ABSTRACT
Although the news media and technological advances play significant roles in the lives of most Americans today, our field has virtually ignored the topic of public affairs in government. However, effective communications strategies not only advance the mission of an agency, but also provide an important and required public service. Accountability to the citizenry is a defining characteristic of public organizations and sets those organizations apart from others in society. Direct accountability is also undertaken by government agencies and is increasingly undergoing rapid transformation due to technological changes in the information sector. New communication technologies create and expand opportunities for agencies to reach a wide audience of citizens through electronic dissemination of their annual reports, as well as providing data and information that citizens might find useful. This chapter provides a very practical and applicable approach to implementing government public relations.
