Do PR Practitioners Have a PR Problem?: The Effect of Associating a Source With Public Relations and Client-Negative News on Audience Perception of Credibility

Abstract

Through a 2 × 2 factorial experiment (N = 141), information source type (public relations spokesperson or generic spokesperson) and message topic (client-neutral and client-negative) were varied to determine whether they affect audience perception of source credibility. Results suggest public relations professionals and the organizations they represent are perceived as less credible than unidentified sources and their employers. Also, sources and their sponsors communicating organization-negative news are perceived as less credible than those communicating client-neutral information.