air force one, and war, and congress, oh my! government relations
TRANSCRIPT
AIR FORCE ONE, AND WAR, AND CONGRESS, OH MY!
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Don’t call it “Public Relations.” Seriously – don’t.
In 1913, Congress enacted the Gillette Amendment, which almost barred the practice of public relations in government: “Appropriated funds may not be used to pay a publicity expert unless specifically appropriated for that purpose.”
Why? Theodore Roosevelt and the potential of
“unlimited presidential persuasive power.”
Even today, no government worker may be employed in the “practice of public relations.” SO, there are a lot of “public affairs experts,” “information officers,” press secretaries,” and “communication specialists.”
Especially ironic because…
Everyday there are 435 congressmen, 100 senators, 15 cabinet secretaries and thousands of the federal employees who support them all desperate to land on a front page or cable news.
Politicians and their causes want (and need!) publicity to get anything done.
Not to mention, in an increasingly complicated world there is an always growing need for informative communications.
PR Response to 9/11
Creation of permanent Office of Global Communications – to coordinate foreign policy message and supervise America’s image abroad.
“Bully Pulpit” – Bush vowed: I will not yield. I will not rest. I will not relent in waging this struggle. We will not tire. We will not falter, and we will not fail.
Regular Press Conferences with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General John Ashcroft, and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Creation of Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs – dedicated to convincing the Muslim world of the true values and ethics of America.
The best politicians…
Understand the importance of
public relations to:
• Get elected • Round up
support for their programs
• Achieve adoption for their policies
PR in Government: There is A LOT of it
More government = More PR – Since 1970s, more than 20 new federal regulatory agencies have sprung up (Office of Homeland Security, Department of Education, Drug Enforcement Administration, etc.).
War is Big Business – The defense department alone has more than 7,000 PR jobs. (Think making volunteering for the Army attractive…)
Growing! – In 1986 it was reported that that the federal government spent $450M for public affairs; In 2005, the Bush administration paid $1.6B on advertising /PR contracts over a 2-year period. More than 50 PR firms were contracted as part of this effort.
Important Voices: State Department
After the President, the most prominent voices are the US Department of State and the US Department of Defense.
Communications initiatives of the State Department include: RADIO – 1,000+ hours of weekly programming in 45 languages; Ex: 1985,
broadcast 24 hours/day to Cuba to “tell the truth about Fidel Castro & Communism.”
FILM/TELEVISION – 30 hours of weekly programming in 24 languages, distributed in 125 countries
INTERNET – More than 14,000 servers in 65 countries to deliver content online
MEDIA -- 25,000 words/day transmitted to 214 overseas posts for placement in the emdia
PUBLICATIONS – 16 magazines in 18 languages and distribution of collateral in more than 100 countries
EXHIBITIONS – 35 major exhibits designed annually for worldwide display EDUCATION – Sponsor educational programs through 111 bi-national
centers where English is taught
Important Voices: Defense Department
Volume – 3,727 communicators in the Army, 1,250 in the Navy, 1,200 in the Air Force, 450 in the Marines, and 200 at headquarters… more than 6,800 JOBS!
Successes – 2003, praised for “embedding” reporters with troops so Americans could get first-hand information
Failures – 2005, military officers defending Bush administration through media. It was discovered they were being paid by the Pentagon.
POTUS
President travels with his own media entourage
Almost anything the president says or does makes news
Press Secretary does daily press briefings Reagan, Clinton, Obama considered the
“communicators”
7 Principles of the “Great Communicator”
Plan ahead Stay on the offensiveControl the flow of
informationLimit reporters’
access to the president
Talk about the issues you want to talk about
Speak in one voice Repeat the same
message many times
Oh the difference 3 years makes…
Bush on 9/11
Bush on Katrina
CASE STUDY: Fake FEMA Press Conference
October 2007 – Federal Emergency Management Association held a news conference about the handling of the CA wildfires.
No tough questions. HUH. Q: “Are you happy with FEMA’s response so far? A: “Yes. I am very happy with FEMA’s response.”
A day later it came out that the press conference was staged and that all the questions came from FEMA employees, not reporters.
CASE STUDY: Fake FEMA Press Conference
FEMA’s response? The press conference was announced 15 minutes ahead and no reporters showed up.
FEMA’s external affairs director was demoted and not given a planned promotion to take over public affairs for the Director of National Intelligence.
White House response was immediate and unforgiving: “I think it was one of the dumbest, most inappropriate things I’ve seen since I’ve been in government.
CASE STUDY: Fake FEMA Press Conference
What do you think? Do you agree with the harsh response of the
White House? Is there anything wrong with preparing
newsmakers for interviews? Is there anything wrong with public relations
people posing as reporters?
The President’s Press Secretary
A spokesperson should feel in his heart and mind that the chief’s decision is the right one so that he can speak with conviction.
– President Ford’s Press Secretary
A press secretary does not always have to agree with the president. His first loyalty is to the public, and he should not knowingly lie or mislead the press. – President Carter’s Press
Secretary
A good press secretary speaks up for the press to the president and speaks out for the president to the press. He makes his home in the pitted no-man’s land of an adversary relationship and is primarily
an advocate, interpreter, and amplifier. He must be more the president’s man than the press’s. But he can be his own man as
well. – President Nixon’s Speechwriter
VS.
VS.
Lobbying the Government
Lobbying is one of the nation’s greatest growth areas. The number of registered lobbysists has more than doubled since 2000 – more more than 35,000. Why? Rapid growth in government Republican control of both White House and Congress Wide acceptance among corporations that they need
to hire professional lobbyists to secure their share of the federal budget
$6M a day is spent lobbying the federal government. State government lobbying is only slightly less active.
Real-Life Example
March 27, 2012 Bill Easing IPO Rules Is Passed in House Andrew Ackerman – Wall Street Journal
March 28, 2012 Facebook Targeting May IPO Shayndi Raice – Wall Street Journal
What would a lobbyist do?
Improve communications with government personnel and agencies
Monitor legislators and regulatory agencies in areas affecting constituent operations
Encourage constituent participation at all levels of government
Influence legislation affecting the economy of the constituent’s area and operations
Advance awareness and understanding among lawmakers of the activities and operations of constituent organizations
In a nutshell…
A lobbyist is just someone who is well informed and provides Congress with facts and information to make an intelligent decision.
They exist to inform and persuade: Fact-finding Interpretation of government actions Interpretation of company actions Advocacy of a position Publicity springboard Support of company sales
Lobbying on the Internet
Hollywood vs. Silicon Valley – SOPA (Stop Online Privacy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act); Make it harder for sites to sell/distribute pirated copyrighted material such as movies/music.
Online Censorship? – Even the strongest opponents applaud the intentions of the legislation while deploring what it might actually accomplish.
Social Media’s new role in Government Relations
Nearly 200,000 phone calls (made via Craigslist and Tumblr)
7 million online signatures (Google petition)More than 2.4 million tweets Google blacked out the “Google doodle” that
day – to infer cencorship; Wikipedia literally went dark for the day
Of course, Google and Microsoft have huge lobbying arms… but it was the “people” that really impacted SOPA/PIPA votes
Political Action Committees
A PAC is the name given to a private group organized to elect political candidates (Ex: American Medical Association, National Rifle Association, etc.)
Mid-70s – 600; Today – Nearly 5,000.
MONEY TALKS
In light of Government Relations: Komen Update
Fallout continues: executives departing, questions about ability to fundraise, structural changes to give affiliates more influence
New York & Oregon CEOs resigned; 3 Dallas officials have left.
Postponing fundraising events because “we were not certain about our ability to fundraise in the near-term.”
Say the board has “complete confidence” in Komen leadership and affiliate leaders are ready to move forward in a constructive way.
Unsolicited Advice #10
ConstructiveCriticism
is your best frenemy.