Page 154 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

POLITICAL PUBLIC RELATIONS

precision, but there is certainly force in the argument that it
provoked in many members of the audience a sense of unease. The
presumption of victory which underpinned the event was premature,
and an indicator of complacency. The event gave off what were,
for Labour, unwelcome connotations.
Pseudo-events can also be organised on a much smaller scale than
the full conference or rally. An essential part of modern political
campaigning is the setting up of photo-opportunities (with
accompanying soundbites). In the 1979 election campaign Margaret
Thatcher spent a considerable portion of her time touring factories,
donning white coats and, in the most famous example, holding a
calf at an agricultural enterprise. For the journalists covering the
campaign these events provided excellent news material, if not
information about the Conservatives’ political programme. Their need
for broadcastable material was satisfied, as was the aspiring prime
minister’s hunger for exposure and publicity.
Since Harold Macmillan’s official visit to Moscow in 1959,
incumbent politicians have used their status to create images of
statesmanship and global power (Foote, 1991). As we saw in the
previous chapter, the coverage generated by such photo-opportunities
frequently resurfaces in political advertising campaigns, as did pictures
of Margaret Thatcher’s 1987 state visit to Moscow, and shots of
George Bush meeting foreign dignitaries in his capacity as vice-
president.
The prevalence of these techniques, which are now routinely used
by all parties, has generated debate within the journalistic profession
about the extent to which, by allowing the politicians to flood the
campaign environment with pseudo-events of this kind, they are
contributing to the degradation of political culture and the
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manipulation of the audience. As a result, recent election campaigns
have witnessed journalists adopting a considerably more sceptical
approach to the pseudo-event. Political coverage now frequently
includes, not merely an account of the event, but a critique—meta-
coverage—of its status as an event and how it has been covered. In
the case of Labour’s Sheffield rally, as already noted, this meta-
discourse became seriously critical. In future, it seems, politicians
will have to construct their pseudo-events in ways which acknowledge
their ‘constructedness’.
All political news management, indeed, now operates in a context
of ongoing journalistic commentary about the ‘game’ of politics.
Journalists are aware of the efforts made to influence their coverage,
and include analysis of these efforts as part of their reportage.

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