Page 106 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

THE MEDIA AS POLITICAL ACTORS

Expert pundits are used with particular frequency in coverage of
economic policy (usually recruited from City finance and banking
houses), obscure or faraway places (note Channel 4 News’s reliance
on Professor Peter Franks of Essex University to make sense of events
in Russia), and military policy, where retired generals and admirals
are regular contributors.
Retired politicians, for the same reasons as academics and other
experts, are employed as pundits to give an insider’s view on current
issues. Nimmo and Combs write of the ‘pundit-sage’ (1992, p.67),
referring to those elder statesmen (and occasionally women) who
pontificate with the authority of village elders on the current
generation of leaders. In America, such a sage is Henry Kissinger. In
Britain, Denis Healey and Edward Heath play the role, as do Margaret
Thatcher and John Major.
We should also note here the role of the opinion pollster, usually
called upon in person only during election campaigns, although
opinion polls are a constant element of press and broadcast coverage
of politics. The opinion pollsters are authorised to tell us what the
public thinks, and give their views on how to interpret those
thoughts.

CONCLUSION

At the end of this chapter, and of Part I, we have done five things.
Firstly, the normative role of the media in liberal democratic politics
was defined. Secondly, the media environment within which
contemporary politics, and political journalism in particular, must
be pursued, has been described. Thirdly, we have outlined the effects
debate, as it relates to political communication. We then looked at
those determinants of the media production process which shape the
extent to which politics is covered, and how it is covered. And finally,
a description was given of the many forms in which media
professionals talk about politics, or provide platforms and spaces
for others to do so.
Throughout these chapters, we have stressed the importance for
those involved in politics of knowing and understanding how the
media works. Part II will consider how and with what degree of
success political actors of various kinds have applied this knowledge
to the construction and presentation of effective political
communication.

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