A publicist is the professional who manages a celebrity’s public image: arranging interviews, steering press coverage, drafting statements and, just as often, deciding what should not be said. On the red carpet the publicist is the person standing just out of shot, watching both the clock and the questions.
The word has a surprisingly solemn past. Merriam-Webster dates publicist to 1792, when it meant an expert in international law, borrowed from the New Latin publicista and linked to the Latin phrase for public law. It later came to mean a commentator on public affairs, and only after that a press agent. Somewhere along the way the job moved from treaties between nations to negotiations over magazine covers and interview slots, which, judging by the seriousness involved, is not such a great leap.