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THE PROFESSIONALISATION OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN EUROPE | 31

At times, however, the move towards greater levels of professionalisation is linked to
changes in communication technologies per se. Farrell et al.’s analysis (2001), referred to
above, explores changes in electoral communication activities under headings that
implicitly acknowledge the importance of new technologies. Furthermore, discussions
of contemporary campaigning practices suggest implicitly that the use of the newer
communication technologies, such as the internet text messaging and phone banks,
create a more professional model of campaigning or,to put the matter more negatively,
that those who do not use such means are likely to run less professional campaigns.

But stressing the primacy of technological change in efforts to explain contemporary
changes in communication practices overlooks the complex set of factors that
contribute to change. Indeed, it is important to note that over time political parties and
governments adapt to changing technologies of communication, just as they adapt
their structures and organisations to changing circumstances.

Drawing on the above discussion, we can see that the word professionalisation can be
used – and has been used – in relation to, amongst other things, the employment of
individuals with particular skills (e.g. political consultants, advertising experts, web
designers), the acquisition and application of particular skills (e.g. polling experts
making sophisticated use of qualitative or quantitative data), and the application of
practices to meet particular ends (e.g. news management practices in part to satisfy the
needs of the media). And often the way the word is used does not distinguish between
those who, say, are employed by political parties on specific projects (e.g. elections),
those who are employed by political parties on a continuous and full-time basis but
who possess professional skills (e.g. party organisers and agents) and those who simply
possess an appropriate albeit ill-defined level of skills but are more peripheral to the
party organisation per se, such as politicians.

Nevertheless, taken together, these references to professionalisation appear to identify
at least four sorts of transitions:

n a transition, even sometimes a transformation, in the ways in which political parties,
as well as other bodies, communicate with their particular constituencies, i.e. The Professionalisation of Political Communication in Europe
displaying a more professional style or manner in the ways they communicate;
n A transformation in the nature and structure of the organisation, i.e. displaying a
more professional organisational structure in how they organise their
communication activities;
n A transformation in the ways in which they use experts or ‘professionals’ from
outside the organisation, be it a political party or government body, to lend support
or direct the nature and content of communication;
n A transformation in the labour market with the growth of occupations that focus on
the development of skills and expertise in communicating politics, persuasion and
mobilisation. 33