Are the spin doctors a figure of priority interest for public relations?

Abstract

This research has a twofold goal: on the one hand, it describes, from a theoretical point of view, the importance of the figure and role of the spin doctors, also known as communication political advisers, from the perspective of public relations; and by another, the article analyses quantitatively and qualitatively, the presence and treatment of the figure of the spin doctor in the main academic journals included in the Journal Citation Reports in the fields of communication, public relations and political communication from de point of view of public relations discipline. The results of the research confirm the notable influence of public relations in the origin, definition and professional activity of spin doctors. By contrast, this study shows the low presence of the spin doctor concept in the academic literature, although the articles analysed confirm the importance of this figure from the point of view of public relations.