Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Image source: Wikipedia
Public relations professionals believe the White House communications team is impacting the public perception of their profession – and not for the better, a new survey reveals.
Most PR practitioners believe that Counselor Kellyanne Conway, Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders have made a negative impact on the perception of their profession, according to a survey by the USC Center for Public Relations at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
Out of 900 PR pros across the political spectrum surveyed:
- 99% believe that Conway’s impact has been negative, with 78% describing her effect as “very” negative.
- 90% say Spicer has a negative impact, with 59.4% describing it as “very” negative.
- 5% described Huckabee Sanders’ effect as negative.
Concern about Long-Term Consequences
“It’s always difficult to evaluate an individual’s performance when you don’t really know what’s going on behind the scenes,” said Fred Cook, director of USC Annenberg’s Center for Public Relations. “However, it’s obvious that the broader PR community is deeply concerned about the long-term consequences of the White House’s approach to communications.”
Of the 900 survey respondents, 55.3% identified themselves as liberal, 29.6% identified themselves as moderate and 15.1% identified themselves as conservative. When asked if the current White House communications team is impacting the image of the PR profession, 77.4% of liberals agreed, along with 77.2% of moderates and 53.9% of conservatives.
Other findings of PR professionals’ opinions of the overall White House communications:
- 83.7% agree they “constantly change their views/statements”
- 80.2% agree they “distort the truth”
- 63.5% agree they “purposefully lie”
- 36.3% agree they “do their best despite the circumstances”
- 32.0% agree they “work hard to explain the administration’s policies”
- 15.7% agree they “are treated unfairly by the media”
- 13.3% agree they “are strategic in their approach”
- 11.6% agree they “act like PR professionals”
Don’t Share Similar Values
“It’s clear from the results of our survey that the PR industry would prefer to distance itself from the current White House communications team, whose practices are not reflective of the values of the broader industry,” Cook stated. “The vast majority of PR professionals believe that honest, open communication leads to constructive dialogue and shared understanding, both of which are in short supply these days.”
Many former White House spokespeople obtained high-profile positions in PR after their White House jobs. The current White House communications team might be different. Most PR pros surveyed said they would not hire the current press secretary or deputy press secretary.
Most also said they would not accept a job at the White House. Even 75% of the conservatives polled said they would not accept an invitation to become press secretary.
The unanswered question is: Is the problem the PR staff or the President?
Bottom Line: The overwhelming majority of public relations professionals feel the White House communications team is damaging the PR profession. Most PR pros believe key members of the White House press team don’t share their values of honest, open communications. Even PR pros who identify themselves as conservative hold a dim view of White House communications staffers.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
