ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the increasing encroachment of public relations in the news production process. Three perspectives on the topic are explained. The first compares the changing resources of the two industries – journalism and public relations. The second details the nature of the social relationships that form between journalists and public relations practitioners (PRPs). The third reveals some of the common public relations ‘tricks of the trade’. While the chapter discusses the issues as they apply across news sectors the examples focus more specifically on political journalism. There is one general line of argument running through the piece. That is, that public relations and ‘spin doctors’ have always played a key role in news production; rather more than journalists and sources acknowledge. However, in recent decades, the roles and relationships of the two sectors have significantly shifted in directions detrimental to news journalism.
