Some in New York state want to lead the way for the new era of positive lobbyist public relations:
These are hard times for lobbyists, at least when it comes to public perception. The City Council is moving to limit their campaign contributions. Some top aides to Gov. Eliot Spitzer are letting it be known that hiring a lobbyist might not help one’s case in Albany. Even the movies portray them as soulless influence peddlers.
So these days, when some of the most powerful lobbyists in New York City get together in private, they talk about the insults they are hearing and attacks they are feeling from all sides. Some have suggested banding together to change their image, to spread the word that they are not bad people. Perhaps even ... hire a lobbyist.
"I think the problem is the public image," said Sid Davidoff, one of the elders among the lobbying elite. "If you don’t address it, then you’ll never change it."
Note to these lobbyists: paid advertising won't succeed against the constant stream of negative REAL news about lobbyists. If lobbyists want the public to have a higher view of them, the first thing they need to do is actively pursue a cleaning of their own profession and promote much greater public visibility of activities by their profession.