ABSTRACT
Staffing or ‘time’ as a resource is often an important point of differentiation between large and small unions and is likely to determine the degree of proactivity in media work. Trade union press officers face a potential problem because bureaucratic structures are not tuned to the rhythms and demands of the national news media. Media enquiries seek to solicit almost instant responses from spokespersons and press officers because of the value placed upon ‘immediacy’ in the selection of news, the pressure of news deadlines and competition not only between rival news organisations but between journalists within particular organisations. Most press officers will say that they enjoy a cordial working relationship with their general secretaries but there clearly are differences in the degree of access to the highest levels of decision making enjoyed by different press officers, and differences in the smoothness of the relationships they enjoy with their senior officials.
