Page 88 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

THE POLITICAL MEDIA

reported than one which is not. An event which provides opportunities
for interesting pictures and, in the case of broadcasting, sounds
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(‘soundbites’), will be more attractive to the news organisation under
pressure than one which does not. Issues which can be neatly
packaged and told in relatively simple, dramatic terms will receive
more coverage than those which are complex and intractable.
The process of media production is, then, one which can be studied,
understood, and manipulated by those who wish to gain access —on
favourable terms, of course. It so happens that those political actors
with the greatest resource base from which to pursue such a strategy
are those located in established institutions of power, such as
governmental and state organisations. They have the most money
with which to employ the best news managers, organise the grandest
events, and produce the slickest press releases.

THE PROFESSION OF JOURNALISM

Another element of the media production process which can be seen
to favour the establishment is the professional ethic of objectivity
itself (and its close relation, impartiality) to which the majority of
political journalists subscribe. Objectivity, as we noted above, is
important to the democratic process because it permits the media to
report political events accurately, fairly, and independently. In concrete
terms, the objectivity ethic has gradually evolved into a set of
signifying practices and conventions which, when present in a piece
of journalism, are intended to secure the audience’s endorsement of
its ‘truthfulness’.
These practices include the explicit separation of fact from
opinion; the inclusion in coverage of all opposing sides in a debate
(excluding, usually, terrorists and other non-constitutional actors);
and the validation of journalistic narratives by the quotation of
reliable, authoritative sources. It is fair to say that for most
journalists, the most reliable and authoritative sources when
constructing a political story are the established politicians, their
senior civil servants and secretaries, and other leading figures in
state and public organs. If, moreover, these sources have embraced
the lessons of the previous paragraphs—that they should actively
seek to supply the media with material—then not only are they the
most reliable and authoritative (a culture-political factor) but also
the most convenient and accessible from the journalists’ perspective
(an organisational reality). The professional requirements of

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