Effective: Cutlip Center's

12/2/2022
Cutlip & Center's

Effective
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Tenth Edition
PART IV
The Practice
Chapter 16
Government and Public Affairs
Copyright ©2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

Cutlip & Center's Effective Public Relations, Tenth Edition Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458
Glen Broom All rights reserved.
Study Guide
After studying Chapter 16, you should be able to:

1. List and discuss the seven major goals of government
public affairs programs.
2. Outline the three major barriers to effective public
relations in government.
3. Identify the major aspects of government–media
relations.
4. Describe public relations’ role in the military.
16-1
Government and Public Affairs
“A popular government without popular

information or a means of acquiring it is
but a prologue to a farce or tradegy, or
perhaps both.”
—James Madison
16-2
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Goals of Public Affairs in Government
1. Informing constituents about the

activities of a government agency
2. Ensuring active cooperation in
government programs
3. Fostering citizen support for established
policies and programs
16-3
Goals of Public Affairs in Government
4. Serving as the public’s advocate to

government administrators
5. Managing information internally
6. Facilitating media relations
7. Building community and nation
16-4
Informing Constituents:
Within the United States
 Every federal department and agency has a
public affairs (public relations) function.
 Each is predicated on informing and
educating, not lobbying for a desired outcome.
 Government public affairs at all levels uses
public affairs to inform constituents about
governmental activities and services.
16-5
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Informing Constituents:
Within the United States
 Serves as authoritative, accurate, objective,
and comprehensive news source.
 Projects balanced and comprehensive views of
American thought and institutions.
 Presents U.S. policies clearly and effectively,
as well as responsible discussions and
opinions on those policies
16-6
Ensuring Active Cooperation

in Government Programs
 Government is intended to provide services that
would otherwise be impractical for individuals or
groups to provide.
 Changes in society have created problems and
issues that require new regulation and
government procedures.
 Citizens have grown to expect more from all
levels of government.
16-7
Fostering Citizen
Participation and Support
• The basic justification for government
public affairs rests on two fundamental
principles:
1. Democratic government must report its
activities to the citizens.
2. Effective government administration
requires active participation and support.
16-8
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Serving as the Public’s Advocate
1. Public affairs officers monitor constituents’

views through polling, interviewing, and
maintaining contact in the community.
2. Public affairs officers represent the people’s
values, opinions, and interests to government
officials.
3. Public affairs officers must balance the need to
communicate the government agenda with the
need to communicate the public’s views back
to government. 16-9
Government Public Affairs Challenges

in the European Union (EU)
 Tensions around borders of new member states
 Concerns that the big three—Germany, Britain, and
France—will dominate the Union
 Ideological debates over how to harmonize tax policies
across the EU countries
 Divergent economies arising from differences in the
robustness of member states’ economies
 Policy differences about the movement of tourists and
workers across national borders
16-10
Barriers of Effective
Government Public Affairs
 Questionable credibility—perceptions of
government public affairs as “just PR” or
“propaganda,” implemented by “spin doctors” or
“flacks.”
 Public apathy—contempt for politicians and
cynicism about the motives of government.
 Legislative hostility—erroneous perceptions that
government public affairs is forbidden by law.
16-11
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Hostility Against
Government Public Affairs
 Continuing struggle between the press (the people’s
right to know”) and government officials’ perceived need
for discretion
 Unrelenting power struggle between the legislative and
executive branches of government
 Escalating power struggle between the major political
parties
 Protests of special interests when threatened by
proposed legislation or regulations
16-12
Government Dependence on Media
Except for well-defined areas, such as

national security, litigation, certain
personnel records, etc., virtually all
government information is open to
inspection by the press, as well as by
the public.
16-13
Media Access to Government:

Embedded Journalists During “Operation Iraqi Freedom”
 Embedded journalists’ stories were less contextualized

and more episodic than those of nonembedded
journalists.
 Embedded coverage was more favorable toward the
military and its personnel than that of nonembedded
journalists.
 Embedded coverage of Operations Iraqi Freedom was
more positive than that of other conflicts with few
embedded journalists.
16-14
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Concerns about Embedded Journalists

During “Operation Iraqi Freedom”
 Embedded journalists during military operations
affected both the nature and tone of news coverage.
 Embedded journalists must conduct self-censorship,
which may lead to less objective reporting and
disclosure.
 Episodic coverage absent context could force
embedded journalists to ignore broader views and
more meaningful details of war.
16-15
Statement of Principle for

Military Public Affairs
“The American public must be informed
about the United States’ military
operations, and this information must be
provided through both the news media
and the government.”
—Colonel Barry E. Willey
Military Review (1999)
16-16
16-17

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Effective: Cutlip Center's

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12/2/2022

Cutlip & Center's

Copyright ©2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Prentice Hall

After studying Chapter 16, you should be able to:

Government and Public Affairs

“A popular government without popular

Goals of Public Affairs in Government

1. Informing constituents about the

Goals of Public Affairs in Government

4. Serving as the public’s advocate to

Ensuring Active Cooperation

Serving as the Public’s Advocate

1. Public affairs officers monitor constituents’

Government Public Affairs Challenges

Government Dependence on Media

Except for well-defined areas, such as

Media Access to Government:

 Embedded journalists’ stories were less contextualized

Concerns about Embedded Journalists

Statement of Principle for

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