Mr. Gerry O'Regan:

I am sure there were many. Alastair Campbell, a spin doctor of the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has written much about this. He has articulated fairly clearly what one may describe as the constructive state of mutual antagonism which often exists, broadly speaking, between the public relations industry and journalism.

Any journalist worth his or her salt knows that there is often a conflict between what is PR and what makes news. Most journalists can tell the difference. That is not to say that, perhaps on occasion, those in PR utilise leaking news. As we know, this happens relentlessly in politics. The vast majority of journalists and PR people coexist but perhaps in an uneasy world. That is how it always has been and, I am sure, how it always will be.