More than any other organization, governments use public relations as a way to reach their citizens and share information with them. “The central value of public relations for government is its ability to engender a more informed society through ethical, transparent, and honest communications between government and its citizens” (Corbett). Although the United States government uses public relations methods to inform citizens of valuable services such as food stamps, WIC, and services that protect victims of abuse, a large portion of the taxpayer funds that the government uses to public relations purposes is used in an unethical manner. As far back as 1913, special interest groups have raised concerns about the appropriateness of government use of public relations. Political activists have promoted “vague and general fears that a government relations activity could be perverted into a propaganda machine that would manipulate public opinion” (Turney).
In November 2008, the Albany Times Union reported that certain local government and law enforcement officials were using coded stickers on their windshields to avoid parking tickets. These stickers were also widely distributed among the personal relations of officials. When Albany Police Chief James Tuffey was approached by the media to respond to the allegations, he made a false statement, saying, “There’s no policy here on that, I can tell you, that I know of. If there’s anything for there that has been abused, I’m going to deal with it.” (Walters). It is later revealed that Tuffey started the practice years earlier, when he was the head of the city’s police union.
This is a prime example of how even small departments within government abuse power and mistreat public relations. If Tuffey had admitted to his wrongdoing when the story first broke, the scandal probably would have died down much quicker and he might have earned some respect from the community for being honest and direct. He should also have taken the initiative to respond to the allegations as soon as the news broke, instead of waiting for journalists to approach him for comment.
When a laptop went missing from a secure room inside a Veterans Affairs facility in Birmingham, Alabama, officials acted quickly. Rather than wait for reporters to discover the problem and break the news, the VA immediately distributed a press release informing the public of the actions and steps the VA was taking to protect the people whose personal information was compromised. His quick and comprehensive response earned positive media attention from the Veterans Affairs office.
A similar situation occurred in Virginia, when a government warehouse was broken into with the help of an employee “who basically looked the other way” (Walters). The governor’s office sent out a press release reporting that a variety of items, including weapons, had been stolen from a state warehouse. This was a smart PR move, as it allowed the governor’s office to control the story early on while being honest with the public. “If the press feels like they’re being misled, it only makes them more interested. Then it’s a piranha feeding frenzy, and everyone is trying to get in on the story” (Walters).
Public relations professionals are often called on by the government to create propaganda and sell the idea of war. Some techniques used by government-employed public relations professionals include paying journalists, deliberately distorting or misrepresenting information, and providing information to the media that is reported as news without providing legitimate sources.
The United States government used a lot of public relations work to promote the Gulf War in Iraq. John Rendon, the founder of the Washington-based public relations firm the Rendon Group, billed himself as a “perception manager.” Pentagon planners define “perception management” as “actions that convey and (or) withhold selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, and objective reasoning.” (Rampton & Stauber) Visiting the US Air Force Academy in 1996, Rendon reminded cadets about the hundreds of Kuwaitis who were broadcast on television waving small US flags as US troops traveled through the city. from Kuwait. He later admitted to the cadets that the United States government had hired him to organize that event in a scheme to encourage American citizens to support the war.
The 2003 war in Iraq produced similar forms of media manipulation. When it comes to propaganda for war purposes when the reasons behind the war are unclear or questionable, the PR firms that help sell the idea contribute indirectly to the victims.
References:
Corbett, Gerard F. (2012-3-15). “PRSA to Congress: Don’t Kill the Public Relations Messenger”, PRSA Roll Call.
Turney, Michael (2009). Online Readings in Public Relations: Government Public Relations. http://www.nku.edu/~turney/prclass/readings/government.html
Walters, Jonathan (2010) Preventing Government PR Disasters: Agencies caught in the eye of a scandal need to plan ahead to calm the storm of media attention. http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/Preventing-Government-PR-Disasters.html
Rampton, Sheldon and Stauber, John (2003-8-4). How to sell a war. In these times