- Email: [email protected]
Transparency laws and interactive public relations: An analysis of Latin American government Web sites
Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Public Relations Review
Transparency laws and interactive public relations: An analysis of Latin American government Web sites Eileen M. Searson ∗ , Melissa A. Johnson Department of Communication, Campus Box 8104, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8104, USA
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 17 September 2009 Received in revised form 3 February 2010 Accepted 7 March 2010 Keywords: Web site Public relations Transparency Interactivity Usability Relationship building Symmetric communication Government
a b s t r a c t A content analysis of 50 Latin American government Web sites was conducted to assess whether new transparency laws in the hemisphere impacted the interactivity, usability, technological expertise, and national symbolism manifest on the sites. Web sites were found to be generally usable but limited in interactivity. There was no difference in Web site interactivity between countries with transparency laws and those without them, but countries with laws used more visual symbols aimed at national branding. The article offers a model of Web site features for public relations practitioners interested in increasing the sophistication, usability, and interactivity of their sites in order to improve relationship building with stakeholders. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction The late 20th Century return to democracy in Latin America has increased transparency policies and a number of governmental communicators have new freedom of information (FOI) laws with which they must comply. The goal of this study was to investigate transparency and interactive public relations in Latin American governmental organizations’ Web site communication. In a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 50 government Web sites, we describe transparency, usability, and interactive features in order to assess the potential level of two-way symmetric communication. Second, we evaluate whether Web sites in countries with transparency laws differ from Web sites in countries without transparency laws. Third, we discuss how the symbolic identity of nations and their key governmental agencies or ministries relates to transparency, interactivity, usability, technical sophistication, and other Web site features. Lastly, we conclude with a recommended model that public relations professionals can follow to create sophisticated, usable, interactive Web sites. 1.1. Government transparency and information access Public participation is essential to democracy, and participation depends on information. Thus, freedom of information and information accessibility are foundations of democracy. Information is also a barrier to corruption, which depends on secrecy. For instance, the United Nations Convention on Anti-corruption, adopted in 2005, encourages countries to improve public access to information in order to battle corruption (Banisar, 2006). Similarly, the World Bank has encouraged
∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Communication, NC State University, Campus Box 8104, Raleigh, NC 27695-8104, USA. Tel.: +1 919 515 9757; fax: +1 919 515 9456. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (E.M. Searson), Melissa [email protected] (M.A. Johnson). 0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.03.003
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
121
information freedom as a means of thwarting corruption. While journalism and public communication in Latin America are not entirely free, there has been a 21st Century move towards more transparency in government information and access by citizens, and this has affected public relations practice as well as journalism. For example, although Columbia’s law on access dates to 1885, its current constitution (1991) provides for a right of access to government records. In the last decade Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Panama passed transparency laws. These countries, along with Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, have also approved laws that give journalists and citizens the ability to procure government information in a timely way (Freeman, 2002; Hughes & Lawson, 2005). More recently Chile and Guatemala passed transparency and access laws in 2008 that became effective in April 2009 (Freedominfo.org, 2009; The Carter Center, 2009). Generally, freedom of information laws apply to the executive branch of government and ministries such as those that oversee health, the environment, law enforcement, military, communications, and transportation (Banisar, 2006). Transparency laws serve to bolster ethical public relations and have also improved job prospects in public relations because of the enhanced requirements for communication. For instance, Corella, del Campo, and Toledo (2009) noted that one reason for the growth of public relations in Mexico is the new freedom of expression regulation, although trade has certainly been another stimulus (Johnson, 2005; Molleda & Moreno, 2008). Along with the aforementioned laws requiring more transparent communication and citizen access, Internet use is increasing in Latin America. Citizens and international stakeholders are using the Internet more to seek government information and governments are responding with new e-government programs (Sweeney, 2007). Although it should not completely take the place of face-to-face discussion, from a government’s perspective, a web presence is also beneficial because not as much government staff time is consumed in answering basic questions about government services and procedures or conducting simple transactions. A government web presence increases citizens’ convenience and reduces the workload of frontline government employees (Layne & Lee, 2001). Therefore a governmental Web site must be sophisticated so that it is sufficiently helpful and representational. This means that the sites need to be interactive, accountable, usable, and demonstrate sufficient technical expertise. Hawkins and Hawkins’ (2003) research into Latin American government Internet policies found a number of objectives including: generate Web content in the local language, provide online government services, promote the use of technologies to improve health and health care access, and promote technologies to support sustainable development and environmental projects (2003). While these goals center on serving a nation’s citizens, government Web sites also reach stakeholders outside the nation. Government communication outside national borders aims to solicit external investment in the country, promote tourism, promote trade, and/or create a foundation for public diplomacy. Web sites also help to brand a nation (Fursich & Robins, 2002; Morgan & Pritchard, 2005) and a solid national brand can serve as a foundation for business and diplomatic objectives. In short, when communicating via the Internet, governments are reaching their own citizens plus international constituents. This is why our research is relevant not only to Latin American communicators, but to public relations practitioners around the world. 1.2. Interactivity and two-way symmetric communication In addition to the pragmatic aspects of Web site communication, digital communication has been lauded by public relations theorists for its ability to foster dialog between an organization and its stakeholders. This boosts two-way symmetric communication, the normative model of public relations (e.g., Grunig & Grunig, 1992). In brief, two-way symmetric communication is defined as research-based public relations that use communication to improve understanding with key publics. The goal in symmetric communication is that organizations and publics adjust and adapt to each other for mutual benefit, rather than an organization using one-way persuasive communication merely to empower the organization and foist its goals onto its stakeholders. Whether organizations maximize the features of Web site design has been found to make a difference in stakeholder responsiveness (Kent, Taylor, & White, 2003) and research shows it is important to feature different pages to fulfill different stakeholders’ needs (Taylor & Kent, 2007). Therefore, variation in Web features can impact two-way symmetric communication. Consequently, the overall branding of the government organization and its national image can be altered depending on responsiveness to stakeholders as evidenced by levels of usability, interactivity, and technical sophistication. However, White and Raman (1999) found that organizations in their study used Web sites more for image building than relationship building, missing the opportunity to demonstrate symmetric stakeholder communication. The diffusion of social media complicates the two-way symmetric model because social media such as Facebook or Twitter allow for multi-directional interactive communication between an organization and its stakeholders and among the members of the stakeholder group(s), without organizational intervention. For example, a university that establishes an Alumni Facebook page can be dismayed to see posts criticizing the university along with bolstering posts. Social media is discussed further in Section 3. In summary, transparency and access to information is vital to democracy, and government Web sites play a vital role in providing citizens with information. Government public relations practitioners’ use of this medium can also impact national branding and identity. Most importantly, government communicators can use Web sites for relationship building with citizens and other stakeholders beyond the nation’s borders. Employing social media to foster communication among stakeholders is another strategy for consideration by government communicators. The goal of this study is to contribute practical knowledge about digital communication for use in government public relations internationally in addition to
122
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
making a larger theoretical contribution to the role of transparency, interactivity, and usability in two-way symmetric communication. 1.3. Research questions and hypotheses Given the literature and objectives, the following research questions and hypotheses were developed: RQ1: How often are transparency laws or policies discussed on Latin American government Web sites? RQ2: How interactive are Latin American government Web sites for stakeholders? RQ3: How usable to stakeholders are Latin American government Web sites? RQ4: How much technological expertise is displayed on Latin American Web sites? H1: Government Web sites in Latin American countries with transparency laws or policies will be more interactive than Web sites in countries without transparency laws or policies. H2: The degree of national symbolism on government Web sites in Latin American countries with transparency laws will differ from the degree of symbolism represented in Web sites of countries without transparency laws. 2. Methodology 2.1. Sampling Using a purposeful design, Web sites from the following 10 Latin American countries were selected for this research: Brazil, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela. Six of the countries had transparency laws in effect at the time data were collected in March 2009 (Belize, Colombia, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico, and Panama). Chile’s laws went into effect in April. Two lists of Latin American Web sites were combined to serve as an initial sampling frame to locate government sites – the Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC) Web site (http://lanic.utexas.edu/) and a Web site featuring a comprehensive world list of governmental Web sites (www.gksoft.com/govt). We supplemented this with government agency lists from central government portals such as Mexico’s (www.gob.mex). From this combined list of government agencies (duplicates excluded) five governmental sites were purposively selected for each of the ten countries, for a total sample size of 50 Web sites. All of the Web sites were accessed in March 2009. The priority was to include current sites for the president and government offices devoted to health, education, tourism, and the environment because these government entities frequently have Web sites. However, because some of these were unavailable in various countries or unable to be accessed due to technical limitations, other Web sites analyzed included government branches devoted to foreign affairs/external relations, agriculture, human rights, national defense, culture, economy, housing, and immigration. In summary, given the technological challenges and inconsistencies among government Web sites a nonprobability sample with country quotas was the best choice for this study rather than a random sample of Web sites. This allowed us to scrutinize a range of government sites from a variety of countries – those with transparency laws and those without. According to update information posted on the sites, all of them had been updated between 1999 and 2009. 2.2. Measures The first research question asked whether transparency policies were posted on the Web site. This manifest content was measured with one variable (policy included or not). The second and third research questions dealt with the concepts of interactivity and usability. Following Xifra and Huertas (2008), interactivity was conceptualized as the inclusion of features that allowed dialogic communication that enhance relationships and collaboration; usability measured the degree to which Web site users could negotiate the functions of the site. Variables measuring interactivity included the appearance of interactive (two-way communication) features such as surveys, forums, blogs, chat rooms, spot polls, or petitions. In addition, authors noted the inclusion of contact email addresses, mailing addresses, and telephone numbers because their inclusion encourages stakeholder contact with the organization.1 For usability, we noted whether the sites contained a search bar, a font-adjustment option, a frequently asked question section, the availability of page formatting for printing, a press room, and a site map. Links to other non-governmental sites were included here, too. These measures were modified from similar research (e.g., Curtin & Gaither, 2004; Kent & Taylor, 1998). Individual variables were dummy coded (present or not) and later summed to create separate indexes of interactivity and usability. The fourth research question explored the concept of technological sophistication, defined as how many advanced features separate from usability or interactive features the site contained. Sophistication-related variables included whether sites
1 We did not code for social media because we did not find evidence of social media on Web sites when we pre-tested our codesheet in early 2009, except for the use of YouTube. YouTube was included with other visual communication variables in the technical sophistication concept. Future studies may want to code separately for various types of social media and determine through principal components analysis or other means whether they cluster best with interactive, technological sophistication, or other concepts.
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
123
had a notation of the last update, indication of site establishment, a privacy policy statement, a legal statement, a Web site hit counter, graphics, and availability of moving images (e.g., flash films, videos, and/or YouTube). We conceptualized these features as evidence of digital sophistication, but not necessarily vital to stakeholder usability. YouTube was the only type of social media observed in our pretest, and we included it in our technological sophistication measures rather than in our interactivity measures because our definition of interactivity, following transparency laws, focused on communication between the organization and its stakeholders, rather than on communication among stakeholders. Again, variables were dummy coded and then summed to create a sophistication index. Measures previously discussed were used in the first hypothesis. For the second hypothesis, degree of national symbolism was measured by the presence of flags, emblems, and/or mottos. These variables were dummy coded to create a symbolism index. National symbolism was considered one part of the government organization’s branding efforts. At the project’s outset the coders coded similar websites separately and discussed coding differences. Then one coder coded all 50 sites. Final intercoder reliability on 12% of the sample ranged from 67% to 100% on the 25 manifest variables, with an average of 84%. Intercoder reliability was 91% on the interactivity scale, 81% on the usability scale, 81% on the technological sophistication scale, and 83% on the national symbolism scale. 3. Results In addressing the first research question, the data indicated that only 40% of the 50 Web sites displayed transparency laws or policies. However, 60% of the countries analyzed actually had transparency laws. Thus some of the countries that had transparency laws did not mention them. Also, countries may not have displayed their policies on all five of the Web sites under analysis. For example, although Panama has a transparency law, just 4 of the 5 government Web sites (during the time of this research’s data collection) displayed transparency policy information. Similar inconsistency was also seen in other countries with transparency laws such as Mexico. Thus transparency statements are not employed in a consistent manner within countries. Interestingly, all of the countries without transparency laws (Honduras, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil and Chile at the time of data collection) had some Web sites that included mentions of transparency policies. This suggests that government communicators recognized the importance of transparency to stakeholders even when their governments did not officially require it. Interactivity was measured through symmetric communicative practices such as the administration of surveys, spot polls, petitions, and forums, along with features that allowed stakeholders to reach the organization. Ninety-eight percent of Web sites included an email address, 94% a phone number, 90% an address, 10% surveys, 4% polls, and 2% petitions. No Web sites featured blogs, chat rooms, or a forum. Setting an example for interactivity were Mexican Web sites, with 4 out of the 5 government organizations employing surveys, spot polls, and/or petitions. Of course, stakeholders will not use Web sites that are difficult to navigate. While some Web sites provided features that made them highly usable, many could be vastly improved. Sixty-four percent of Web sites included a search bar, 54% a site map, 30% allowed page formatting for printing, 24% had a Frequently Asked Question section, and 20% included links to other sites. Once again, these features were adopted inconsistently within countries. Although these features were inconsistently implemented, all but one of the Columbian websites included a search bar on their Web site, and in contrast all the Panamanian Web sites under analysis excluded a search bar except for one. The addition of press rooms was also conceptualized as a usability variable because media and other stakeholders seek information in these Web site locations. About two-thirds, or 64% of all the sites, had this feature or something similar to it. Like the other variables, the use of press rooms to organize and disseminate information was not employed evenly throughout each country’s sites. Only Colombia and Brazil had a press room or like features on each one of their five Web sites. Unlike the inclusion of transparency laws and interactivity features, technical sophistication was displayed more prominently on Web sites. Approximately 58% of all the sites utilized flash film to present visual information such as opinion leader speeches, laws, policies, and other information appropriate to present in such a manner. No country used flash film (or other moving image genres) on all five of their sites but several countries (Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela) used flash film on 4 of the 5 governmental sites under analysis. Likewise, 62% of all the sites also used graphs to display information. Site establishment notations were included on 56% of sites, last updates listed on 24%, privacy policies on 22% and legal statements on 8%. Another measure of technical sophistication, hit counters, were only utilized on 12% of the Web sites. Out of all the countries Panama used hit counters the most frequently as they were utilized on three of their Web sites. Hit counters are an important measure of how many stakeholders are visiting the Web site and are a low-cost evaluation measure. Panama also included privacy statements on all their Web sites, whereas Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, and Venezuela did not employ privacy statements on any of the analyzed Web sites. Finally, 80% of all the Web sites used some sort of national symbolism (flag, motto, emblem) to represent their government site. The most popular form of symbolism was the emblem, with 50% of the sites displaying them. The emblem was either the national emblem or it was specifically site affiliated, where each particular governmental ministry (e.g., health, environment, transportation, etc.) had its own emblem. Two other items in the national symbolism index, flags and mottos, were included in 44% and 4% of the Web sites, respectively. Lastly, we tested our hypotheses about whether transparency laws would create Web site feature differences. In these Web sites, there were no significant differences in interactivity features between countries that had transparency laws and
124
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
those that did not (t = −2.31, p > .05). However, a small significant difference was observed in the use of national symbolism on government Web sites, with countries having transparency laws more apt to include flags, emblems, and/or mottos (t = −2.37, p < .05). We discuss possible reasons for these findings in the next section. 4. Discussion Technological sophistication offers features that on the surface help to brand the government agency as modern, but technological sophistication (such as broadcasting Hugo Chavez’s speeches) can merely improve one-way communication without necessarily providing enhanced benefits for the user or building two-way relationships between the government organization and its constituents. This analysis found that many Latin American government Web sites have features that appear sophisticated, without necessarily enhancing transparency or relationships with publics. In addition, while usability is high among some sites, others are woefully short of sophistication and present navigation challenges. As Kent et al. (2003) and others have noted, Web site design features that allow interactivity are necessary to encourage relationship building with key publics. This research found that Latin American government organizations are producing Web sites with commendable features but that many sites can be improved. Generally Web sites in the sample effectively included ways for stakeholders to reach the organization (email addresses, telephone numbers, street or mailing addresses), but did not take advantage of opportunities for constituent feedback by adding surveys, blogs, polls, or petitions. Employing these and other recommended characteristics of transparency-centered Web site design will foster credibility of not only the Web site but the organization itself, as well as the larger, overarching government. It is the incorporation of all the characteristics – not just the use of one or two – that will lead to transparency on a greater level, one which will reach all stakeholders and exemplify two-way symmetric communication. In our sample, social media such as Facebook or Twitter were not included (the exception was YouTube), although some regional government tourism sites and a few Latin American federal government agencies are experimenting with social media. This will be the next stage for government communication, where government agencies open themselves not only to interaction, but to unfettered comments from constituents and communication among constituents absent of government control. Transparency and freedom of information laws in most Latin American countries are quite new so it may take time to see the results exhibited on Latin American government Web sites. Globalization, increasing technical sophistication, and competition will also increase pressure from stakeholders to produce Web sites that are more transparent and interactive. Upholding transparency also contributes to preventing crises, and warding off crises can help present the stable image that Latin American nations need to increase international investment and tourism. Governments that are enhancing their Web sites now will be better equipped to deal with crisis prevention and manage possible future crises. It is clear from the results that Latin American government Web site producers can make strides to adopt more features promoting usability, interactivity, and technical sophistication to foster transparency and more stakeholder usage. Overall, significant differences were not seen when comparing usability, technical sophistication, and interactivity of Web sites from countries with transparency laws versus countries without transparency laws. This indicates that countries that have adopted the laws are not maximizing the concepts of transparency and accessibility or differentiating themselves via their Web presence. Thus, to help the public relations professional and site developer create a transparent Web site, a model entitled “Characteristics of Web site Sophistication” (see Fig. 1) was developed in order to illustrate features and design elements that are needed in order for any Web site to be considered transparent. Fig. 1 is a compilation of suggested features with corresponding explanations to further provide visual clarification in emphasizing transparency and the consequent level of sophistication. While we have used the definitions of usability and interactivity provided by Xifra and Huertas (2008), we have found many of the variables used in other studies helpful in operationalizing these concepts (Curtin & Gaither, 2004; Kent et al., 2003). We agree with Hallahan (2001) that a Web site’s usability (navigability) contributes to its overall interactivity. Thus, while we separate the concepts for the sake of discussion we realize that they may be combined in public relations practice. While no means exhaustive, Fig. 1 is meant to illustrate some of the features Web sites need in order to properly accomplish symmetric public relations programming. This study surveys Web site characteristics including interactivity (surveys, blogs, spot polls, petitions, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers) and usability (search bar, font-adjustment options, FAQ section, page formatting for printing, site map, press room). Additional considerations not in our original usability index but included in the chart include multiple language options and site clutter, which inhibits usage. While we did not observe organizations relying on social media, we have added social media to the interactive measures. As noted earlier, this changes the traditional concept of interactivity based on two-way symmetric communication to multi-directional communication among stakeholders and/or the organization. Other dimensions of the model are branding (such as consistent representation of flag, motto, national colors), and technical sophistication (flash film or other moving images, graphs or charts, indication of site establishment, notation of last update, privacy policy, legal statement, and Web site hit counter). The authors note that Web sites can be classified by their scale of sophistication: LOW, BASIC, or HIGH. HIGH sophistication refers to sites that utilize the most features. These characteristics promote the most transparency and two-way symmetric conversation which is vital for the public relations professional to maximize relationship building. We have also added social media features (multi-directional interactive communication) that were not present on the Web sites we analyzed in our sample.
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
125
Fig. 1. Website features enhancing two-way symmetric communication.
BASIC simply refers to average sites. Average sites are those that employ some features but not all. Many of the basic sites do an adequate job in displaying and communicating information. However, they can be improved with more features or further organization. Organizations in this category may be constrained by budget or technical expertise. LOW sophistication refers to sites that sparingly employ some of these features. Generally, LOW sites include sites with little information. However, LOW sites can also refer to sites that have a lot of information that is inefficiently displayed. This includes sites with high amounts of visual clutter – too much information that is not properly organized and thus not accessible to the nation’s citizens or international stakeholders. Public relations practitioners can self-diagnose using this heuristic chart to see where their Web sites would rate on the main concepts of interactivity, usability, and technical expertise. Whether an organization’s national laws require transparent communication or not, the model is one tool aimed at Web site production that furthers relationship building and open, symmetric communication. Future research examining transparent digital communication in other parts of the world could map transparent communication and compare it with maps of press and Internet freedom, such as those published by Freedom House. References Banisar, D. (2006). Freedom of information around the world 2006: A global survey of access to government information laws. Privacy International [Retrieved May 19 from http://www.freedominfo.org]
126
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
Corella, M. A. R., del Campo, A. M. M., & Toledo, J. A. H. (2009). The public relations industry in Mexico: From amateurship to the construction of a discipline. In K. Sriramesh, & D. Vercic (Eds.), The global public relations handbook: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 676–703). New York, NY: Routledge. Curtin, P. A., & Gaither, T. K. (2004). International agenda-building in cyberspace: A study of Middle Eastern government English-language Web sites. Public Relations Review, 30(1), 25–36. Freedominfo.org. (2009). Retrieved April 9 from http://www.freedominfo.org. Washington, DC Freeman, M. (December 24, 2002). Vis-Sat names as supplier to e-Mexico plan. In The San Diego Union Tribune. Lexis-Nexis Academic. [p. C-1. Retrieved April 16, 2009]. Fursich, E., & Robins, M. B. (2002). Africa.com: The self-representation of sub-Saharan nations on the World Wide Web. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19(2), 190–211. Grunig, J. E., & Grunig, L. A. (1992). Models of public relations and communication. In J. E. Grunig (Ed.), Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management (pp. 285–325). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Hallahan, K. (2001). Improving public relations web sites through usability research. Public Relations Review, 27(2), 223–239. Hawkins, E. T., & Hawkins, K. A. (2003). Bridging Latin America’s digital divide: Government policies and Internet access. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 80(3), 646–665. Hughes, S., & Lawson, C. (2005). The barriers to media opening in Latin America. Political Communication, 22, 9–25. Johnson, M. A. (2005). Five decades of Mexican public relations in the United States: From propaganda to strategic counsel. Public Relations Review, 31, 11–20. Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (1998). Building dialogic relationships through the World Wide Web. Public Relations Review, 24(3), 321–334. Kent, M. L., Taylor, M., & White, W. J. (2003). The relationship between Web site design and organizational responsiveness to stakeholders. Public Relations Review, 29, 63–77. Layne, K., & Lee, J. (2001). Developing fully functional e-government: A four stage model. Government Information Quarterly, 18(2), 122–136. Molleda, J. C., & Moreno, A. (2008). Balancing public relations with socioeconomic and political environments in transition: Comparative, contextualized research in Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Journalism & Communication Monographs, 10(2), 115–174. Morgan, N. J., & Pritchard, A. (2005). Promoting niche tourism destination brands: Case studies of New Zealand and Wales. Journal of Promotion Management, 12(1), 17–33. Sweeney, A. D. P. (2007). Electronic government-citizen relationships: Exploring citizen perspectives. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 4(2), 101–116. Taylor, M., & Kent, M. L. (2007). Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses. Public Relations Review, 33, 140–146. The Carter Center (2009). Retrieved April 9, 2009 from http://www.cartercenter.org. White, C., & Raman, N. (1999). The World Wide Web as a public relations medium: The use of research, planning and evaluation of Web site development. Public Relations Review, 25, 405–419. Xifra, J., & Huertas, A. (2008). Blogging PR: An exploratory analysis of public relations weblogs. Public Relations Review, 34(3), 269–275.
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Public Relations Review
Transparency laws and interactive public relations: An analysis of Latin American government Web sites Eileen M. Searson ∗ , Melissa A. Johnson Department of Communication, Campus Box 8104, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-8104, USA
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 17 September 2009 Received in revised form 3 February 2010 Accepted 7 March 2010 Keywords: Web site Public relations Transparency Interactivity Usability Relationship building Symmetric communication Government
a b s t r a c t A content analysis of 50 Latin American government Web sites was conducted to assess whether new transparency laws in the hemisphere impacted the interactivity, usability, technological expertise, and national symbolism manifest on the sites. Web sites were found to be generally usable but limited in interactivity. There was no difference in Web site interactivity between countries with transparency laws and those without them, but countries with laws used more visual symbols aimed at national branding. The article offers a model of Web site features for public relations practitioners interested in increasing the sophistication, usability, and interactivity of their sites in order to improve relationship building with stakeholders. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction The late 20th Century return to democracy in Latin America has increased transparency policies and a number of governmental communicators have new freedom of information (FOI) laws with which they must comply. The goal of this study was to investigate transparency and interactive public relations in Latin American governmental organizations’ Web site communication. In a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 50 government Web sites, we describe transparency, usability, and interactive features in order to assess the potential level of two-way symmetric communication. Second, we evaluate whether Web sites in countries with transparency laws differ from Web sites in countries without transparency laws. Third, we discuss how the symbolic identity of nations and their key governmental agencies or ministries relates to transparency, interactivity, usability, technical sophistication, and other Web site features. Lastly, we conclude with a recommended model that public relations professionals can follow to create sophisticated, usable, interactive Web sites. 1.1. Government transparency and information access Public participation is essential to democracy, and participation depends on information. Thus, freedom of information and information accessibility are foundations of democracy. Information is also a barrier to corruption, which depends on secrecy. For instance, the United Nations Convention on Anti-corruption, adopted in 2005, encourages countries to improve public access to information in order to battle corruption (Banisar, 2006). Similarly, the World Bank has encouraged
∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Communication, NC State University, Campus Box 8104, Raleigh, NC 27695-8104, USA. Tel.: +1 919 515 9757; fax: +1 919 515 9456. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (E.M. Searson), Melissa [email protected] (M.A. Johnson). 0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2010.03.003
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
121
information freedom as a means of thwarting corruption. While journalism and public communication in Latin America are not entirely free, there has been a 21st Century move towards more transparency in government information and access by citizens, and this has affected public relations practice as well as journalism. For example, although Columbia’s law on access dates to 1885, its current constitution (1991) provides for a right of access to government records. In the last decade Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Panama passed transparency laws. These countries, along with Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, have also approved laws that give journalists and citizens the ability to procure government information in a timely way (Freeman, 2002; Hughes & Lawson, 2005). More recently Chile and Guatemala passed transparency and access laws in 2008 that became effective in April 2009 (Freedominfo.org, 2009; The Carter Center, 2009). Generally, freedom of information laws apply to the executive branch of government and ministries such as those that oversee health, the environment, law enforcement, military, communications, and transportation (Banisar, 2006). Transparency laws serve to bolster ethical public relations and have also improved job prospects in public relations because of the enhanced requirements for communication. For instance, Corella, del Campo, and Toledo (2009) noted that one reason for the growth of public relations in Mexico is the new freedom of expression regulation, although trade has certainly been another stimulus (Johnson, 2005; Molleda & Moreno, 2008). Along with the aforementioned laws requiring more transparent communication and citizen access, Internet use is increasing in Latin America. Citizens and international stakeholders are using the Internet more to seek government information and governments are responding with new e-government programs (Sweeney, 2007). Although it should not completely take the place of face-to-face discussion, from a government’s perspective, a web presence is also beneficial because not as much government staff time is consumed in answering basic questions about government services and procedures or conducting simple transactions. A government web presence increases citizens’ convenience and reduces the workload of frontline government employees (Layne & Lee, 2001). Therefore a governmental Web site must be sophisticated so that it is sufficiently helpful and representational. This means that the sites need to be interactive, accountable, usable, and demonstrate sufficient technical expertise. Hawkins and Hawkins’ (2003) research into Latin American government Internet policies found a number of objectives including: generate Web content in the local language, provide online government services, promote the use of technologies to improve health and health care access, and promote technologies to support sustainable development and environmental projects (2003). While these goals center on serving a nation’s citizens, government Web sites also reach stakeholders outside the nation. Government communication outside national borders aims to solicit external investment in the country, promote tourism, promote trade, and/or create a foundation for public diplomacy. Web sites also help to brand a nation (Fursich & Robins, 2002; Morgan & Pritchard, 2005) and a solid national brand can serve as a foundation for business and diplomatic objectives. In short, when communicating via the Internet, governments are reaching their own citizens plus international constituents. This is why our research is relevant not only to Latin American communicators, but to public relations practitioners around the world. 1.2. Interactivity and two-way symmetric communication In addition to the pragmatic aspects of Web site communication, digital communication has been lauded by public relations theorists for its ability to foster dialog between an organization and its stakeholders. This boosts two-way symmetric communication, the normative model of public relations (e.g., Grunig & Grunig, 1992). In brief, two-way symmetric communication is defined as research-based public relations that use communication to improve understanding with key publics. The goal in symmetric communication is that organizations and publics adjust and adapt to each other for mutual benefit, rather than an organization using one-way persuasive communication merely to empower the organization and foist its goals onto its stakeholders. Whether organizations maximize the features of Web site design has been found to make a difference in stakeholder responsiveness (Kent, Taylor, & White, 2003) and research shows it is important to feature different pages to fulfill different stakeholders’ needs (Taylor & Kent, 2007). Therefore, variation in Web features can impact two-way symmetric communication. Consequently, the overall branding of the government organization and its national image can be altered depending on responsiveness to stakeholders as evidenced by levels of usability, interactivity, and technical sophistication. However, White and Raman (1999) found that organizations in their study used Web sites more for image building than relationship building, missing the opportunity to demonstrate symmetric stakeholder communication. The diffusion of social media complicates the two-way symmetric model because social media such as Facebook or Twitter allow for multi-directional interactive communication between an organization and its stakeholders and among the members of the stakeholder group(s), without organizational intervention. For example, a university that establishes an Alumni Facebook page can be dismayed to see posts criticizing the university along with bolstering posts. Social media is discussed further in Section 3. In summary, transparency and access to information is vital to democracy, and government Web sites play a vital role in providing citizens with information. Government public relations practitioners’ use of this medium can also impact national branding and identity. Most importantly, government communicators can use Web sites for relationship building with citizens and other stakeholders beyond the nation’s borders. Employing social media to foster communication among stakeholders is another strategy for consideration by government communicators. The goal of this study is to contribute practical knowledge about digital communication for use in government public relations internationally in addition to
122
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
making a larger theoretical contribution to the role of transparency, interactivity, and usability in two-way symmetric communication. 1.3. Research questions and hypotheses Given the literature and objectives, the following research questions and hypotheses were developed: RQ1: How often are transparency laws or policies discussed on Latin American government Web sites? RQ2: How interactive are Latin American government Web sites for stakeholders? RQ3: How usable to stakeholders are Latin American government Web sites? RQ4: How much technological expertise is displayed on Latin American Web sites? H1: Government Web sites in Latin American countries with transparency laws or policies will be more interactive than Web sites in countries without transparency laws or policies. H2: The degree of national symbolism on government Web sites in Latin American countries with transparency laws will differ from the degree of symbolism represented in Web sites of countries without transparency laws. 2. Methodology 2.1. Sampling Using a purposeful design, Web sites from the following 10 Latin American countries were selected for this research: Brazil, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela. Six of the countries had transparency laws in effect at the time data were collected in March 2009 (Belize, Colombia, Honduras, Ecuador, Mexico, and Panama). Chile’s laws went into effect in April. Two lists of Latin American Web sites were combined to serve as an initial sampling frame to locate government sites – the Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC) Web site (http://lanic.utexas.edu/) and a Web site featuring a comprehensive world list of governmental Web sites (www.gksoft.com/govt). We supplemented this with government agency lists from central government portals such as Mexico’s (www.gob.mex). From this combined list of government agencies (duplicates excluded) five governmental sites were purposively selected for each of the ten countries, for a total sample size of 50 Web sites. All of the Web sites were accessed in March 2009. The priority was to include current sites for the president and government offices devoted to health, education, tourism, and the environment because these government entities frequently have Web sites. However, because some of these were unavailable in various countries or unable to be accessed due to technical limitations, other Web sites analyzed included government branches devoted to foreign affairs/external relations, agriculture, human rights, national defense, culture, economy, housing, and immigration. In summary, given the technological challenges and inconsistencies among government Web sites a nonprobability sample with country quotas was the best choice for this study rather than a random sample of Web sites. This allowed us to scrutinize a range of government sites from a variety of countries – those with transparency laws and those without. According to update information posted on the sites, all of them had been updated between 1999 and 2009. 2.2. Measures The first research question asked whether transparency policies were posted on the Web site. This manifest content was measured with one variable (policy included or not). The second and third research questions dealt with the concepts of interactivity and usability. Following Xifra and Huertas (2008), interactivity was conceptualized as the inclusion of features that allowed dialogic communication that enhance relationships and collaboration; usability measured the degree to which Web site users could negotiate the functions of the site. Variables measuring interactivity included the appearance of interactive (two-way communication) features such as surveys, forums, blogs, chat rooms, spot polls, or petitions. In addition, authors noted the inclusion of contact email addresses, mailing addresses, and telephone numbers because their inclusion encourages stakeholder contact with the organization.1 For usability, we noted whether the sites contained a search bar, a font-adjustment option, a frequently asked question section, the availability of page formatting for printing, a press room, and a site map. Links to other non-governmental sites were included here, too. These measures were modified from similar research (e.g., Curtin & Gaither, 2004; Kent & Taylor, 1998). Individual variables were dummy coded (present or not) and later summed to create separate indexes of interactivity and usability. The fourth research question explored the concept of technological sophistication, defined as how many advanced features separate from usability or interactive features the site contained. Sophistication-related variables included whether sites
1 We did not code for social media because we did not find evidence of social media on Web sites when we pre-tested our codesheet in early 2009, except for the use of YouTube. YouTube was included with other visual communication variables in the technical sophistication concept. Future studies may want to code separately for various types of social media and determine through principal components analysis or other means whether they cluster best with interactive, technological sophistication, or other concepts.
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
123
had a notation of the last update, indication of site establishment, a privacy policy statement, a legal statement, a Web site hit counter, graphics, and availability of moving images (e.g., flash films, videos, and/or YouTube). We conceptualized these features as evidence of digital sophistication, but not necessarily vital to stakeholder usability. YouTube was the only type of social media observed in our pretest, and we included it in our technological sophistication measures rather than in our interactivity measures because our definition of interactivity, following transparency laws, focused on communication between the organization and its stakeholders, rather than on communication among stakeholders. Again, variables were dummy coded and then summed to create a sophistication index. Measures previously discussed were used in the first hypothesis. For the second hypothesis, degree of national symbolism was measured by the presence of flags, emblems, and/or mottos. These variables were dummy coded to create a symbolism index. National symbolism was considered one part of the government organization’s branding efforts. At the project’s outset the coders coded similar websites separately and discussed coding differences. Then one coder coded all 50 sites. Final intercoder reliability on 12% of the sample ranged from 67% to 100% on the 25 manifest variables, with an average of 84%. Intercoder reliability was 91% on the interactivity scale, 81% on the usability scale, 81% on the technological sophistication scale, and 83% on the national symbolism scale. 3. Results In addressing the first research question, the data indicated that only 40% of the 50 Web sites displayed transparency laws or policies. However, 60% of the countries analyzed actually had transparency laws. Thus some of the countries that had transparency laws did not mention them. Also, countries may not have displayed their policies on all five of the Web sites under analysis. For example, although Panama has a transparency law, just 4 of the 5 government Web sites (during the time of this research’s data collection) displayed transparency policy information. Similar inconsistency was also seen in other countries with transparency laws such as Mexico. Thus transparency statements are not employed in a consistent manner within countries. Interestingly, all of the countries without transparency laws (Honduras, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Brazil and Chile at the time of data collection) had some Web sites that included mentions of transparency policies. This suggests that government communicators recognized the importance of transparency to stakeholders even when their governments did not officially require it. Interactivity was measured through symmetric communicative practices such as the administration of surveys, spot polls, petitions, and forums, along with features that allowed stakeholders to reach the organization. Ninety-eight percent of Web sites included an email address, 94% a phone number, 90% an address, 10% surveys, 4% polls, and 2% petitions. No Web sites featured blogs, chat rooms, or a forum. Setting an example for interactivity were Mexican Web sites, with 4 out of the 5 government organizations employing surveys, spot polls, and/or petitions. Of course, stakeholders will not use Web sites that are difficult to navigate. While some Web sites provided features that made them highly usable, many could be vastly improved. Sixty-four percent of Web sites included a search bar, 54% a site map, 30% allowed page formatting for printing, 24% had a Frequently Asked Question section, and 20% included links to other sites. Once again, these features were adopted inconsistently within countries. Although these features were inconsistently implemented, all but one of the Columbian websites included a search bar on their Web site, and in contrast all the Panamanian Web sites under analysis excluded a search bar except for one. The addition of press rooms was also conceptualized as a usability variable because media and other stakeholders seek information in these Web site locations. About two-thirds, or 64% of all the sites, had this feature or something similar to it. Like the other variables, the use of press rooms to organize and disseminate information was not employed evenly throughout each country’s sites. Only Colombia and Brazil had a press room or like features on each one of their five Web sites. Unlike the inclusion of transparency laws and interactivity features, technical sophistication was displayed more prominently on Web sites. Approximately 58% of all the sites utilized flash film to present visual information such as opinion leader speeches, laws, policies, and other information appropriate to present in such a manner. No country used flash film (or other moving image genres) on all five of their sites but several countries (Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela) used flash film on 4 of the 5 governmental sites under analysis. Likewise, 62% of all the sites also used graphs to display information. Site establishment notations were included on 56% of sites, last updates listed on 24%, privacy policies on 22% and legal statements on 8%. Another measure of technical sophistication, hit counters, were only utilized on 12% of the Web sites. Out of all the countries Panama used hit counters the most frequently as they were utilized on three of their Web sites. Hit counters are an important measure of how many stakeholders are visiting the Web site and are a low-cost evaluation measure. Panama also included privacy statements on all their Web sites, whereas Costa Rica, Belize, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, and Venezuela did not employ privacy statements on any of the analyzed Web sites. Finally, 80% of all the Web sites used some sort of national symbolism (flag, motto, emblem) to represent their government site. The most popular form of symbolism was the emblem, with 50% of the sites displaying them. The emblem was either the national emblem or it was specifically site affiliated, where each particular governmental ministry (e.g., health, environment, transportation, etc.) had its own emblem. Two other items in the national symbolism index, flags and mottos, were included in 44% and 4% of the Web sites, respectively. Lastly, we tested our hypotheses about whether transparency laws would create Web site feature differences. In these Web sites, there were no significant differences in interactivity features between countries that had transparency laws and
124
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
those that did not (t = −2.31, p > .05). However, a small significant difference was observed in the use of national symbolism on government Web sites, with countries having transparency laws more apt to include flags, emblems, and/or mottos (t = −2.37, p < .05). We discuss possible reasons for these findings in the next section. 4. Discussion Technological sophistication offers features that on the surface help to brand the government agency as modern, but technological sophistication (such as broadcasting Hugo Chavez’s speeches) can merely improve one-way communication without necessarily providing enhanced benefits for the user or building two-way relationships between the government organization and its constituents. This analysis found that many Latin American government Web sites have features that appear sophisticated, without necessarily enhancing transparency or relationships with publics. In addition, while usability is high among some sites, others are woefully short of sophistication and present navigation challenges. As Kent et al. (2003) and others have noted, Web site design features that allow interactivity are necessary to encourage relationship building with key publics. This research found that Latin American government organizations are producing Web sites with commendable features but that many sites can be improved. Generally Web sites in the sample effectively included ways for stakeholders to reach the organization (email addresses, telephone numbers, street or mailing addresses), but did not take advantage of opportunities for constituent feedback by adding surveys, blogs, polls, or petitions. Employing these and other recommended characteristics of transparency-centered Web site design will foster credibility of not only the Web site but the organization itself, as well as the larger, overarching government. It is the incorporation of all the characteristics – not just the use of one or two – that will lead to transparency on a greater level, one which will reach all stakeholders and exemplify two-way symmetric communication. In our sample, social media such as Facebook or Twitter were not included (the exception was YouTube), although some regional government tourism sites and a few Latin American federal government agencies are experimenting with social media. This will be the next stage for government communication, where government agencies open themselves not only to interaction, but to unfettered comments from constituents and communication among constituents absent of government control. Transparency and freedom of information laws in most Latin American countries are quite new so it may take time to see the results exhibited on Latin American government Web sites. Globalization, increasing technical sophistication, and competition will also increase pressure from stakeholders to produce Web sites that are more transparent and interactive. Upholding transparency also contributes to preventing crises, and warding off crises can help present the stable image that Latin American nations need to increase international investment and tourism. Governments that are enhancing their Web sites now will be better equipped to deal with crisis prevention and manage possible future crises. It is clear from the results that Latin American government Web site producers can make strides to adopt more features promoting usability, interactivity, and technical sophistication to foster transparency and more stakeholder usage. Overall, significant differences were not seen when comparing usability, technical sophistication, and interactivity of Web sites from countries with transparency laws versus countries without transparency laws. This indicates that countries that have adopted the laws are not maximizing the concepts of transparency and accessibility or differentiating themselves via their Web presence. Thus, to help the public relations professional and site developer create a transparent Web site, a model entitled “Characteristics of Web site Sophistication” (see Fig. 1) was developed in order to illustrate features and design elements that are needed in order for any Web site to be considered transparent. Fig. 1 is a compilation of suggested features with corresponding explanations to further provide visual clarification in emphasizing transparency and the consequent level of sophistication. While we have used the definitions of usability and interactivity provided by Xifra and Huertas (2008), we have found many of the variables used in other studies helpful in operationalizing these concepts (Curtin & Gaither, 2004; Kent et al., 2003). We agree with Hallahan (2001) that a Web site’s usability (navigability) contributes to its overall interactivity. Thus, while we separate the concepts for the sake of discussion we realize that they may be combined in public relations practice. While no means exhaustive, Fig. 1 is meant to illustrate some of the features Web sites need in order to properly accomplish symmetric public relations programming. This study surveys Web site characteristics including interactivity (surveys, blogs, spot polls, petitions, email addresses, mailing addresses, phone numbers) and usability (search bar, font-adjustment options, FAQ section, page formatting for printing, site map, press room). Additional considerations not in our original usability index but included in the chart include multiple language options and site clutter, which inhibits usage. While we did not observe organizations relying on social media, we have added social media to the interactive measures. As noted earlier, this changes the traditional concept of interactivity based on two-way symmetric communication to multi-directional communication among stakeholders and/or the organization. Other dimensions of the model are branding (such as consistent representation of flag, motto, national colors), and technical sophistication (flash film or other moving images, graphs or charts, indication of site establishment, notation of last update, privacy policy, legal statement, and Web site hit counter). The authors note that Web sites can be classified by their scale of sophistication: LOW, BASIC, or HIGH. HIGH sophistication refers to sites that utilize the most features. These characteristics promote the most transparency and two-way symmetric conversation which is vital for the public relations professional to maximize relationship building. We have also added social media features (multi-directional interactive communication) that were not present on the Web sites we analyzed in our sample.
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
125
Fig. 1. Website features enhancing two-way symmetric communication.
BASIC simply refers to average sites. Average sites are those that employ some features but not all. Many of the basic sites do an adequate job in displaying and communicating information. However, they can be improved with more features or further organization. Organizations in this category may be constrained by budget or technical expertise. LOW sophistication refers to sites that sparingly employ some of these features. Generally, LOW sites include sites with little information. However, LOW sites can also refer to sites that have a lot of information that is inefficiently displayed. This includes sites with high amounts of visual clutter – too much information that is not properly organized and thus not accessible to the nation’s citizens or international stakeholders. Public relations practitioners can self-diagnose using this heuristic chart to see where their Web sites would rate on the main concepts of interactivity, usability, and technical expertise. Whether an organization’s national laws require transparent communication or not, the model is one tool aimed at Web site production that furthers relationship building and open, symmetric communication. Future research examining transparent digital communication in other parts of the world could map transparent communication and compare it with maps of press and Internet freedom, such as those published by Freedom House. References Banisar, D. (2006). Freedom of information around the world 2006: A global survey of access to government information laws. Privacy International [Retrieved May 19 from http://www.freedominfo.org]
126
E.M. Searson, M.A. Johnson / Public Relations Review 36 (2010) 120–126
Corella, M. A. R., del Campo, A. M. M., & Toledo, J. A. H. (2009). The public relations industry in Mexico: From amateurship to the construction of a discipline. In K. Sriramesh, & D. Vercic (Eds.), The global public relations handbook: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed., pp. 676–703). New York, NY: Routledge. Curtin, P. A., & Gaither, T. K. (2004). International agenda-building in cyberspace: A study of Middle Eastern government English-language Web sites. Public Relations Review, 30(1), 25–36. Freedominfo.org. (2009). Retrieved April 9 from http://www.freedominfo.org. Washington, DC Freeman, M. (December 24, 2002). Vis-Sat names as supplier to e-Mexico plan. In The San Diego Union Tribune. Lexis-Nexis Academic. [p. C-1. Retrieved April 16, 2009]. Fursich, E., & Robins, M. B. (2002). Africa.com: The self-representation of sub-Saharan nations on the World Wide Web. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19(2), 190–211. Grunig, J. E., & Grunig, L. A. (1992). Models of public relations and communication. In J. E. Grunig (Ed.), Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management (pp. 285–325). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Hallahan, K. (2001). Improving public relations web sites through usability research. Public Relations Review, 27(2), 223–239. Hawkins, E. T., & Hawkins, K. A. (2003). Bridging Latin America’s digital divide: Government policies and Internet access. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 80(3), 646–665. Hughes, S., & Lawson, C. (2005). The barriers to media opening in Latin America. Political Communication, 22, 9–25. Johnson, M. A. (2005). Five decades of Mexican public relations in the United States: From propaganda to strategic counsel. Public Relations Review, 31, 11–20. Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (1998). Building dialogic relationships through the World Wide Web. Public Relations Review, 24(3), 321–334. Kent, M. L., Taylor, M., & White, W. J. (2003). The relationship between Web site design and organizational responsiveness to stakeholders. Public Relations Review, 29, 63–77. Layne, K., & Lee, J. (2001). Developing fully functional e-government: A four stage model. Government Information Quarterly, 18(2), 122–136. Molleda, J. C., & Moreno, A. (2008). Balancing public relations with socioeconomic and political environments in transition: Comparative, contextualized research in Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela. Journalism & Communication Monographs, 10(2), 115–174. Morgan, N. J., & Pritchard, A. (2005). Promoting niche tourism destination brands: Case studies of New Zealand and Wales. Journal of Promotion Management, 12(1), 17–33. Sweeney, A. D. P. (2007). Electronic government-citizen relationships: Exploring citizen perspectives. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 4(2), 101–116. Taylor, M., & Kent, M. L. (2007). Taxonomy of mediated crisis responses. Public Relations Review, 33, 140–146. The Carter Center (2009). Retrieved April 9, 2009 from http://www.cartercenter.org. White, C., & Raman, N. (1999). The World Wide Web as a public relations medium: The use of research, planning and evaluation of Web site development. Public Relations Review, 25, 405–419. Xifra, J., & Huertas, A. (2008). Blogging PR: An exploratory analysis of public relations weblogs. Public Relations Review, 34(3), 269–275.