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This paper reviews organisational culture research and explores how it can aid the understanding of regional television organisations' practice of public relations. A comprehensive review of the organisational culture literature is made and frameworks based upon this understanding are argued by the authors to allow for a fuller appreciation of corporate culture and its implications for public relations policy and organisation. Drawing upon primary research in the UK broadcasting industry, the organisational structure and operations of Granada TV and BBC North are compared and contrasted using the methods outlined. The limitations are discussed and future research is suggested.

Drawing on the work of Niccolo Machiavelli and his appreciation of management and power, this paper explores the contemporary role of public affairs in UK organisations and the type of roles enacted by practitioners. The paper reviews how public affairs and, particularly, the corporate lobbying function have been treated by researchers and outlines recent research into the role played by public affairs practitioners based within a number of leading UK organisations. This study forms part of a longer‐term research programme designed to examine the functioning of in‐house public affairs departments within the UK. The paper explores how the role of public affairs practitioners can be conceptualised and suggests that public affairs and corporate lobbying have gained increasing recognition as strategically important activities, particularly within the more regulated sectors of industry.

Top managers should be future‐oriented and capable of sharing the “big picture” with their people. They need to be bridge builders, able to lead the workforce out of the industrial and into the post‐industrial age.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a selection of papers on such subjects as: increased application of marketing to modern politics; the perceptions of its effectiveness – particularly in closely contested elections; the escalation in funding of campaigns; and the increase in international collaboration.

There has been a marked increase in the quantity and quality of research since the first EJM special issue in 1996. Political marketing is now in the mainstream of research in marketing. The themes in the earlier special issues are tabulated to provide a comparison with those in this issue. The contributions in each paper are summarised.

The paper reveals key issues for research. One is the rapid rise in influence of the internet in the political sphere, particularly in blogging and social networking, although it presents major methodological challenges. There is also a need for more studies crossing cultures and electoral systems and empirical work to establish a firm basis for key constructs and relate those to voter attitudes and behaviour.

Drawing on a number of these papers, key issues for research in political marketing going forward are identified.