16th December 2008

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It was once a commonplace that the journalist's trade was regarded as the occupation held in the lowest esteem – just pipping estate agents for the wooden spoon.  
 
But now, representatives of the Fourth Estate can breathe more easily:  political lobbyists have seized bottom place in the public's heart.
 
And it's the lowly status of lobbyists – and what they can do to raise their status in the public mind − that has been the focus of doctoral student Conor McGrath, from Ballynahinch, who received his PhD at Jordanstown this week.
 
Conor – himself a former lobbyist − said: " Lobbyists are not very well thought of − yet they are vital to the functioning of a democracy. In a sense, they are their own worst enemies."
 
All organisations use lobbying as a tool, said Conor, whether or not they call it by that name. But professional lobbyist organisations need to ensure that they connect with the public, if they are to begin to build a better reputation.
 
"The lobbying industry needs to realise that it must reach out beyond itself, and engage with people outside the political and policy-forming sphere, to demonstrate how their work brings value to public life in general," he said.
 
And he warned: "If they do not, then in the near future the professional lobbying industry could face tough statutory regulation – and that would be a clear consequence of their own failure to look after their own reputation, while working to enhance that of others."

Conor is now following up his PhD by researching the options for future lobbying regulation in the UK and Ireland, and is starting a study of how lobbyists are portrayed in novels, films and TV dramas.

 

For further information, please contact:

Trina Porter
Telephone: 028 71675511
Email: Trina Porter