20130412164339753295_book_an-introduction-to-political-communication
20130412164339753295_book_an-introduction-to-political-communication
20130412164339753295_book_an-introduction-to-political-communication
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
COMMUNICATING POLITICS<br />
practices which inhibit in-depth <strong>an</strong>alysis of <strong>political</strong> parties’ policies. The<br />
broadcasters, for example, fasten pack-like on<strong>to</strong> the day’s soundbites (often<br />
deliberately pl<strong>an</strong>ted by the politici<strong>an</strong>s’ public relations staff), which are then<br />
repeated endlessly. Hart’s <strong>an</strong>alysis of TV coverage of US presidential speeches<br />
shows just how few, on average, of a speechmaker’s words are reported in<br />
the news (1987), <strong>an</strong>d how much amounts <strong>to</strong> mere repetition of a few key<br />
words <strong>an</strong>d phrases. In this context, <strong>to</strong> the extent that television is the major<br />
source of <strong>political</strong> information for most people, the advertisement is the<br />
format in which a <strong>political</strong> ac<strong>to</strong>r has the greatest opportunity <strong>to</strong> impart ‘the<br />
issues’ as he or she sees them.<br />
Of course, as in the world of commerce, the advertisement does not merely<br />
inform individuals in society about the choices available <strong>to</strong> them as <strong>political</strong><br />
consumers. They are also designed <strong>to</strong> persuade. And in persuasion, as well as<br />
information dissemination, the advertisement has clear adv<strong>an</strong>tages for the<br />
politici<strong>an</strong>. Most obviously, edi<strong>to</strong>rial control resides with the politici<strong>an</strong>, not<br />
the media. Within legal constraints of truth <strong>an</strong>d taste, which vary from one<br />
country <strong>to</strong> <strong>an</strong>other, the producers of <strong>political</strong> advertisements have the<br />
freedom <strong>to</strong> say what they like; <strong>to</strong> replace the journalists’ agenda with their<br />
own; <strong>to</strong> play <strong>to</strong> their clients’ strengths <strong>an</strong>d highlight the opponents’<br />
weaknesses. The advertisement, in short, is the only mass media form over<br />
the construction of which the politici<strong>an</strong> has complete control. Or was, until<br />
the emergence of Twitter, Face<strong>book</strong> <strong>an</strong>d online social networking opened<br />
up <strong>an</strong>other, <strong>an</strong>d in some ways more attractive ch<strong>an</strong>nel for campaigning<br />
politici<strong>an</strong>s, <strong>an</strong>d those in government, <strong>to</strong> communicate their messages<br />
‘unmediated’, as it were. We will discuss the new digitised forms of <strong>political</strong><br />
<strong>communication</strong> more fully in the chapter on public relations. Here we note<br />
that the rise of the internet has subst<strong>an</strong>tially exp<strong>an</strong>ded the r<strong>an</strong>ge of alternatives<br />
<strong>to</strong> traditional print <strong>an</strong>d TV advertising available <strong>to</strong> <strong>political</strong> ac<strong>to</strong>rs.<br />
Paid advertising remains import<strong>an</strong>t, though, given the wide, if declining,<br />
reach of TV <strong>an</strong>d newspapers. Posters <strong>an</strong>d billboards also remain attractive<br />
for <strong>political</strong> advertisers, particularly in countries such as the UK where<br />
advertising on TV is prohibited by legislation. 1<br />
A striking feature of the digital era of <strong>political</strong> <strong>communication</strong> is the<br />
capacity of citizen-voters <strong>to</strong> subvert official campaign messages with ‘mash<br />
ups’ <strong>an</strong>d other forms of digitally altered image. In the 2010 UK campaign<br />
David Cameron <strong>an</strong>d the Conservatives were extensively satirised in this<br />
m<strong>an</strong>ner (as all the parties were). In one image, as reported by the Daily<br />
Telegraph, millionaire Tory leader David Cameron is depicted as Freddie<br />
Mercury with the caption, ‘I’m just a rich boy <strong>an</strong>d nobody loves me. He’s just<br />
a rich boy, from a rich family’. 2 Another ‘mash up’ played on the opposition’s<br />
attempt <strong>to</strong> define Cameron as <strong>an</strong> upper class throwback, depicting Gordon<br />
Brown <strong>an</strong>d variations on the caption ‘Step outside, Tory boy’ (see Figure 6.6).<br />
On all paid-for platforms, the viewer is aware of the sender’s control <strong>an</strong>d<br />
may reject the message contained in <strong>an</strong> advertisement. The <strong>political</strong> ac<strong>to</strong>r<br />
86