publicist

/ˈpʌbləsəst/

/ˈpʌblɪsɪst/

Other forms: publicists

A publicist creates a media buzz for movie stars, restaurants, or whoever else needs attention. A publicist for a new restaurant might send out a press release to newspapers and magazines announcing the opening, emphasizing the fabulous.

Those whose careers depend on getting attention in the media (on TV and the internet, for example) sometimes pay a publicist to generate coverage in the press. Actors, restaurants, writers, and oil companies are all things or people that commonly use publicists. In the eighteenth century, the word instead meant "person who knows public law" or "writer on current topics."

Definitions of publicist

1. noun

   someone who publicizes
   synonyms: publiciser, publicizer

   types:

   adman, advertiser, advertizer

   someone whose business is advertising

   PR man, press agent, public relations man, publicity man

   someone employed to arrange publicity (for a firm or a public figure)

   ballyhoo artist, sensationalist

   someone who uses exaggerated or lurid material in order to gain public attention

   huckster

   a person who writes radio or tv advertisements

   booster, plugger, promoter

   someone who is an active supporter and advocate

   tout, touter

   someone who advertises for customers in an especially brazen way

   type of:

   communicator

   a person who communicates with others