The perception of lobbyists as a corrupt, antidemocratic force for dishonest governance is rooted more in myth than fact. Lobbyists are adaptive, forward-thinking expert advocates who are vital to a healthy, self-correcting representative democracy.

Lobbyists often are painted in a negative light because of their influence over policymakers. The media has propagated an interpretation which lobbying appears as a risk to democracy and is viewed as an illegal exercising of influence. Suggestions of one-sided representation of business interests to others advantage, accusation of secret backroom power or even of corruption and nepotism are topics of interest for journalists. Admittedly, the negative public image about lobbying is due in part because lobbyists have done a terrible job explaining how lobbying works

While the level of attention from the media on public policy advocacy is high, it is often off-topic. Journalists are not interested in reporting how public policy advocacy works. Reportages often describe public policy advocates as people with a large network of contacts, and in close friendship with politicians. 

Albania

• Instituti Shqiptar i Medias (Albanian Media Institute)- Tirana

Austria

• South East and Central Europe PR Organisation-SECEPRO Master Programme-Vienna
• Center for Journalism and Communication Management, Danube University- Krems
• Kuratorium für Journalistenausbildung- Salzburg

Belgium

Getting a message into the mass media is a form of outside lobbying that can be useful for interest groups in communicating information to the general public, as well as for simply legitimizing their perspective on an issue. While interest groups work to influence the public and policymakers in a variety of ways, working through the media can be an efficient and higly effective means of agenda-setting.

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1. Google
2. Apple
3. Facebook
4. The Walt Disney Co. (includes ABC, ESPN, Disney theme parks)
5. 21st Century Fox (includes Fox film studio and television network, Star TV, Sky); News Corp. (includes Dow Jones, the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal)
7. WPP Group

The European Journalism Centre (EJC) is an independent, international, non-profit foundation dedicated to the highest standards in journalism, inter alia through the further training of journalists and media professionals. Building on its extensive international network, the Centre operates as a facilitator and partner in a wide variety of journalism related projects.

The main goals of the EJC are to:

Tourism promotion means trying to encourage the actual and potential customers to travel a destination through the spreading of information. Promotion is one of the most effective marketing mix elements used in marketing a tourist product. The objectives of promotion consistent with the general marketing plan is to identify the target group to which the promotion is conducted, to find out the effective advertising, sales support and public relations programmes to be planned, and to select the best methods to be used to control and assess the promotion operation.

The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires that all American citizens working to influence U.S. policy on behalf of foreign governments register with the Department of Justice and to disclose information on any and all political activity in which they engaged for foreign clients. This includes filing, within 48 hours, any informational materials disseminated to two or more people.