This presentation is a class assignment to give information about public relations in government and politics.

1. Government and Politics
• Governmet Public Relations
• Public Information and Public Affairs
• The Federal Government
• The White House
• Congrass
• Federal Agencies
• State Governments
• Local Governments
• Government Relations by Corporations
• Lobbying
• Pitfalls of Lobbying
• Grassroots Lobbying
• Election Campaigns

2. Government Public
Relations
• In the United states government public information officers
(PIOs) and public affairs officers (PAOs) engage in a variety of
activities
• Ideally, the mission of government is public service; no one
makes private profit directly from the operation of
governments, and governments are noncommercial
• For all forms of government to function efficiently, each branch
needs to communicate effectively with its constituents

3. Government
Public Relations
• Skilled public relations professionals are required at every level of
our government to ensure that information is disseminated clearly,
efficiently, and to the largest number of people
• Aspiring public relations professionals should consider
opportunities for employment in government
• A related career path is work in governmental affairs for a
corporation or a nonprofit
• Closely linked to governmental affairs is lobbying

4. Public Information
and
Public Affairs
• Inform citizens of the services available and the manner in which
they may be used
• Governments provide information in the hope that citizens will
absorb the necessary background to participate fully in the
formation of government policies
• Many people, including journalist criticize public information
activist for producing reams of useless news releases promoting
individual legislators or justifying questionable polices, pairing
that with how much it cost to maintain government

5. Public Information
and
Public Affairs
• One study found that almost 90 percent of one state government’s
news releases were used by daily and weekly newspapers
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture public affairs office, for
example, receives thousands of inquiries each year
• Two-thirds of the request can be answered by referring citizens to
a simple pamphlet, a brochure, or a link on its website – all
produced under the umbrella of public information

6. Public Information
and
Public Affairs
• The tax payers of California spend an estimated $100 million
annually to deal with the associated costs of teenage pregnancy
• Consequently, $5.7 million spent on successful education
campaign potentially could save the state a great deal of money in
the form an of reduced welfare costs

7. The Federal
Government
• The U.S. government is one of the world’s leading collectors and
disseminators of information
• Advertising is a key government activity
• Federal agencies spend several hundred million dollars each year on
public service advertising, primarily to promote military recruitment,
government health services and the U.S. Postal Service

8. The White
House
• At the apex of government public relations efforts is the White
House – the president and his staff
• The president receives more media attention than Congress and all
the federal agencies combined
• It is duly reported when the president visits a neighborhood school,
tours a housing development, meets a head of state, or even takes
his wife to New York City on a date
• All presidents have taken advantage of the intense media interest to
implement public relations strategies to improve their popularity,
generate support for programs, and explain embarrassing policy
decisions

9. Congress
• Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate regularly
produce a barrage of news releases, brochures, radio and TV
statements, emails, electronic newsletters, and videos all
• Most also have Facebook pages and Twitter accounts to keep their
constituents informed on a daily basis
• Critics complain that most of these materials are self-promoted and
have little value
• Each member of Congress employs a press secretary

10. Federal
Agencies
• Public affairs officers (PAOs) and public information specialist engage
in task that would be familiar to any member of the public relations
department of a corporation
• They answer press and public inquiries, write news releases, work on
newsletters, prepare speeches for top officials, oversee the
production of brochures, and plan special events

11. Federal
Agencies
• Senior level public affairs specialist counsel top management about
communications strategies and recommend how the agency should
respond to crisis situations
• One of the largest public affairs operations in the federal government
is conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) - the cabinet-
level agency that oversees the armed forces. Its operations vary from
the mundane to the exotic

12. Federal
Agencies
• The Pentagon (nickname for the DOD) also engages in recruitment
drives. The U.S. Army recently released a campaign aimed at parents
concerned about their child's decision to join the military labeled “For
Parents” which is designed to answer the toughest and most pressing
questions and concerns
• The Pentagon also assist Hollywood with the production of movies and
TV shows

13. Federal
Agencies
• In many cases, the agency selects a public relations firm through a
bidding process
• Firms such as Ketchum and Edelman Worldwide, have received
contract to promote military recruiting, educate seniors about social
security benefits, and increase the number of foreign tourists visiting
the U.S.
• Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, for example has done campaigns
for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of
Veterans Affairs

14. Federal
Agencies
• Public affairs staffs may find themselves on the front lines of a crisis or
in the midst of a controversy that requires handling hundreds of press
calls in a single day
• “Cash for Clunkers”
• Started on July 27, 2009 and ended Aug 24, 2009 because it was
unclear what cars could be traded in and what the prices were, and the
dealerships had no idea what to do

15. State
Governments
• States have campaigns to encourage tourism, educate the public
about disease prevention, and promote economic development
which in most cases they hire public relation firms to implement the
campaign
• Tourism is heavily encouraged because visitors are major source of
income for hotels, resorts, restaurants, convention centers and many
other businesses that also produce more tax revenues

16. State
Governments
• Annually on marketing promotions
• Colorado - $12 million
• Arizona - $7 million
• New Mexico $3million to upgrade its image as a tourist destination
in 2011

17. State
Governments
• Public relations also publicized the quality of life
• Colonie, New York was promoted as America’s safest city in 2010
• Every state provides an array of public information through the public
information centers
• The public information officers provide routine information to the
public and the press on the policies, programs, and activities of the
various state agencies

18. State
Governments
• Health and safety is often targeted by public relations campaigns like
encouraging people not to smoke
• The funds that typically come from the national tobacco settlement
and state-imposed cigarette taxes which creates a lot of money for
public relations efforts
• California generates around $120 million annually from the tobacco
taxes, 10 percent goes to antismoking advertising. As smoking
decreases so does the amount of taxes collected which leaves less
money to promote antismoking campaigns

19. State
Governments
• The California Highway Patrol conducts safety campaigns, the
Department of Health Services conduct campaigns to better the
health of the state
• Each state has campaigns to produce better health and safety

20. Local
Governments
• Cities employ information specialist to give out news and
information from numerous municipal departments
• Airport, transit district, redevelopment office, parks and recreation
department, convention and visitor's bureau, police and fire
department, city council, and the mayor’s office. This information is
handed out so that citizens can take full advantage of government
services

21. Local
Governments
• Cities promote themselves, so they can increase tourism
• They use culture attractions and special events to help increase
tourism
• Cities also promote themselves to attract new businesses to help the
city grow

22. Government
Relations by
Corporations
• Government relations is a specialized component of corporate
communications, closely related to lobbying
• Many companies, particularly in highly regulated industries, have
separate departments of government relations
• The actions of governmental bodies at the local, state, and federal
levels have a major influence of how businesses operate

23. Government
Relations by
Corporations
• Government Relations specialist are also called Public Affairs
specialist
• They gather and give out information's, represent management’s
views, cooperate with government on project of mutual benefit,
and motivate employees to participate in the political process
• Practitioners in government relations positions spend considerable
time gathering and processing information

24. Government
Relations by
Corporations
• Monitor the activities of many legislative bodies and regulatory
agencies to keep track of issues coming up for debate and possible
vote
• 70 percent of the responding companies monitored government
activity in Washington D.C. through their trade associations, and
monitored their effort cited on the list was frequent trips to the city
by senior public affairs officers and corporate executives
• 58 percent of the respondents said they engaged in this activity
• 45 percent said they had a company office in the nation's capital

25. Government
Relations by
Corporations
• Spend a great deal of time-sharing information about their
company’s position to a variety of key publics
• Tactics used may include informal office visits to government
officials or testimony at public hearings
• Public affairs people are often required to give or write speeches for
senior executive, may write letters and op-ed articles, prepare
position papers, produce newsletters and place advocacy advertising

26. Government
Relations by
Corporations
• Legislatures are the primary audience for government relations efforts
• Foundation for Public Affairs reports that 9 out of 10 companies also
communicate with employees on public policy issues
• 40 percent communicate with retirees, customers, and other publics
such as taxpayers and government employees

27. Lobbying
• Lobbyist efforts are aimed at the defeat, passage, or amendment of
legislation and regulatory agency policies that work at the federal, state,
and local levels
• large corporations, business, and trade groups, unions, environmental
groups, local governments, nonprofit groups, school districts, and
members of various professional groups

28. Lobbying
• Center for Responsive Politics (CRP), there are now 1,900 firms that house
more than 11,000 lobbyists registered to operate in Washington D.C.
• There are hundreds of lobbyists directly employed by national trade groups,
companies, and labor unions
• 2012 CRP spent $3.5 billion on lobbying in Washington

29. Lobbying
• Lobbyists represent the interests of virtually the entire spectrum of U.S.
business, educational, religious, local, national, and international pursuits
• The American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), for example is a major
player in Washington D.C. because of its impressive resources
• Competing lobbying efforts often cancel each other out, which leaves
legislators and regulatory personnel with the daunting chore of weighing the
pros and con of an issue before voting

30. Lobbying
• A perennial conflict that lobbyists weigh in on is the debate between saving
jobs and improving the environment
• Environmental groups constantly lobbies Congress for tougher legislation to
clean up industrial pollution or protect endangered species
• Local communities and politicians counter that the proposed legislation
would result in the loss of jobs and economic class

31. Pitfalls of
Lobbying
• According to the watchdog group Center for Public Integrity, more than
half of the 120 members of Congress who left in 2010 found jobs as
lobbyists (52 percent)
• The Ethics in Government Act forbids government officials from actively
lobbying their former agencies for one year after leaving office
• Critics believe this law has little to no impact

32. Grassroots
Lobbying
• At least 10 times since the first loophole-riddled lobbying regulations were
passed in 1946, efforts to update the law have failed to get past the
legislative obstacles
• In 1995 Congress did pass a measure designed to reform lobbying and
President Clinton signed it
• Part of the impetus behind this legislation was undoubtedly the impact of
polls indicating that the public believed lobbyists had runaway influence
over Congress

33. Grassroots
Lobbying
• Key Provisions
• An expanded definition of who is considered to be a lobbyist. The 1995 law defines a
lobbyist as “someone hired to influence lawmakers, government officials or their aids,
and who spends at least 20 percent of his or her time representing any client in a six-
month period.”
• Requires lobbyists to register with Congress and disclose their clients, the issue areas
in which lobbying is being done, and roughly the amount they are paid for their
services. Violators will face civil fines of as much as $50,000

34. Grassroots
Lobbying
• One exemption area of the lobby reform bill is financial disclosures for so-
called grassroots lobbying
• The fastest growing area in the political persuasion business
• Grassroots lobbying is an $800 million industry and this area has a lack of
rules which makes it popular and attractive to various groups

35. Grassroots
Lobbying
• The idea is to get individuals and groups with no financial interest in an
issue to speak on the sponsor's behalf with an underlining premise
• Underlining premise is that letters and phone calls from private citizens
are more influential than arguments from bested interests

36. Election
Campaigns
• Public affairs activities and lobbying are year-round activities
• During election years, either congressional or presidential, an army of
fundraisers, political strategists, speech writers, and communications
consultants mobilize and help candidates win elections
• The American-style campaigning is the most expensive in the world

37. Election
Campaigns
• A standard activity in Washington D.C. and other major cities across the
country is the luncheon, reception, or dinner on behalf of a candidate
• The Wall Street Journal once reported that 14 events were held in a single
day raising $650.000 for Congressional incumbents
• Individual donors and lobbyist for various organizations regularly attend
these events
• No business is discussed at the events it is more of a meet and greet

38. Election
Campaigns
• Some consultants specialize in direct mail and telemarketing which are
assisted by firms that have developed computer databases and mailing
lists
• Aristotle Publisher’s claims to have records on 128 million registered
voters
• A candidate can obtain a list of prospects tailored using any number of
demographic variables, including party affiliation, voting record,
contribution record, age, geographic location, and opinions on various
issues

39. Election
Campaigns
• Other firms handle mass mailing on behalf of candidates
• Kiplinger Computer and Mailing Services is capable of running 10,000
envelopes per hour and printing personalized letters at a rate of 120 pages
per minute
• Even though mailing campaigns are going out of style many candidates
still use this technique

40. Election
Campaigns
• Fund-raising and reaching supporters the internet is a powerful way to
do it
• It makes it quicker for candidates to search for the demographic they
are looking for
• They can go door to door to the targeted demographic on behalf of the
candidate or the candidate themselves can do it

41. Election
Campaigns
• There is a downside to the internet despite it being a powerful tool
• Candidates must be careful because any gaffes are instantly amplified
through retweets and message boards
• Other people/candidates can make rogue websites that spoof or mimic
the candidate official site
• Each candidate must have constant diligence to rebut any gossip and
misinformation
• Carelessness of social media can costs a candidate their career. Even
with that said the internet is a wonderful tactic to be used