacy
and democracy development in the Near East, South Asia, and other countries with large
Muslim populations?
I believe the answer is yes. Granted, the contexts are not exactly comparable, but I think
the key to success in public diplomacy is long-term investment, and the ability to tailor
programs to particular circumstances.
First and foremost, expanding people-to-people exchanges, especially those involving
young people. This is a tried and true public diplomacy tool, which goes back to the
very inception of U.S. international engagement after WW II. When President Obama
addressed the Muslim world from Cairo about a year ago, he highlighted the expansion of
exchanges as a priority.
As a colleague of mine has pointed out, among what remains of U.S. friendly or simply
moderate voices in Muslim countries and elsewherethere are many people who will tie
their appreciation for or understanding of the United States to some early experience in the
U.S. Information Service Library or cultural center or, very often, to time spent in the United
States as a student, ofcial visitor, or classroom teacher.
9

President Obama himself spoke of visiting the U.S. Information Center and Library in
Jakarta as a boy.
The Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study Program(YES) was established in October,
2002 to provide scholarships for high school students, 15-17 years of age, from countries
with signicant Muslim populations to spend up to one academic year in the U.S. Since
2003, more than 4,400 students from more than forty countries have participated in the
YES program.
This program was modeled on the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program started in
countries of the former Soviet Union. More than 20,000 high school students from 12
Eurasian countries have studied in the U.S. under FLEX since its inception in 1993.
th
Other exchange programs with the Muslim world are underway as well, but funding, which
in 2005 was $65 million, needs to be vastly increased.
10
A new program started in Russia just before I arrived there in 2001 called American
Corners, small information centers placed in regional libraries, which we then expanded
and promoted as a model for U.S. missions around the world, could also be highly effective
in Muslim majority countries. There are currently 67 of these corners in the Near East and
South Central Asia, out of a total of 360 worldwide, but here again, the numbers should be
increased.
We were able to meet the challenges of democratic and market economic transition in
CEE because we had the structure and resources to do so. The subsequent weakening,
downsizing, restructuring, and nally merger into a much larger bureaucracy with a
very different, and many would argue incompatible, culturein the words of one public
diplomacy veteran, traditional diplomacy is from Mars and public diplomacy is from Venus
11
-- meant that the U.S. was poorly equipped to move ahead smartly with a robust and
effective public diplomacy program for the countries of the Near East and South Asia.
Are the challenges different today? Yes, to a certain extent. Before the information
revolution, totalitarian regimes could block information from the outside world from reaching
their people, and the conicts were among nations. Today, we are dealing with forces and
issues that transcend national boundaries; furthermore, as a result of amazing technological
advances in communications, we are bombarded with information. In a recent analysis
in Foreign Policy magazine, two American political science professors note: technology
massively multiplies soft powerparticularly video technology, and particularly in the hands
of nonstate actors.
12

And yet, as I reviewed critiques of U.S. public diplomacy for this presentation, I was struck
by how often scholars, analysts and practitioners recalled what is probably the most quoted
observation on public diplomacy made by esteemed American broadcast journalist Edward
R. Murrow, who led the U.S. Information Agency during the Kennedy Administration: The
real art in this business is not so much moving information or guidance or policy ve or
10,000 miles, that is an electronics problem. The real art is moving it the last three feet in
face-to-face communication. This is still the essence of public diplomacy.
There is another quote from Murrow that presents a dilemma for the public diplomacy
practitioner: No cash register rings when a mind is changed. One hears a great deal of
discussion about branding as it applies to public diplomacy. Well, we are not selling rice
or soft drinks or running shoes.
13
Building mutual understanding among peoples, nations,
and international communities is much more complex, and goes deeper than that.
From my perspective, the effective conduct of public diplomacy is not complicated. It
consists of three key elements: First, a well-trained cadre of people who understand and
are specialists in public diplomacyit is not something that every diplomat can just pick
up and do. Second, adequate human resources and funding to do the work. Third, a
degree of autonomy within the foreign affairs establishment that allows for greater creativity
in presenting a nation in all its dimensions, as well as a longer-term focus on building
relationships. Today, we are decient in all three.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates remarked a few years ago that the Pentagon has
more people in military bands than the State Department has Foreign Service Ofcers. At
present, we have just over 1,000 Public Diplomacy Ofcers in a Foreign Service Ofcer
corps of 6,500.
The Pentagon budget is about $600 billion, the State Departments about $50 billion; of
that, only about $1.6 billion is for public diplomacy, including broadcasting.
Exchanges of all kinds: academic, professional, sports, and cultural, together with robust
information programs, are essential to bridging the last 3 feet in communicating with the
world. New social media are important, to be sure, but represent just one tool.
During what Ive termed the Wonder Years, the U.S. used public diplomacy to achieve great
success in helping to make Europe democratic, whole and free. Todays global challenges
make it clear that public diplomacy is more important than ever before.
FOOTNOTES:
1. Roger Cohen, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, Feb. 3, 2008.
2. Report: USIA, The Presidents Eastern European Initiative, Washington, DC, November
1990.
3. Jerome Aumente, Washington Journalism Review, April 1991.
4. Between 1992 and 2000, USG budgets for the countries of the former Soviet Union
(excluding the Baltic States, which were covered under SEED), totaled over $17 billion,
$7 billion of which came through the special Freedom Support Act legislation.
5. Listening as a key element of a nations public diplomacy is the subject of a piece by
Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995-99, entitled
Lend Them Your Ear, Foreign Policy, Jan./Feb. 2008.
6. Mark B. Lewis and Eugene Rosenfeld, Learning from History, Foreign Service Journal,
December 1997, Washington DC.
7. For an excellent analysis of the factors that contributed to the downward slide of the
U.S. Information Agency during the Bush I administration, see Speeding the Strange
Death of American Public Diplomacy: The George H.W. Bush Administration and the
U.S. Information Agency, Nicholas J. Cull, Diplomatic History, Vol. 34, Issue 1, Dec.
2009.
th
8. When Senator Jesse Helms took over the chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, he was determined to get rid of USIA, USAID, and ACDA, and essentially
shut down the work of the Committee in the fall of 1995 over this demand. USIA
was put on the chopping block, its functions folded into the State Department in Oct.
1999, the much smaller ACDA was also merged into State; USAID, thanks to the
intense efforts of its much stronger director, managed to retain much of its status as
an independent agency.
9. Barry Ballow, Academic and Professional Exchanges with the Islamic World: an
Undervalued Tool, Engaging the Arab and Islamic Worlds through Public Diplomacy,
William Rugh, ed., Public Diplomacy Council, Washington, D.C. 2004.
10. For detailed recommendations, see Changing Minds Winning Peace: A New Strategic
Direction for U.S. Public Diplomacy in the Arab & Muslim World, Report of the US
Advisory Group on Public Diplomacy for the Arab and Muslim World, Oct. 1, 2003.
11. William P. Kiehl, Foreign Service Journal, Dec. 2009.
12. Bruce W. Jentleson and Steven Weber, Americas Hard Sell, Foreign Policy,
November/December 2008, Washington, D.C.
13. Sen. Richard Lugar, among others understood the fallacy of applying a Madison
Avenue approach to public diplomacy. At a hearing on public diplomacy and Islam,
he noted, The missing ingredient in American public diplomacy between the fall of
the Berlin Wall and the Sept 11 attacks was not advertising cleverness. It was a rm
commitment by the American people and the American leadership to all the painstaking
work required to build lasting relationships overseas and advance our visions of fairness
and opportunity. Richard Lugar Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 27 Feb. 2003
as recounted by Cynthia P. Schneider, Culture Communicates: U.S. Diplomacy That
Works, no.94, Sept. 2004, Discussion Papers in Diplomacy, Netherlands Institute of
International Relations Clingendael.
th
Hanna Brogren
Hanna Brogren is since 2008 the Director of Communication for the City of Stockholm,
an organization with 42 000 employees. From 2001 to 2007 Hanna Brogren was Director
of Communication at the Swedish Government Ofces. Some of her main achievements
there were to gather all the ministries under one joint web and to build a digital press and
conference centre for the government which still have daily web casts of broadcast quality.
The purpose was to make government work more transparent, developing the coordination
and strategic internal communication.
When Sweden held its rst presidency in the EU in 2001, Hanna was in charge of com-
munication strategy and implementation then organized in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
She modernized the EU web communication and changed the presidency into a more user
friendly series: eu2001.se etc, which is still in use. In the 1990s Hanna was doctoral student
in communication at the Swedish Institute for Public Health, and designed communication
campaigns preventing alcohol and drug abuse.
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Stockholm, First European Green Capital
by Hanna Brogren
Stockholm has been selected the First European Green Capital 2010, by the European
Commission. The main objective for the City of Stockholm is to be a world class city to
combine growth with sustainability. The city has an environmental program and a method
of systematic work to reach the goals. Winning the award has resulted in a communication
strategy aimed at these target audiences:
1. Decision makers in European cities to share best practice and ideas.
2.Journalists to make the prize well known and to trigger others to better results
3. Citizens of Stockholm to make them proud of their city so that they participate and
make Stockholm even more clean!
In the various activities we collaborate within the city as well as with national government and
private parties. We create meetings, both physical and digital and we use all opportunities
we can access to expose our Green messages. We mix every day work with festivities.
Communicating the award is part of communicating the Citys long term vision for sustainability
and growth.
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Mark E. Dillen
Mark E. Dillen, head of Dillen Communications LLC, is a leading authority on international media and cross-cultural communi-
cation, specializing in international business development. He writes several blogs on U.S. politics and foreign policy for the
Foreign Policy Association in New York and the Center on Public Diplomacy at the University of South Californias Annenberg
School for Communications.
During a career with the US State Department, Mark managed media and cultural relations for US embassies in Rome, Berlin,
Moscow, Soa and Belgrade.
He was also Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the US Embassy in Rome. From 2000-2001, he was an advisor to the
State Departments ofce handling assistance programs in the former Soviet Union. He later was senior media and political
advisor to the US Agency for International Development in Moscow and after that joined The PBN Company, an American
strategic communications rm in Moscow, where he was responsible for the companys largest account, the U.S. Treasury
Department, and represented PBN in its dealings with the European Roundtable of Industrialists, PriceWaterhouseCoopers
and many other clients.
He twice served as election observer and organizer for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) during
elections in Belarus and Kosovo.
In government and private sector work, Mark has supervised budgets up to $10 million and a staff of 20 professionals. He has
led crisis management, developed new business, lead award-winning teams and taught media and public relations seminars.
He has a Masters degree in Journalism from Columbia University, where he was an International Fellow. He has been a Diplo-
mat-in-Residence at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies of Johns Hopkins University and attended the
program for Senior Managers in Government at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government.
Dillen is a member of the German American Business Association and an advisor to the Center for Cultural Diplomacy in Berlin.
He has lectured at Berlins Freie Universitaet, the University of Southern California and many universities in Eastern Europe.
In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of National and World Economy in Soa for his contribution
to post-Communist educational development. While in government service, he set up the rst international gathering of civic
education specialists, held in Prague in 1994.
While in Rome, he led the US Embassys organization of a ve-nation summit for President Clinton, Gerhard Schroeder and
other world leaders.
Mark speaks Russian, German, Italian, Croatian, Serbian and Bulgarian. He is married to Anne Chermak, formerly a Senior
Foreign Service ofcer in the U.S. State Department. They have two children, Vanessa and Nicholas. Vanessa is an attorney
in Boston and Nicholas is a musician in Denver.
th
6. ABOUT BLEDCOM

The primary mission of the international symposia that have been organized over the past
17 years under the aegis of BledCom, is to provide a venue for public relations scholars
and practitioners from around the world to exchange ideas and perspectives about public
relations practice in all its forms such as corporate communication, public affairs, reputa-
tion management, issues and crisis management, etc. Building from this history, BledCom
seeks to help establish a state-of-the-art body of knowledge of the eld with each annual
symposium attempting to widen the horizons of the eld by attracting current and new per-
spectives and state-of-the-art research from public relations and related disciplines.
Toward this end, every BledCom symposium seeks to offer a venue for practitioners and
scholars to share their conceptual perspectives, empirical ndings (adopting any/all meth-
odologies), or case studies related to the eld. As an international symposium, BledCom
welcomes participation of scholars (including doctoral students) and practitioners from
every region of the world so that we can help improve the public relations profession and
theory-building to cope with a world that is globalizing rapidly. The symposium is known for
its relaxing, pleasant and above all informal atmosphere, where all the participants can en-
gage in debate and discussions with colleagues who have similar interests, and of course,
enjoy the delights of the beautiful Lake Bled setting.
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7. BLEDCOM 2010
BledCom Programme Committee:
Dejan Veri
(University of Ljubljana, Pristop, Slovenia)
Krishamurthy Sriramesh
(Massey University, New Zealand)
Danny Moss
(Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
Jon White
(University of Birmingham, UK)
Organized by:
Pristop d.o.o.
in cooperation with
EUPRERA
University of Ljubljana,
Faculty of Social Sciences
PRSS
Institute for Public Relations
BledCom Programme Committee:
Dejan Veri
(University of Ljubljana, Pristop, Slovenia)
Krishamurthy Sriramesh
(Massey University, New Zealand)
Danny Moss
(Manchester Metropolitan University, UK)
Jon White
(University of Birmingham, UK)
Ana Tkalac Veri
(University of Zagreb, Croatia)
Nada Serajnik Sraka
(Government Communication Ofce, Slovenia)
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8. ABOUT PRISTOP
AND DPG
Pristop is a leading regional communications and consulting company, which has provided
services to the most important local and global companies, state, non-governmental and
international organizations for twenty years. In 2005, Pristop and Digitel Komunikacije,
leading Croatian communications agency, formed a strategic partnership through
consolidation of ownership. In the year 2009 they formally launched Digitel Pristop
Group (DPG) which is the largest marketing and total communication services group
in the region between Vienna and Athens, with its main ofces in Zagreb and Ljubljana
and regional ofces located in Belgrade, Brussels, Pristina, Sarajevo, Skopje, Vienna
and Athens. The Group generated a turnover in excess of 100 million EUR in 2009.
Its core activities comprise strategic consulting, project planning, implementation and
evaluation in the area of public relations and communications management (corporate
and marketing communications), advertising, event management, media planning
and buying, new media, marketing management and business consulting, and media
publications monitoring and analysis.
www.pristop.si
www.digitelpristopgroup.com
T: +386 1 2391 200
F: +386 1 2391 210
E mail: pristop@pristop.si
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For More Information About
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