Page 95 - An Introduction to Political Communication Second Edition

AN INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

contained in columns, feature articles, and a variety of shorter formats
such as diaries and cartoons, some of which have a satirical function.
We are now moving into the realm of the political ‘pundit’, a term
derived from Sanskrit which dates to the early nineteenth century
and survives in modern India to refer to a ‘learned person or teacher
who is not only an authority but also a renowned political figure’
(Nimmo and Combs, 1992, p.6).
Since Walter Lippmann legitimised the profession of journalism
in the early twentieth century, what Nimmo and Combs refer to as
a ‘priestly establishment’ has evolved. This establishment of pundits
they define as ‘a loose collectivity of journalists, analysts, policy
experts, and other specialists who voice their special knowledge in
public forums’ (Ibid., p.24). The journalist-pundit is someone who
is accepted by a newspaper reader as an authority on political affairs.
They become ‘a source of opinion-formation and opinion-
articulation, agenda-setting and agenda-evaluation’ (Ibid., p.8). The
journalist-pundit is a wise, knowing observer of and commentator
on the political scene, making sense of its complexities for the rest
of us.
To achieve such status, the pundit must also be accepted by the
political class, so that he or she can move among them, gather
information—often in confidence—and make reliable judgments.
Thus, the journalist-pundit is part of the political world, moving in
it with ease, but distanced from the political fray. It remains the case
that political journalists will usually reflect the partisanship of the
newspapers which employ them. Indeed, a pundit’s access to the prime
minister for a private briefing may be granted only on condition of
editorial support from the journalist’s newspaper, or on the
understanding that favourable coverage will result. The important
thing for a political journalist of the press is not partisanship, however,
but credibility. The Daily Telegraph reader will expect Boris Johnson
to review politics from a right-wing perspective, but also that he
should do so knowledgeably and authoritatively.

THE COLUMN

The highest form of political punditry in press journalism is the
column (known in the United States as the ‘op-ed’ column) situated
on or close to the editorial page. Here, such writers as Hugo Young
of the Guardian or Michael Jones of the Sunday Times select the
issue of the moment, as they see it, and attempt to present readers

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