Week 5 Lecture 2: Elections and The Media

1. The Century of the Self: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1122532358497501036#Karl Rove? http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/architect/view/?utm_campaign=searchpage&utm_medium=videosearch&utm_source=videosearch

2. Week 5 Lecture 2: Elections and The Media

3. Last time, we talked about rhetoric and ways in which they are applied through media in Marketing and PR. • We touched on politics as well. • In this lecture we will focus on the following themes through the lens of electoral campaigning. • Understand techniques of political communication in national and international politics • Understand the influence of PR organisations on business and politics.

4. Mass Media is Key to the Democratic Process • “The role of media has moved from being merely [reporting the political process] to being a major actor in the campaigning processas it selects the persons and issues to be covered and as it shapes the portrayal of leaders.” (Butler and Ranney, cited in ibid, 11) • This is a relationship Didion explores in the article “Insider Baseball.”

5. Modern Broadcast Media Has Also Meant Changes in Campaign Practices • What Mancini and Swanson identify as • “Americanization” • and • “Modernization”

6. Americanization Hypothesis • The idea that “American style” elections – particularly the way politics and media intersect – has spread globally. • Scholars claim that there is is a “mythology of the great power of US election campaign processes” –techniques are perceived as effective. • Popular films about American political process. • Professionalization of Political Campaigning: • PR persons, journalists, and politicians “have visited the US to study and report first hand on election campaigns.” • Non-American political actors hire American PR experts, and the techniques get spread globally.

7. What is the US model of political communications in an election? • Photo opportunities • Direct Marketing • Professionalization of sources (PR) • Paid advertising* • Presidential Style debates

8. Where TV advertising is allowed, it has made the cost of campaigning much higher, because buying TV ads is expensive. • This can make candidates and parties more reliant on wealthy contributors. • Perhaps TV is contradictory to democracy in this very key way – follow the money?

9. Europe as an Example of Americanization • Until 1980s, most EU TV broadcasts were state controlled. • With introduction of commercial competition, the nature of election campaigns “rapidly changed…” • European electoral politics began to show evidence of Americanizaiton,many argued. • Berlusconi ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Ho-mT63us

10. Consequences of the Americanization/Modernization of Politics • Personalization of Politics • Scientificizaton of Politics • Detachment of Parties from Citizens • Autonomous Structures of Communication • Change from Citizenship to Spectatorship • …lets look at each in turn.

11. Personalization of Politics “Charismatic figures of leaders built up by the mass media replace thy symbolic links assured by the political parties” (14). “We have more to offer.”

12. Scientificization of Politics *Expanding role of experts *Bigger roles for experts: pollsters, PR experts, etc. *Goals of these experts: “simply the electoral victory, not finding useful public-policy alternatives. This goal seems to result inescapably from the weakening of party organizations and the changes we have seen in political systems.” (ibid. 15). *What Didion calls the “conflict between the empirical and the theoretical.”

13. 9 minutes from Democracy Now! Interview with Pollster Nate Silver who created 538.com • His site is a great example of the scientificizationof politics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJdrXqOGqC4 • Also talks about how Polls influence other Polls…

14. Detachment of Parties from Citizens • The shrinking of political parties’ local networks which the media brought about has also meant that parties are less able to interact with citizens directly. • “The parties’ ..substitute for interpersonal contact is the opinion poll, an objectified statistical construction that, especially in periods of instability and rapid changed…may leave parties at a loss to understand voter’s sentiments, grievances, and desires.” (15)

15. Opinion Polls Can Be Inaccurate • Famously in 1948 Presidential Election. • More recently, in New Hampshire primaries, Clinton was supposed to beat Obama – the opposite happened. • Devil is in the details – many things affect the way people answer polls. For example; citizens interviewed by a white pollster gave Obama a +1 lead, whereas those interviewed by a black pollster gave him a +14 point lead.

16. Autonomous Structures of Communication • This is a complicated way of saying – the Americanization (or Modernization) of politics makes the media more powerful. • Politicians court the media, because they want to be covered favorably. • With advent of broadcast media, media has emerged as an “Autonomous power center” sometimes competing with, and sometimes cooperating withtraditional politics. • “Public approval gained through effective media campaigns can be lost as quickly as it was won, when media images turn sour.” (16)

17. What about us? From Citizens to Spectators • “Political Spectacle” means that Politics comes to “resemble theater, complete with directors, stages, casts of actors, narrative plots, and (most importantly) a curtain that separates the action onstage—what the audience has access to—from the backstage, where ‘real allocation of values’ takes place” (Smith 2004:11). • The process becomes focused on serving practical interests of media production then on “accurately diagnosing and solving real problems.”

18. Case Study: Britain’s First National Televised Election Debate

19. During 2009, the British parties held a series of televised debates, the first in British general election history. • This had major consequences on the election, according to many, allowing the third party leader – Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats to achieve a breakthrough in opinion polls. • Clip of the debate: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/15/leaders-debate-nick-clegg-tv (From 6:20 where Clegg steps in).

20. Why Good? • Best (only?) way of reaching a large audience of voters. Most voters get their information from television. • Research indicates election debates have real impact: people don’t change their mind because of them, but they are encouraged to seek more information, discuss issues with friends, etc. • Equalise access to mass media: otherwise incumbent – the candidate or party already in power – has an advantage as day to day coverage will be about them. • Allow voters to “get to know” the candidate.

21. Why bad? • Not a debate at all – too structured, time limits etc mean you don’t get “real” responses just well rehearsed ones. • Research suggests the “debate about debates” that happens after a debate – where the media talks about who did best – is more influential on voters’ decision making then the content of the debate itself. (Coleman, Televised Election Debates).

22. Case Study: Political Advertising in the American Presidential Election, 2008 Adapted from a presentation by Leila Garadaghi

23. 5 Common Themes in the Modern/Americanized Political Ad • Backfire • Takes something the candidate said in one context or at another moment in time and makes it look hypocritical (Bill Clinton: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1996/riady ) • Children • Using kids to make an emotional appeal – most famously Lyndon Johnson’s Peace Little Girl ad http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1964/peace-little-girl-daisy • Commander in Chief • Shows the candidate is capable of the responsibility of being in charge. • (Nixon http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1968/decisions ) • Documentary • Uses Documentary techniques to give the ad a sense of realism and immediacy. • Fear • Scares the voter about a particular issue • Reagan BEAR (http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1984/bear ) • Real People • Real people: chat about issues important to them. • Clinton, morning in America: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/type/real-people • Biographical • Personalization of politics: focuses the discussion around the personality of the candidate (Bill Clinton again: http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1992/journey ).

24. COGNITIVE MECHANISMS THROUGH WHICH ADS ACHIEVE IMPACT ON VOTERS • Educative: alters their cognitions. • No time to start educating voters • Persuasive: Reshaping attitudes towards candidates. • In midst of presidential campaign don’t have the capacity to substantially reshape voters beliefs or attitudes. • Voter attention: affecting prominence that different issues or questions have for voters. • This approach used most often. • Ads are intended to set the agenda for public discussion and consideration, not to influence attitudes about public issues. • Entire campaign is to raise visibility of advantageous issues. • Campaigns achieve success by “driving the issues”. • “Controlling the debate”—doesn’t have to do with winning arguments. • Sometimes ad advances support for candidate and other times erodes support for opponent. • Serving a cuing function for voter predispositions: linking candidate in question to preexisting deeply held values. • attempt to tie the choice of candidates to the preexisting value structure held by voters. Adapted from a presentation by Leila Garadaghi

25. PROBLEMS OF POLITICAL ADVERTISING • Effects of negative or attack ads: • Growing use of ads designed to weaken support for an opponent rather than to encourage voter support for the candidate. • Quality of political discourse conducted through the campaign commercials • 30 second commercials-concern about quality of political rhetoric. • Do paid ads serve the public good as an instrument of robust debate and discussion? • Costs involved • Advertising time sold in 30 second packages • Sparse on details and present voters with little useful info • How much money is justified in politics? Adapted from a presentation by Leila Garadaghi

26. 2008 US ELECTIONS • Price of Democracy: Ad war was unprecedented in its quantity and cost: • Obama $235million • McCain $125million • Nearly 75% of Obama’s ad spending was in the red states. • Ads were created in a rapid response fashion • Majority 30 seconds/1 minute  • http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008 • Obama half hour commercial http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtREqAmLsoA Adapted from a presentation by Leila Garadaghi

27. 3AM Kids • Hilary Ad • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yr7odFUARg • Obama Response • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BvyF351RS8&feature=related • ObamaLive • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kPpRb1oK2Y • Obama30 min ad • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtREqAmLsoA Adapted from a presentation by Leila Garadaghi