Communications professionals losing public trust

London, 17 March 2008 - A survey of the PRCA PR Leaders' Panel has highlighted a sharp decline in public trust of communications professionals. According to the panel, public perception of MPs, broadsheet journalists, tabloid journalists, magazine journalists and public relations professionals has worsened over the last ten years. MPs and tabloid journalists have seen their reputations particularly badly hit with 92% and 85% of respondents saying public perception of those professions has declined.


Francis Ingham, PRCA Director General said "These results should make us all pause for a moment and ask ourselves what's going wrong. Across the board, PR Leaders say that the reputation of communications professionals has fallen -that's bad news for us all.

"It's easy to understand why the reputation of MPs and tabloids is in freefall -they seem to be in a race to see who can completely eliminate public trust first. They should realise quite how low they have sunk before it's too late.

"The figures for our own industry show a refreshing objectivity and dose of self-realisation. All too often, it is the actions of those who eschew professional standards -the publicists masquerading as PR advisers- who tarnish our reputations. It's time we started naming and shaming the rogue agents who drag us all down."


Michael Hayman from The Communication Group supports the need for communications professionals to look at their own reputation: "The public is in a mistrustful mood even with more accountability and transparency. Key for all of these groups is improved reputation."


However, David Ingle of Waggener Edstrom feels that technological changes are also contributing to the breakdown in trust "Within the media world perception of the journalist has passed through a fractured lens. The rise of the ‘citizen journalist' is feeding the misplaced idea that anyone can be a reporter and is seriously undermining the profession."

- ENDS -

Notes to editors:


About the PRCA PR Leaders' Panel
The PRCA PR Leaders' Panel is made up of managing directors of members of the PRCA (Public Relations Consultants Association), the UK trade association that represents the PR industry in the UK.

The results of the survey which closed on 7 March 2008 are below:

Question - How has public perception of the professions below changed over the last ten years?

MPs

Broadsheets

Tabloids

Magazines

PROs

Worse

92%

27%

85%

24%

44%

Same

8%

56%

13%

66%

39%

Improved

0%

17%

2%

10%

17%

 

For more information please contact:
Richard Ellis
PRCA Communications Manager
T: 020 7233 6026
E: richard.ellis@prca.org.uk

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