Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book brings together a variety of contributions from highly respected academics and researchers, experienced social work practitioners and managers from the statutory and voluntary sectors. We have therefore interpreted 'social work' and 'the media' in their widest definitions, encompassing statutory and voluntary sectors with a range of client groups in different settings and a range of different media including the press, professional journals, television and radio. If social workers claim that members of the media are unsympathetic to the profession and lack sufficient knowledge to report social service matters adequately and sensitively, journalists respond by alleging social worker's ignorance of the structure, organization and news-gathering routines of the media. Journalists often believe that social workers themselves are largely culpable for the poor press they receive because of their failure to establish working relations with journalists and their refusal to adopt proactive public relations techniques.