Spin doctors in the spotlight: Effects of strategic press and publicity coverage on perceptions of political PR

News media often engage in strategy framing when covering politics, including strategic press and publicity coverage coined to express the focus on the media's role in the game of politics, as well as politicians’ calculated publicity and public relations efforts in relation to the media. This study examines the effect of strategic press and publicity coverage on perceptions of political PR once its practitioners and their publicity efforts have become the object of reporting. Drawing on data from two experiments (n = 863), we show how political PR professionals have themselves little to gain from becoming part of the story.