ABSTRACT
Imagine you are a public relations practitioner intensely working to represent your client-a manufacturing company, a non-profit organization, your local school district, or the county hospital. How challenging would it be to be part of a conversation, such as advocating your organization’s interests as part of the solution to a problem your town faces, when you don’t know who you are speaking with? How much does it matter who says what? Who is being paid what to speak on its behalf? And if they mention an organization that takes a position on some matter, will you really know the character of the organization? What is their interest in the matter, and what does their interest and the values they associate with it do to strengthen or weaken their “voice” and to help solve the problem?
