Abstract

The research question for this project was what are the characteristics of the people working in the field of public affairs? (educational qualifications, place of employment, salary, most important contacts, the subject matter of their work, professional and political orientations, etc.) The project contained focus groups of experts in the field and a written questionnaire. Most of the 79 respondents worked full-time in the field. Based on their qualifications, position, and income, the practitioners in this research group may be briefly characterized as an elite group, compared to other professional groups in the larger field of communication. They were predominantly middle-aged males, the percentage of people with higher education was exceptionally high, they functioned at the highest positions in their organizations, and were in the highest salary categories. The largest group (36%) worked in communication, public relations, and journalism before they came to public affairs. The public affairs function turns out to be a typical, stand-alone function. Statements (24), taken from existing professional attitude scales and adapted to the current subject, were presented to the respondents. They could express their agreement or disagreement with these statements. A factor analysis on these statements revealed three dimensions, which could be coined as 1) the interests of the client, 2) democratic control, and 3) the importance of public affairs. Rob de Lange is a social scientist and lecturer at the School for Communication Management in the Faculty of Communication and Journalism of the Hogeschool van Utrecht.

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