Packaging Politics 2023

Packaging Politics
Key Concepts
What Does it Mean?
Packaging? Coined by Bob Franklin (1994)
A relatively new concept in politics.
Part of new politics, new engagement
Public representations of politics are
increasingly being managed and controlled
by professionals – spin doctors.
Good or Bad?
 Claim that it diminishes the quality of political discourse /
exchanges.
 The syndrome of dumb down or watered down politics
where emphasis is more on style than on substance.
 Rhetoric as opposed to substance
 Political arguments are trivialized, appearances matter more
than ideology, rise of celebrity politics, an overdrive of the
mediated political image.
 Who is responsible for this way of ’doing politics’?
 Politicians, armada of control freaks, media, citizens?
 The dumbing down syndrome
 Does it at all matter to have such a state of affairs?
 Tells about democracy?
 About ideology?
 Trust in those we elect?
 Trust in those we believe to be the guardians of public morality?
 (See Reith Lecture 2009 by M Sandel) - https://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats
-on/ou-on-the-bbc-reith-lectures-2009-new-citizenship-morality-politics#
What does it do?
 Political information presented in a form which hampers the capacity of citizens
to make an informed decision
 Over controlled image of politicians – are they really genuine in their
discourses?
 Rise of industry which sees the commodification and merchantilization of
politics
 Rather mixed views from the literature:
 Swanson and Mancini (1996): a process of modernization,
 Scammell (1995) ; designer politics,
 Clark (1998) : new political culture,
 Mcnair (1999) sleek politics
Core Techniques
Political Interview
Images / Appearances and Slogans
Celebrity Politics
Spin doctors, media consultants and
advertisers
1: Political Interview
 Who calls the shots? Who sets the agenda?
 For the media: a popular / efficient means of filling in airtime and
space – supposedly offers some version of accountability,
transparency and cross-examination.
 For the politics: opportunity to articulate a view or to promote a
policy initiative.
 The political interview has changed greatly over time as politicians
have become more aloof and fearful whilst certain interviews more
assertive and aggressive.
 NB: Many leaders, politicians prefer the chat show host or hostess:
Oprah, Piers Morgan etc…
 Softer version
Contd
 Formats have also changed: mediated, 1-1 to audience filled rooms,
phone ins, chat shows
 Control mechanisms imposed by politicians and their professional aides
 Arsenal of interview techniques: words to stress (soundbites), facial
expression, eye contact, sitting posture, dress odes, the rise of the media
savvy politicians.
 Balance of power between interviewer and politicians
 Therefore the political interview is a sort of performance that is staged,
minuted, synchronized for perfect results.
 The growing presence of the family in the politician’s mediated life:
wife, children etc…
2: Images/ Appearances and
Slogans
 Image not the person that really matters?
 Must attend to political image if you want to be a serious
player in the political marketplace.
 The idea of political branding: New Labour in the UK
 ‘It is clear that the establishment of New Labour as a
trustworthy brand name was a textbook marketing operation’
(Fletcher, The Guardian: 1997)
 Parties, leaders, politicians devote a fair bit of their time to
generating the right image:
 Micro image: personal appearances, style, dress
 Party image: party conventions, conferences
 Technology savvy: websites, social networks, personal blog,
tweets
 Political advertising - mimic commercial advertising
 NB: political advertising becomes part of news
3: Celebrity Politics
 Pursuit of media images where political actors seek
endorsement / support from stars and vice versa.
 Building image, fund raising, lending their charisma and
popular support.
 ‘Politicians have increasingly linked themselves to actors,
musicians and sports stars. They do this by making awards
or issuing official invitations o them, or by appearing on
stage or in settings where celebrities are also gathered.’
(Street, 2001: 190)

4: Spin Doctors et al
 New breed of political advisers and consultants:
 Task – revamp party image
 Get politicians the coverage they often crave for
 Provide press releases, negotiating press interviews
 Devising soundbites, cut and paste policies
 Orchestrating photo opportunities
 Aim: To manage the media in such a way as to enhance the
image and message of the parties they serve.
New Politics?
 Imitation or Modernisation?
 Negrine (1996) ‘Americanisation of politics’ (Imitative
response to the American way of doing politics)
 Since British, French, German politics have changed.
 Why?
 Mancini and Swanson (1998) refer to the process of
modernization of political parties and their campaigns.
 (i) The rational choice
 Americanisation and modernization are prompted by the logic of
rational action. The ease of packaging politics is to consume it
more easily. ‘Easier to understand’.
 (ii) Technological mediation of politics
 In fact, television is thought to focus the viewers’ attention on the
personal qualities of political figures and the use of close-ups, its
intimate tone, connecting aspect and its instantaneous impact.
 NB: That the modern politician is required to seek support to
become popular through the private reception of their
personality. The rise of person politics over party politics.
The Media?
The Pliable Media?
The media spins as well.
Use of sound bites, photos
opportunities that politics and politicians
provide them with.
 “While we have more media space than ever, complaint about
the lack of healthy debate has never been louder, with fewer
stories and issues being addressed in real depth in a way that
engages large audiences .Such a situation leads to the
syndrome of ‘something has to fill it’ where often the media
has recourse to anything will do, whether political speculation,
an airhead columnist, phone in or text in radio commentary or
the latest guff from last night’s reality TV shows”.
(Alaister Campbell: 2008)
The above refers to the tyranny of infinite space

Why does Media Spin?
 Pressure on journalists to take a particular line or interview a
particular set of politicians (rules of engagement)
 Impact of commercial pressures: Packaged politics fits into
the agenda of media who are acutely conscious of the chill
winds of the market.
 Competition for readers, listeners and viewers (advertising
methods, culture of boost sales, ratings) reduces the
resources for quality and investigative journalism.
 Incentives for cut and paste, pre-packaged material
Does packaging damage
democracy?
 Franklin (1994):
 Chart the changing habits of political leaders and their representatives
as they attempt to deploy mass media to their advantage
 Expresses disenchantment with the emerging media practices and their
consequences for democracy. Dumbing down, diminishing quality,
lowering standards, simplifying the equation, form over content
 A critique of the quality of political discourse and of the interests that
rule political communication
 Political parties; commercial entities
 The attractiveness of the marketed image of politicians and policies
 Politicians: superficial, think and at times act in sound bites
Food for Thought?
 “The media is not taken as seriously as it once was by the public who
know politicians may spin them a line, but they have a sense they are
being spun someone’s line every time they read a paper or listen to a
pavement stander”.
(Alaister Campbell: 2008)
 “Where once the Prime Minister’s words had scarcity value and were
listened to with great care, they are now devalued to such an extent that
they jostle for attention alongside those of anybody else who have
access to the media”.
(Andrew Rawnsley: 2010)

Packaging Politics 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Packaging Politics 2023

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Packaging Politics 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Packaging Politics

(Street, 2001: 190)

(Alaister Campbell: 2008)

The above refers to the tyranny of infinite space

(Alaister Campbell: 2008)

(Andrew Rawnsley: 2010)

You might also like