PR, lobbying and Washington, according to NPR

When you consider public relations and Washington together, you probably think of powerful lobbyists with big bank accounts passing checks surreptitiously to politicians in an effort to influence public policy. I just watched a fictionalized account of the Jack Abramoff scandal – Casino Jack with Kevin Spacey – so maybe that’s what I think of. Either way, NRP recently did a piece on the unique nature of public relations in Washington, and the relationship between PR professionals and lobbyists in that arena. Often the various groups inundate Capitol Hill journalists with sometimes contradictory information – one touts a study on the health benefits of a particular item while the other offers up a study on the dangers of that same item. Gives you an idea of what journalists have to sift through on a regular basis. The playing field in Washington, of course, isn’t fair – what a surprise. Big companies have considerably more dollars to spend on PR and lobbying. Many have started using social media tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in an attempt to influence a politician’s constituents in an effort to spread their message. Take a listen to this short NRP piece, or read the transcript, to hear more about the difference between lobbying and public relations, the methods each use and how groups with less cash use different tools to make up for their lack of funds. It’s part of a larger series looking at the public relations profession in general. Take a listen when you have the chance., then take a look at the comments below. It’s clear a number of PR professionals are a bit incensed by how NPR characterizes them, and particularly when NPR asserts PR professionals don’t have to answer to anyone while lobbyists do – not true, many stay in the comments. What do you think, is NPR unfairly characterizing PR professionals?

Kayleigh Karutis