Creating a media relations plan for the Institute of Public Administration in Saudi Arabia

A media relations’ plan plays an important role in communication between a governmental agency and the media. A well-developed, principle-based plan helps agencies convey messages to the public and the media, and to ultimately, achieve their goals. Scholars have noted that government agencies in countries such as Saudi Arabia have lagged behind other areas in developing effective media relations’ plans. To address this problem, this project created a media relations plan for the Institute of Public Administration in Saudi Arabia (IPA) that could also be used by similar agencies. The plan takes into account the cultural, economical and governmental circumstances that keep agencies in Saudi Arabia from using the media effectively. The method included analysis of standards for media relations plans developed by trade organizations such as the Public Relations Society of America and the International Public Relations Association, ascertainment of current media relations activities of the Institute of Pubic Administration through an examination of documents and website content, and analysis of the media relations plan of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management through the examination of documents and website content.