MUTUAL PERCEPTION AND COOPERATION OF JOURNALISTS AND PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS WORKING IN CROATIAN PUBLIC AND STATE INSTITUTIONS

Abstract

Over the past decades, journalists and public relations (PR) professionals have had a challenging relationship. In their work, journalists rely on PR practitioners to provide them with accurate information on time, while PR professionals count on journalists to report information objectively. This mutual dependence raised questions regarding their perception and cooperation. Even though many studies have been conducted to determine and analyze their relationship, they covered the PR field in general. This study focuses on political communication; more precisely on PR professionals working in state and public institutions in Croatia, and observes their mutual perception and cooperation with journalists. Quantitative research was conducted in March 2023 among journalists and PR professionals working in state and public institutions. An online questionnaire measuring twelve aspects of their mutual perception and cooperation was completed by 75 journalists working in different media institutions and 50 PR professionals employed in state and public institutions. The results showed significant differences between the two samples in terms of their mutual perception and cooperation. The results contribute to the existing literature on the PR-journalist relationship by pointing to a specific group of public relations professionals, observing and analyzing their cooperation with journalists. Keywords: public relations professionals, journalists, media, public and state institutions.