Public relations staff outnumber journalists eight to one and public organisations are spending more than ever on getting their message out. The number of communications staff at southern councils and publicly-funded institutions has risen rapidly in the past five years. Communicating research findings to the public also made up a sizeable proportion of the university's media profile. Council stakeholder engagement director Sian Sutton, who has since left the council, said the hires were a reaction to failings by the council communicating with the public. Farmers were not aware of council policies and systems, and there had been no real management of communicating with the public about public transport issues, a situation she described at the time as ''a real risk'' for the organisation.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 26, 2019 15:56 UTC