0000000000613795
AUTHOR
Claudia Riesmeyer
Deep Impact? How Journalists Perceive the Influence of Public Relations on Their News Coverage and Which Variables Determine This Impact
Journalists perceive 25% to 80% of their coverage to be influenced by public relations (PR). However, there is hardly any research on what factors determine where on this wide spectrum an individual journalist will fall. This study analyzed the extent and source of the perceived influence of PR on news coverage via a quantitative survey of German journalists. On average, participants perceived over one third of their work to be influenced by PR, and a number of variables were found to be associated with the degree of this impact. Role conceptions as populist mobilizers and newsroom conventions discouraging excessive reliance on PR decreased the influence of PR on news coverage. Secondary e…
Powered by public relations? Mutual perceptions of PR practitioners’ bases of power over journalism
Public relations practitioners depend on journalists to report information, and journalists count on public relations practitioners to provide information. This mutual dependence gives the two parties a degree of power over each other that can be wielded if certain resources are available. However, there are many unanswered questions about how public relations exerts power over journalists and how these influence attempts may affect news coverage. We differentiate six bases of power that public relations practitioners may use to influence journalists. To test the use of these bases of power, we conducted a quantitative survey among German journalists and public relations practitioners. Our…