Page 30 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

POLITICS IN THE AGE OF MEDIATION

This is true of both print and broadcast media, in all capitalist
societies. Some ‘biases’ may be attributed, as Chapter 4 shows, to
constraints and limitations on the newsgathering process. Others are
the product of choices made to support this or that political party or
idea. Newspapers in Britain and most other capitalist societies are
relatively open about which political parties they support (though
some seek to maintain the appearance of neutrality). Broadcasters
are generally more reticent, although, in many political debates, such
as those which have occupied the UK media around such issues as
industrial relations and the future of Northern Ireland, clear
preferences have been on display. 2
While the extent and direction of media bias will vary in a modern
democracy, the fact that it exists entitles us to view the media
organisations as important actors in the political process. Between
the sending of a political message and its reception by an audience,
something happens to it. It gets altered in various ways, consciously
or as a consequence of the media production process, so that its
meaning and hence impact on an audience may change.
The media—and the print media in particular—are important
to the political process in more direct ways. While analysts may
argue about the bias of reportage, all newspapers take pride in
their ‘public voice’ —the editorials in which they articulate political
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opinions. Sometimes these are presented as the ‘voice of the reader’,
and directed at policy-makers. Alternatively, they may be
constructed as the calm, authoritative voice of the editor, viewing
the political scene from a detached distance. In both cases, the
editorial is intended as a political intervention, and often read as
such by a government or a party. Commentaries, analyses, and other
forms of ‘authored’ journalism are also interventionist in intention.
Chapter 5 will consider how the journalists’ messages interact with
the political process as a whole.
The media are important in the political process, finally, as
transmitters of messages from citizens to their political leaders. In
their coverage of opinion polls, for example, the media may claim to
represent ‘public opinion’, which takes on the status of a real thing
by which to understand or evaluate the political situation, often in
terms critical of or admonitory to individual politicians. In this way,
the views of the citizen are communicated upwards, often with
observable effects on parties’ behaviour. Newspapers also publish
readers’ letters, providing a forum for public discussion of political
issues. In some newspapers, notably The Times, the letters page is
likely to be read by politicians as indicative of public opinion (or

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