Page 156 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

POLITICAL PUBLIC RELATIONS

social superstructure for insuring that a given rhetorical
event will proceed smoothly and persuasively.
(1987, p.61)

In Britain during election campaigns each party begins its day
with a news conference, setting out its ‘theme’ of the day, and the
issues on which it hopes to compete with opponents. Thus, in 1997
Labour had a ‘health’ day, the Tories a ‘tax’ day, and the Liberal
Democrats a ‘proportional representation’ day. By setting out the
issues in this way, early in the campaign day, each party hoped to
dominate the media agenda with coverage which would highlight
(and favour) its policies, while casting a poor light on those of the
opposition.
In general, news conferences are designed with a view to
maximising coverage. Hence, they will be put on in time to be reported
on key news bulletins, and at locations accessible to journalists. None
of which ensures, of course, that coverage will be favourable. The
débâcle of ‘Jennifer’s Ear’ (see Chapter 6), when the Labour Party’s
attempt to set the 1992 campaign agenda on health turned into a
debate about ethics and manipulation which challenged the party’s
integrity (as it did that of the Conservatives), involved a series of
news conferences in which party spokespersons sought to reclaim
the initiative, largely without success. As Butler and Kavanagh observe

the way in which the war of Jennifer’s ear captured the
agenda was the most extraordinary episode in the
campaign on the air, explicable only in terms of the
mounting frustration amongst journalists at a boring
campaign and the intensity of news management by the
parties. Frustrations boiled over, news management
collapsed, the ratpack soared off out of control, scenting
a ‘real’ story at last, and both parties and broadcasters
lurched off course.
(1992, p.164)

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 news-
worthiness 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

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