Page 151 - An Introduction to Political Communication Third Edition

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PARTY POLITICAL

COMMUNICATION II

Political public relations

This chapter presents:

• A history of political public relations since its origins in
the early twentieth century
• Key events in the development of political public
relations techniques in the US and the UK, up to and
including the US presidential election of 2000, and the
UK general election of 2001
• Discussion of the techniques of governmental infor-
mation and media management, and the reforms to the
UK’s official information apparatus introduced by the
Labour government since 1997.

Advertising, we have noted, has one fundamental weakness as a
form of political communication. To the receiver of the message it
is perceived as being, if not necessarily ‘propaganda’ (in the negative
sense of that term), then ‘biased’ and partial. Regardless of whether
or not the audience agrees or disagrees with the message being
advertised, he or she is aware that it is a politically loaded message,
reflecting the interests, ideas and values of the sponsor. For this
reason, the effectiveness of political advertising as a means of
persuasion will always be limited. Knowing that a message is
‘committed’ allows the reader, viewer or listener to take a distance
from it – to resist and reject it. This has not, as we have seen,
prevented political advertising from playing an increasingly
important part in the political process, but it has encouraged the
view that other forms of communication may be more effective in
transmitting the desired messages. In particular, political actors

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