Catholic University of Eastern

Africa: Gaba Campus, Eldoret

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
Department of Marketing & Management

CMM 423 – PUBLIC RELATIONS

Chapter 5:
Public Relations & Politics

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
In this Chapter, we shall learn…
1.Government PR
2.Political Communication, Public Relations,
and the Public Sphere
3.Public Affairs
4.Conclusion

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 INTRODUCTION
Any discussion of the role of public relations (PR)
within the political sphere falls into two areas:
1. The use of PR practices by government and
2. The use of PR and public affairs by non-governmental
actors in the political process.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 INTRODUCTION
Political public relations is the management process by
which an organization or individual actor for political
purposes, through purposeful communication and
action, seeks to influence and to establish, build, and
maintain beneficial relationships and reputations with
its key publics to help support its mission.
From this perspective, political public relations lies at
the intersection of public relations, political
communication, political science, political marketing,
public affairs, political management, political
campaigning and other related fields.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 LEARNING OBJECTIVE 1

1. GOVERNMENT PR

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 GOVERNMENT PR
 Governments were among the first organizations to need, and to
practice, public relations as a way of maintaining appropriate
relationships with their citizens.
 They still need to maintain such relationships but, in Kenya
today, as well as in many other countries, they rarely call it
"public relations."
 The Government use public relations as a tool for spreading
information and awareness about every scheme and policies
between the citizens of the country.
 So, Governments have special departments for Public relations.
 Because publics relations create a positive and strong bonding
between the government and public.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 GOVERNMENT PR
 Also called “government media relations”
 A very specific and sensitive type of PR,
 Focuses mainly on official communication between the
governments, their official representatives, and various
organizations.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 GOVERNMENT PR
 By definition, democratic governments should reflect
public opinion and work best when the citizens are well-
informed.
 Thus, public relations should have a natural and welcome
role in the government.
 There are many of examples of what we see as public
relations undertaken by national and county governments
following the 2010 Constitution
 Publicity, promotional, and informational campaigns as
well as Public Participation programmes are launched by
various Government Departments

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 Government PR
 Public relations professionals shape
an organization's image.
 They build the brand, spread the organization’s
message and minimize the effect of negative publicity.
 Public Relations Departments supervise and assess public
attitudes, and maintain mutual relations and understanding
between Government Ministries/Departments and their
publics.
 They improve channels of communication and
institute new ways of setting up a two-way flow of
information and understanding.
 In a small department, the PR person handles all the roles –
cheerleader, media contact person, the deflector of criticism, etc.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
 PR OFFICER FUNCTIONS
1.  Liaising with local press for coverage of Departmental functions.
2. Coordinating press reports and action on relevant inquiries and issues in
consultation with head of department/ministry.
3. Preparing press statements on Departmental matters in consultation with head of
department.
4. Liaising with Regional and county heads with regard to public relations issues.
5. Overseeing all internal and external communications including press releases,
publications, web communications and documentations.
6. Identifying and supporting the Department`s communication needs and helping
raise its profile as well as publication of its mandate, objectives and activities.
7. Formulating and implementing public relations and communication strategies.

viii. Assisting the department in creating and sustaining positive relations within
internal and the external publics.

ix. Organizing and overseeing the department’s corporate affairs, events and
public relations activities.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
 PR OFFICER FUNCTIONS
8. Assisting the department in creating and sustaining positive
relations within internal and the external publics.
9. Organizing and overseeing the department’s corporate affairs,
events and public relations activities.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 Government Spokesperson
 The GoK has the office of Government Spokesman
 Every Ministry has a similar officer
 The Police Spokesperson
 They are called communications specialists, public
information specialists, or public affairs managers,
government PR practitioners.
 They contribute to: 
 Implementing public policy.
 Assisting the news media cover government activities
and events.
 Informing citizens about government activities.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 LEARNING OBJECTIVE 2
Political Communication, Public Relations, and the
Public Sphere

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
 Political communication
 Political communication can be defined as the
connection concerning politics and citizens and the
interaction modes that connect these groups to each
other.
 It is a subfield of communication and political science
that is concerned with how information spreads and
influences politics, policy makers, the news media,
and citizens.
 Communicating in politics is audience centered so it
focuses on everyone public, private and mass media
alike.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
 Fields and areas of study
 The field of political communication is focused on 4
main areas:
1. Election Campaigns
 Political communications involved in campaigning for elections
2. Government operations
 This role is usually fulfilled by the Ministry of ICT (Kenya).
 It is in charge of maintaining communication legislation and
would be responsible for setting the telecommunications policy
and regulations as well as issuing broadcasting licenses,
comments, press release, etc.
3. Media Content:
 The interaction between politics, media content and the public.
4. Communication Processes:
 How people communicate about politics. Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
 POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
 The role of social media
 Social media platforms are increasingly used for
political news and information by adults in in many
countries
In Kenya, Facebook, WhatsApp, Youtube, Instagram,
among other platforms, have taken the country by storm in
the current political campaigns.
A communication platform such as social media is
persuasive, and often works to change or influence
opinions when it comes to political views because of the
abundance of ideas, thoughts, and opinions circulating
through the social media platform.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 ROLE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
 The Role of PR in Government and Politics
 PR specialists are called upon to act as two-way
mediators between politics, the media, the
economy, the administration and civil society
A role crucial for any democracy.
 They identify connections in communication,
implement communication projects and measures and
evaluate their outcomes.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 THE PUBLIC SPHERE
 The public sphere is a kind of interface of society that
mediates between different spheres.
 When citizens are engaged in politics as part of non-
government organisations, movements, and practices, and
when they discuss politics in public, then they are part of
the public sphere.
 Political protests take place in the public sphere.
 In the past and in current times, there has been much
talk about the role of new social movements, such as the
environmental movement, the gender equality
movement, the LGBT movement, the anti-FGM
movement, the animal rights movement, etc., in politics.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
 Defining public affairs:
 “issues arising from the relationship of the public to an
organization such as a government body or a financial
institution.”
 Examples of Public Affairs:
1. Public Administration.
2. Public Policy.
3. The Kenya Government and Politics.
4. Political Science.
5. International Affairs.
6. Women in Government.
7. Urban Planning.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
1. Public Administration.
 Public administration is a field in which leaders serve
communities to advance the common good and effect
positive change.
 Public administration professionals are equipped with skills
to manage at all levels of government (local, national, and
international); as well as nonprofit organizations.
 Role of public administration:
The implementation of government policies.
Including some responsibility for determining the policies and
programs of governments.
 Specifically,planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, and
controlling of government operations.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
2. Public Policy.
 A set of laws, guidelines, and actions decided and taken by
governments in order to work in favor of the public.
 Public policy can dictate things such as: which laws are passed,
where funding goes, and which topics concern the general public.
 It is not simply fulfilling campaign promises.
 Often, policies are debated and negotiated between parties with
different interests
 Can also involve parties that are not in the government themselves,
such as experts in fields like science, health, or climate.
 In general, public policies are shaped over a number of years and
there are several institutions that will contribute to the formation and details
of a specific policy.
 It influences how other important decisions are made; is usually formed as a
response to a specific issue that is of interest to the public; offering some sort
of solution to a problem.
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
3. The Kenya Government and Politics.
 Kenya is a republic: a system of government where people
choose representatives through elections to make decisions in
the public's interest.
 It is a representative democracy: also known as indirect
democracy, - a type of democracy where elected people
represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy
 A unitary state :  a sovereign state governed as a single entity
in which the central government is the supreme authority.
 The central government may create (or abolish) administrative
divisions (such as regional units).
 Exercise only the powers that the central government chooses to
delegate.
 Devolution: 47 County Governments (Const of Kenya 2010)
Dr. Gilbert arap Bor
 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
4. Political Science.
 Political science is the scientific study of politics.
 It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and
power, and the analysis of political activities, political
thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and
laws.
 Public Relations & Political Science
 PR in politics is employed to convey information and shape
political opinion.
 Societies/governments characterised by media, information,
attention and communication consider it very important to
orchestrate political PR in the media.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
5. International Affairs.
 Also known as International relations or global
politics.
 Focuses on the political issues and foreign affairs
affecting the world today.
 Also ranges from among relationships between countries, the roles
of sovereign states and inter-governmental organisations,
international and other non-governmental organisations as well as
multinational corporations.
 It is an interdisciplinary subject, touching on history,
economics, anthropology and sociology as well as
politics.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor

 PUBLIC AFFAIRS
6. Women in Government.
 Kenya’s 2010 Constitution introduced a quota system
designed to increase the representation of women in
elective and appointive bodies of government
 The Gender Principle -‘not more than two thirds of the members
of elective bodies shall be of the same gender’.
 Devolution and the new constitution have acted as key
enablers for women seeking public office in Kenya.

Dr. Gilbert arap Bor