A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman 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 Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. Pu ...

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 minimize the unfavorable. Celebrity spokespeople such as popular athletes (such as

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

for Nike and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

) or entertainers (such as

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

for

Pepsi Pepsi is a Carbonated water, carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo which serves as its flagship product. In 2023, Pepsi was the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long ...

and L'Oreal) are often chosen as spokespeople for commercial advertising.

Responsibilities

Unlike giving a personal

testimonial In promotion and advertising, a testimonial or show consists of a person's written or spoken statement extolling the virtue of a product. The term "testimonial" most commonly applies to the sales-pitches attributed to ordinary citizens, whe ...

, it is the job of spokespeople to faithfully represent and advocate for the organization's positions, even when these conflict with their 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.

Identity

A corporation may be represented in public by its chief executive officer, chairperson or president, chief financial officer,

counsel A counsel or a counsellor at law is a person who gives advice and deals with various issues, particularly in legal matters. It is a title often used interchangeably with the title of ''lawyer''. The word ''counsel'' can also mean advice given ...

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 Investor relations (IR) is a "strategic management responsibility that is capable of integrating finance, communication, marketing and securities law Regulatory compliance, compliance to enable the most effective two-way communication between a com ...

departments (or equivalents), who will act as spokespeople. As an example, 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. 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. In certain governmental organizations (i.e. city, county, school district, state government and police/fire departments), a public information officer is the communications coordinator primarily responsible for providing information to the public through media, pursuant to and limited by any applicable laws.

References

{{Authority control Political occupations Business occupations

Duties and function

Responsibilities

Identity

See also

References