Page 142 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

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PARTY POLITICAL
COMMUNICATION II

Political public relations

Advertising, we have noted, has one fundamental weakness as a form
of political communication. To the receiver of the message it is
perceived as being, if not necessarily ‘propaganda’ (in the negative
sense of that term), then ‘biased’ and partial. Regardless of whether
or not the audience agrees or disagrees with the message being
advertised, he or she is aware that it is a politically loaded message,
reflecting the interests, ideas and values of the sponsor. For this reason,
the effectiveness of political advertising as a means of persuasion
will always be limited. Knowing that a message is ‘committed’ allows
the reader, viewer or listener, to take a distance from it—to resist
and reject it. This has not, as we have seen, prevented political
advertising from occupying a growing role in the political process,
but it has encouraged the view that other forms of communication
may be more effective in transmitting the desired messages. In
particular, political actors have come to believe in the importance of
‘free media’ in achieving their goals, as opposed to the paid-for variety
(Levy, 1989). By ‘free media’ we refer to those spaces and outlets in
which political actors may gain exposure and coverage, without
having to pay media organisations for the privilege.
Gaining access to free media is not without costs, of course. It
requires a more or less professional apparatus of public relations
advisers, which must be paid for by the political organisation
concerned. Constructing or manufacturing the events and contexts
through which politicians can acquire ‘free media’ access may be
expensive in money and time. Nevertheless, we will use the term
‘free media’ here to distinguish those practices which fall under the
broad headings of ‘political marketing’ and ‘public relations’ from
those of the advertising world described in Chapter 6.
Politicians like free media because, unlike advertising, their role
in it is not that of authorship. When a politician is reported on the

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