Page 2 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL

COMMUNICATION

An Introduction to Political Communication critically explores the
relationship between politics, the media and democracy in the United
Kingdom, America and other contemporary societies. In this
accessible textbook Brian McNair examines how politicians, trade
unions, pressure groups and terrorist organisations make use of the
media.
Separate chapters look at political media and their effects, the
work of political advertising, marketing and public relations, and
the communicative practices of organisations at all levels, from
grassroot campaigning through to governments and international
bodies.
This new edition is revised and updated and draws on a range of
contemporary examples to show how politicians and political groups
communicate:

• the rise of New Labour under Tony Blair and the failure of the
Conservative general election strategy in 1997;
• the scandals surrounding the Clinton presidency and the
perceived dumbing down of American media;
• the Good Friday peace agreement in Northern Ireland and the
shift in tactics by para-military organisations;
• the liberalising power of the Internet and concerns about threats
to the standards of democracy.

Brian McNair is Reader in the Department of Film and Media Studies
at Stirling University. He is the author of News and Journalism in
the UK, Glasnost, Perestroika and the Soviet Media and Images of
the Enemy.