Theories of the Information Society, Third Edition - Cryptome

INFORMATION AND DEMOCRACY
liable to discover much about the boudoirs of wayward business people and the
eccentricities of Richard Branson.
This section opened with a historical review of the growth of information
management in the political realm. Here, in the archetypical public sphere, is
most concern for the intrusion of ‘packaged’ information since, when we cannot
be confident about what is read or heard, political debate surely loses much of
its validity. Yet it is in the polity that trends towards the routine management
of information appear most advanced (Franklin, 1994).
There are several important dimensions of this phenomenon. One concerns
the presentation of political images, issues and events. The judicious handling of
press announcements and statistical data have already been mentioned, but
matters of presentation go much further than this. The transformation of Margaret
Thatcher, under the tutelage of PR expert Gordon Reece and Saatchi & Saatchi
Advertising, is well known (Cockerell et al., 1984): her hair was restyled, her voice
delivery reshaped and her style of dress changed to project less harsh imagery.
But the introduction of American-style political techniques went much further
than this, extending to the production of speeches that featured snappy ‘soundbites’
created to fit the evening television’s headlines, to the careful selection of
venues for appropriate ‘photo-opportunities’, if possible with logos, slogans and
sympathy-inducing colour schemes on display. Again, there is the meticulous
preparation of settings for political speeches, these being delivered to invited
audiences of political supporters (to avoid heckling or unseemly confrontations
with opponents who may attempt to debate). As such they are rallies to celebrate
an agreed political platform, not public meetings aiming to argue and convince.
Tony Blair and George W. Bush segued adroitly from Margaret Thatcher and
Ronald Reagan in the information management stakes, though those who
complain about Prime Minister Blair’s and President Bush’s media manipulations
display historical amnesia.
More generally, and notably with political leaders, the events are stagemanaged
for the television cameras, hence the carefully constructed backdrops,
the eye-catching bunting and, of course, the ‘spontaneous’ applause. Further,
on the rare occasions when television is live, it is well known that politicians
take the greatest care to maximise the propaganda effect. That is, concern is not
with open and honest debate, but with using the ‘live’ interview to ‘manage’
public opinion.
Of course politicians have long tried to present themselves and their views
in the best possible light. However,
no predecessor of Mrs Thatcher . . . has been so conscious of image and its
construction. She has brought in a breed of advertising agent and public
relations executive not seen before in British politics. She has become
presidential in her use of American techniques of presentation and news
management.
(Cockerell et al., 1984, p. 11)
During the 1980s information management in the polity became markedly more
systematic and sustained (Harris, 1990, pp. 168–81). Tony Blair’s untroubled
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