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Intro to Politics Communication (5th edn)-p.qxp 9/2/11 10:55 Page 37

THE EFFECTS OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION
of Tony Blair as the young, dynamic, family-loving good guy, in stark
contrast to the left-wing bogey men).
Linked to the rise of ‘the image’, and exemplified by the story of New
Labour, is the rise of the image-maker. Chapter 7 discusses this category of
political actor in greater detail. Here, we note the view of many observers
that politics should best be conducted by politicians, rather than by the
growing ranks of professional pollsters, advertisers, marketing consultants,
and public relations experts now routinely employed by organisations to
design and organise their political communication strategies. If policies are
increasingly determined by public opinion, then the design and presentation
of policy has been delegated to those whose interests are not necessarily those
of the public.

THE RISING COSTS OF CAMPAIGNING

More tangibly, the cost of campaigning, as measured in pounds and pence,
dollars and cents, is argued to have increased dramatically. As Herbert
Schiller noted, ‘the sums now spent on media advertising in elections begin
to match the expenditure of the largest corporate advertisers for commercial
products and services’ (1984, p. 117). Expenditure by British political parties
on election communication has increased dramatically since the Second
World War. In America, hundreds of millions of dollars are spent on elections
for everything from presidents to local dog-catchers.
The damaging aspect of this trend, for those who are critical of it, is that
it discriminates against individuals and organisations without access to the
financial resources required for the pursuit of modern politics. Despite the
legal restrictions which exist in many countries on how much funds may be
raised for campaigning purposes, some parties have a great deal less money
to spend than others. These will tend to be representatives of the already
relatively disenfranchised, marginalised sectors of society, who are thus
driven even further from the mainstream of the political process.
As money becomes more important to the pursuit of political com-
munication, then, equality of opportunity and access to the political process
declines. Even more threatening, political power becomes something which
can be bought rather than won in a democratic contest. In the 1997 British
general election campaign, the late industrialist and anti-European Union
campaigner James Goldsmith used his substantial economic resources to
organise a Referendum Party, calling for an immediate referendum on
continued British membership of the EU. Although no Referendum Party
candidates won a parliamentary seat, the approximately £20 million spent
by Goldsmith on the campaign contributed significantly to Conservative
defeats in a number of marginal constituencies, and demonstrated what
many regarded as the inappropriate power of money to influence democratic

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