Government PR: Your Tax Dollars at Work

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"Agencies across government are under increasing pressure to sway public opinions -- either to win funding from Congress, to satisfy customers, to recruit new employees, to educate the public about new programs, to minimize fallout from controversial policies," writes Mollie Ziegler. With more U.S. federal agencies "applying sophisticated public relations tools and tactics," government spending on PR and marketing services skyrocketed from $39 million in 2001 to more than $400 million for 2006 to date. For example, the Federal Aviation Administration "hired a PR consultant last year to help it put a more positive face on its decision to outsource 2,500 jobs, the biggest outsourcing deal yet by an agency." The Defense Department hired consultants to survey college students, to improve their branding and recruiting materials. And agencies are still putting out video news releases, though the Government Accountability Office ruled that segments that don't make their government source clear are illegal covert propaganda.