There are accusations that modern governments are obsessed with 'spin' and political marketing, have built up 'PR states' staffed by armies of media advisers to overwhelm journalists and manipulate public opinion. This book explores these issues and many others to assess how well Australian governments communicate with their citizens. List of Contributors xi List of Tables xv List of Figures xvi List of Textboxes xvii Preface xviii Abbreviations and Acronyms xx Introduction: The theory and practice of government communication xxiii Sally Young Part I The political, legal and economic context 1 1 Mapping the Australian PR state 3 Ian Ward 2 Government communication and the law 19 Graeme Orr 3 The Public Service and government communication: Pressures and dilemmas 36 Brian Head 4 Business government communication: Power, influence and mundane relationships 51 John Warhurst Part II The government media relationship 63 5 Televising parliament: Broadcasting, webcasting and public access 65 Julianne Schultz 6 Politicians, journalists and 'spin': Tangled relationships and shifting alliances 79 Shelly Savage and Rodney Tiffen 7 Theories of government communication and trends in the UK 93 Brian McNair Part III Government communication workers: Spin doctors, speechwriters and PR practitioners 111 8 Perspectives on government PR 113 Noel Turnbull 9 Spin doctors, citizens and democracy 130 Stephen Stockwell 10 Speechwriters and political speech: Pitting the good angels against the bleak 144 Dennis Glover Part IV Government use of media 159 11 Australian governments and online communication 161 Peter Chen, Rachel Gibson, Wainer Lusoli and Stephen Ward 12 A history of government advertising in Australia 181 Sally Young 13 Government advertising as public communication: Cases, issues and effects 204 John Sinclair and Stephanie Younane Part V The social framework: Citizens, NGOs and government 227 14 Innovations in Australian government communication 229 Sally Young 15 Lobbying government 255 Sarah Maddison 16 Citizens engaging government 270 Katharine Gelber Conclusion: The present and future of government communication 284 Sally Young Appendix: Current Australian governments, state and federal (as at January 2007) 290 Notes 291 Index 336