Spokesperson

Spokesman
U.S. National Security Council Spokesman Sean McCormack answering questions at the Washington Foreign Press Center
Occupation
Names Spokesperson, spokesman, spokeswoman
Occupation type
 Employment
Activity sectors
 Journalism, communications, public relations
Description
Competencies Public speaking, writing
Related jobs
 Public relations

A spokesman, spokeswoman or spokesperson is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.

Duties and function

In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have received formal training in journalism, communications, public relations and public affairs in this role in order to ensure that public announcements are made in the most appropriate fashion and through the most appropriate channels to maximize the impact of favorable messages, and to minimize the impact of unfavorable messages. Celebrity spokesmen such as popular local and national sports stars (such as Michael Jordan or Bob Uecker) or television and film stars (such as Beyoncé or Michael J. Fox) are often chosen as spokespeople for commercial advertising. As of August 2017, Kayleigh McEnany and Michael Tyler (DNC spokesman) served as spokesmen of the RNC and DNC, respectively.

Responsibilities

Unlike an individual giving a personal testimonial, it is the job of a spokesperson to faithfully represent and advocate for the organization's positions, even when these conflict with his/her own opinion. As a result, spokespeople are generally selected from experienced, long-time employees or other people who are known to support the organization's goals.[1]

Identity

A corporation may be represented in public by its chief executive officer, chairman or president, chief financial officer, counsel or external legal advisor. In addition, on a day-to-day level and for more routine announcements, the job may be delegated to the corporate communications or investor relations departments (or equivalents), who will act as spokespeople.

In the particle physics community, large collaborations of physicists elect one (or two) spokespeople or leader(s) of the collaboration. The spokesperson in such cases is the lead scientist of the collaboration, not a public speaker.[2] Each collaboration chooses the roles and responsibilities of the spokesperson for internal purposes, but typically spokespeople also have defined roles for liaising with the host laboratory and/or funding agencies.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Goodman, Michael B. (1998). Corporate communications for executives. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-7914-3762-0.
  2. ↑ "CMS Management on cms.web.cern.ch". Retrieved 17 December 2015.
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