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,
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 spokespeople such as popular local and national sports stars (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. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...
for
Nike and
Coca-Cola) or television and film stars (such as
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
for
Pepsi and
L'Oreal) are often chosen as spokespeople for commercial advertising.
Responsibilities
Unlike an individual 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, where ...
, it is the job of a spokesperson 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
The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for managing the company's finances, including financial planning, management of financial risks, record-keeping, and financ ...
,
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 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 (PIO) is the
communications coordinators.
The primary responsibility of a PIOs is to provide information to the public and media as necessary and to meet the legal requirements.
See also
*
Brand ambassador
*
Press agent
*
Press secretary
*
Press service
References
{{Authority control
Political occupations
Business occupations