Page 154 - An Introduction to Political Communication Fifth Edition

Intro to Politics Communication (5th edn)-p.qxp 9/2/11 10:55 Page 133

POLITICAL PUBLIC RELATIONS
At news conferences tears were shed, tempers lost, and recriminations made
as Labour sought unsuccessfully to bring the media’s agenda back into line
with its own.
Despite the dangers inherent in using ‘free media’, the newsworthiness of
live television interviews and debates ensures that no party leader or head of
government can refuse to participate in them to some degree. To minimise
the risks politicians employ public relations professionals, whose job it is to
attempt to ensure that the interpretation of a speaker’s words (or gaffes) is
a convenient and desirable one. These ‘spin doctors’ seek to shape the
journalistic agenda in making sense of their employers’ discourse. This they
may do by issuing press releases clarifying ambiguous or contradictory
remarks, having quiet words with key journalists and pundits or giving news
conferences. Leading politicians will also employ the services of ‘minders’,
who manage the details of media encounters and attempt to anticipate and
neutralise risks. In Britain, following the rise of Tony Blair and the election
of Labour to government, the most famous (and infamous) of these became
Alistair Campbell, the new Prime Minister’s press secretary. Campbell did in
government what he had done in opposition – seduced, cajoled, harried and
intimidated the media from behind the scenes into giving his leader the best
possible coverage in any given circumstances. Spokespersons, on the other
hand, literally speak for the politician in public. In the US the presidential
spokesman or woman has a key role in maintaining daily contact between
the president, the media and the public. Where the president may give a news
conference weekly, monthly, or less frequently, the spokesperson provides a
constant flow of soundbites which are assumed to be authoritative. When
George Stepanopolous or Dee Dee Myers spoke to US journalists about
Clinton administration policy, the journalists knew they were receiving the
presidential perspective on events. Even when presidents and other political
figures make personal appearances at a news conference, rally or other event,
the words they speak are usually not their own but those of a speech-writer
who will attempt to present the desired message in a media-friendly form,
with sufficiently snappy soundbites.

Image management
The supply by politicians of structured news events for the purposes of
maximising favourable media coverage is accompanied by a heightened
concern with image: the personal image of political actors on the one hand
and the corporate image of the party on the other. In the area of personal
image, modern politicians are judged not only by what they say and do, but
how they say and do it. In short, political style now counts for almost as
much as substance. One could argue that this has always been an important
factor in political success, and that leaders from George Washington
onwards have consciously presented ‘images’ to their constituencies. As with

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