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Conclusion
The news media are the main channel for disseminating information and controlling public opinion in favour of a particular group's interests. Accordingly, obtaining media publicity is an important aim of the PR industry. This fact leads to the almost trivial assumption that there is a connection between those who aim to influence the media and those who work in the news business.
The contacts between PR agents and journalists are extensive, in the sense that they are frequent, and mainly initiated by the former. Thus, journalists are constantly the designated targets of PR activities. According to both parties, personal relationships generally appear to be rare.
The views of the two parties are divided. PR agents commonly declare a high level of respect for the norms of journalistic conduct and for the media's role in a democratic society. They also view their relation with the media as well functioning. The journalists, on the other hand, generally express less respect for people working with PR and claim they do not have any established relations with them, even if they admit to often being approached by PR agents.
Furthermore their views on the outcome of this relation differ significantly. PR actors claim that they often succeed in their efforts to get publicity out of the news material produced. But, as they declare, there is no attempt to influence journalism; they just "deliver news ideas". Editors and journalists, on the other hand, agree that they frequently receive promotional materials from different organizations or consultants, but more or less resolutely state that they hardly ever consider using that type of material. In other words, the flow of PR material is no great problem in their eyes, as they are usually able to unmask the instrumental ends. In other words, the gatekeeper function works.
The PR actors' high level of respect for journalism, its role in society and its integrity should be contrasted to PR work practises that inevitably aim at providing publicity for a particular version of reality. Meanwhile, journalists' generally sceptical attitude towards PR activities should be measured against reality: the media clearly publish news stemming from PR material. PR sphere is highly successful in achieving its aims, that is, the media do in fact publish material originating from this sphere to a quite great extent. Even if the contacts are said to be mostly one-sided - and mainly initiated by the PR sphere - they might well, in reality, constitute a two-way process. Through networking activities, the PR agents create awareness among journalists about their existence, which in turn increases their chances of being contacted by reporters in search of information. Thus, the PR industry always has suitable informative material ready for delivery. Some of the journalists interviewed in the present study stated that PR agents facilitate the journalistic task in this way.
PR actions and activities within the frames of the PR industry result in an in-flow of news material and a constant marketing of ideas directed at the news desks. Simultaneously, editorial staffs are - and have been for some time now - subject to increasing restraints in personnel and resources, meaning less ability do conduct in-house research and a greater dependence on material sent from outside sources.
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16. LARSAKE LARSSON, Ph.d., Professor, School of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, Orebro University,
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