Google Stepping Up Public Policy PR

Google has been a high profile target in the public eye. It has faced growing antitrust issues, and there has even been evidence that some growing perceptions of Google could damage the company’s brand. The practical evidence of the pressure is showing in the form of an advertised position for a communications manager for public policy in Mountain View and another one in Washington, D.C.

Here are some of the duties, as explained in an ad:

• help communicate Google’s position on the big public policy issues of the day, as well as the policy implications of our different products
• devise specific campaigns that establish solid contacts with journalists, face-to-face meetings with commentators and other opinion formers and develop print and web-based materials targeted at a range of different audiences
• counter misinformation and mitigate negative media coverage that might lead to unnecessary regulation or interfere with our business and ability to serve our users in other ways

Some of the experience requirements suggest some of the ways that Google plans to pursue a more public face, including posts on web sites and video scripts, the latter probably for company-produced video news releases.

It’s clear that Google will be taking a more strongly reactive stance when facing some of the growing criticism of its intentions and actions. In addition to talking to the press and producing materials for consumer consumption, the person is also expected to brief Google executives about “issues at hand,” which, given Google’s past blundering in reading the winds of political and public sentiments, might be one of the more difficult aspects of the job.

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