Of Political Communications in a Mass Media Democracy Ivor Gaber* Media and Politics, University of Bedfordshire, UK

Journal of Public Affairs J Public Affairs 7: 219-234 (2007) ..*";• ®w)l£Y Published online in Wiley InterScience %^ (www.interscicnce.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/pa.266 ^**

Too much of a good thing: the 'problem' of political communications in a mass media democracy Ivor Gaber* Media and Politics, University of Bedfordshire, UK

• Francis Fukuyama asks: '.. .is liberal democracy prey to serious internal contradictions, contradictions so serious tbat they will eventually undermine it as a political system?' Tfjis paper argues that one of tbese internal contradictions' is tbe political communications process and it can be sufficiently serious to undermine the democratic system—but such an undermining is not inevitable. Tbe problem can be described as follows: Democratic systems require tbat citizens are kept fully informed by governments (and others) iti the interests of transparency and ultimately accountability. Hence, all political communications have, as tbeir final objective, tbe accountability of politicians at the ballot box. Wus all political communications bave wbat can be described as 'above' and 'below' tbe line content We above-the-line is tbe actual content of tbe message, tbe below-tbe-line is the implicit one of think better of me and my colleagues think worse of my opponents'. Consequently, no tnatter bow personally honest and open ati individual politician might be, the democratic system requires her or him to be always thinking about securing a successful result at tbe ballot box. Thus we bave tbe 'political communications paradox'. Voters tvatit politicians to be botiest atid accountable but this very demand tneans that politicians, implicitly, always bave to have another agenda in operation wben they are communicating witb tbe public, i.e. securing tbeir approval and theti tbeir support As a result tbe trust which is a fundamental to the workings of a democratic system is constantly being undertnined. Tbis bas two effects. First, tbat governments are obliged to make cotnmunications, ratber than delivery, tbeir real priority and secotid trust, tiot just in politiciatis but in the political system as a whole, tends to wane over time, which in turn endatigers tbe very system it was designed to underpin. But this decline is not inevitable because the system has some in-built self-correcting mechanisms These include: the rise of new parties and/or leaders who portray tbetnseWes as new' and 'untainted'— New Labour, New Conservatives, etc., an altnost regular 're-balancing' of the power relationship tbat exists between politicians and tbe civil service, particularly in tbe

•Correspondence to: Ivor Gabcr, Research Professor, Media and Politics, University of Bedfordshire, Luton Campus. Park Square, Luton LUI 3JU, UK. E-mail: [email protected]

comtnunications field, tbe rise of new forms of communication that seek to by-pass tbe itistitutional roadblocks that are perceived as being the cause of tbe probletns and finally increased attention by Journalists and academics to tbe process of political communications makes it more difficult for politicians to continue witb business as usual' as far as tbeir communicatioti activities are concerned. Copyrigbt c 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

there is now a well-ingrained popular political systems, the key issue is that of there view across tbe country that our political being too little political communications, in institutions and tbeir politicians are fail- modern democratic systems, and specifically in ing, untrustwortby, and disconnected from the UK in the 21st century, the 'problem' tbe great tnass of tbe British people. This appears to be one of over-supply? last point cannot be stressed too strongly. The other question to be addressed is We have been struck by Just how wide and whether this problem' of political communi- deep is the contetnpt felt for formal politics cation is so serious that it has the potential lo in Britain.^ undermine democracy? Or do liberal democ- Power Inquiry (2006, March). racies develop feedback, and self

Copyright u 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Public Affairs, August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa Problem of political communications 221

being the actual content of the message, the ... money and power are able to filter out below-the-line, the implicit one of think tbe news fit to print, tnarginalize dissent better of me and my colleagues, think worse and allow the government and dominant of my opponents'. private interests to get tbeir message across • Thus, the 'political communication para- to tbe public. dox'— voters want politicians to be honest (Herman and Chomsky, 1994, p. 2) and accountable but this very demand means that politicians (and their proxies), And, as philosopher Onora O'Neill noted in implicitly, have another agenda in operation her 2002 Reith Lecture, informed consent' when they communicate with the public, also presupposes that recipient's will trust the i.e. securing their approval and subsequent information they receive — certainly not some- electoral support. thing that can be taken for granted in • This leads to communications w^hich are contemporary Western democracies. O'Neill produced largely to achieve a positive points out, that transparency, far from enhan- impact rather than public enlightenment, cing tnist among the general public can itself and this, over time, leads to the trust which be damaging, she writes: is a fundamental to the workings of a democratic system being undermined. ... cotnplete opetiness and transparency has done little to build or restore public • This has two effects. First, governments trust On the contrary, trust seemingly bas make communications, rather than delivery, receded as transparency bas advanced. their real priority. Perbaps on refiection we sbould not be • Second, trust, not just in politicians but in wbolly surprised. It is quite clear that tbe the political system as a whole, wanes. This very technologies tbat spread information in turn endangers the very system it was so easily and efficietitly are every bit as designed to underpin. good at spreading tnisinformation and disinformation. Some sorts of openness Informed consent and transparency may be bad for trust.^ Representative democratic systems require 'informed consent'. In other words, for the Or as recentiy put by the founder of the system to work effectively, citizens should be World Wide Web, Tim Bemers-Lee: equipped with the knowledge that will enable tbere is a great danger tbat it becomes a them to properly to carry out their electoral place wbere utitruths start to spread more obligations. Informed consent' does not just tbati trutbs. or it becomes a place which mean the public receiving information (that becomes increasingly unfair in some way.^ they trust) about the activities of governments (and others) about what they have done, what Thus we have the first of several of the they are doing and are planning to do. It also problematics of political communication— requires that opposition parties are given the namely that transparency, whilst in theory a space to communicate their views on the sine qua non of democratic systems, might in Government's record, its future plans and their fact be an obstacle. One explanation for this own alternative proposals. Without these activities there can be no transparency no lies in the sheer quantity of information—spun accountability and, ultimately, no democracy. or unspun — that the public, or their inter- But informed consent' is not an unproble- mediaries (the mass media) have to process on matic concept. There are those (Herman and ^O'Neill O. 2002 Reith Lecture 4 viewed 14 Juty 2006 at Chomsky, 1994) who argue that this consent' http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/rcith2002/lecturer.,shtml is artificial or 'manufactured' because in a Viuardian 3 November 2(K>6 Creator of web warns of capitalist system fniudsters and cheats: Blogging one of biggest perils, says innovator'.

2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Public Affairs. August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa 222 Ivor Gaber

Table 1. Government press notices issued January- Table 2. Telephone calls received by the Home Office October 2004 Press Office April/May 1999

Department Total Week 26 3 10 17 24 31 releases April May May May May May

Attorney General's Office 24 Phone calls 2378 2226 2648 3146 2422 1912 Cabinet Office 81 Department for Constitutional 467 Source: Gaber and Underwood (1999). Affairs Department for Culture, Media 179 and Sport Department for Education and Skills 141 2001, p. 121) and that flow has continued Department for International 20 unabated — in 2004 it was running at 807 a Development Department for Environment, 1065 month. The details are as follows (Table 1): Food & Rural Affairs And issuing a press release is not an end Department for Transport 599 itself. Most releases result in a stream of Department for Work and Pensions 255 Department of Health 396 follow-up inquiries from journalists. The Home Department of Trade and Industry 1492 Office Press Office was monitored for a (»-week Foreign and Commonwealth Office 597 period in 1999. This monitoring found that the HM Treasury 197 weekly number of telephone calls coming into Home Office 458 Ministry of Defence 349 its press office (Table 2). Office of The Deputy Prime Minister 854 This is a staggering amount of traffic for a Prime Minster's Office 95 single press office to handle. At the time the TOTAL 7269 Monthly Average 807 Home Office had 21 press officers (not all of whom were front line' staff handling media Detailed figures obtained by Pete Wishart MP in a parlia- inquiries).^ The average number taking calls at mentary question for the number of press releases issued any one time was 12. This meant that on any in the period January-October 2004. one day each press officer was handling more than 40 calls. a daily, and sometimes hourly, basis. Can there really be informed consent' when, faced with Pressures on government press the vast quantities of information that daily officers confront us, most people's instincts are to There is a further, perhaps more profound, switch off, either metaphorically or literally?^ problem than simply one of the amount of information being generated by government, and that relates to the difficulties the UK Information overload Government s own guidelines create for civil servants supposedly putting out 'neutral It is instructive to look at how this flow of news'. These guidelines, issued by the Govern- information has increased since the election of New Labour in 1997. Two years before the ment Communications Network, are made Labour Party came into power in the UK, publicly available and the relevant section government departments issued an average of reads: 476 news releases a month; in 1998, the first Tbe following basic criteria have been full year of the Labour Government, that applied to govemtnent comtnutiications figure doubled to 858 (Barnett and Gaber, by successive adtninistrations:

'*The decline in newspaper readership and the viewing of 'it is worth noting that currently (July 2006) the Home television news programmes is a pbenomenon common Office website press section lists 42 named press officers across many Westem democracies. capable of handling media inquiries.

Copyright & 2007 Jolin WUey & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Public Affairs, August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa Problem of political communications 223

it should be relevant to government requires them to present their information in responsibilities; ways that suggest: it should be objective and explanatory, not biased or polemical; it is new' (when many government initiat- it should not be - or liable to be - ives are not), misrepresented as being party political^ it represents part of a coherent narrative' (when, in the real world, many situations and processes are fragmented and non- Yet the same set of guidance notes tells chronological), government press officers that they should: it provides immediate and readily under- Present, describe and justify the thinking standable solutions to recognizable pro- behind the policies of tbe minister. blems (when, in fact, life is usually more Be ready to promote the policies of tbe complex), departtnent and tbe government as a and that it is dramatic' (when most whole. Do make as positive a case as the processes of public delivery are not). facts warrant/

This might sound simple in theory but in A review^ of all the news releases issued in practice it is complicated. Taking the two the first half of 2006 by two of the Govern- instructions together, career civil servants ment's biggest spending, and highest profile, (mindful of the demands of the code, the departments — Education and Health — pro- wishes of their ministers and their own vides a graphic example. To read through careers) are being asked to make daily the 286 releases issued by these two depart- judgements of Solomon. For surely it is ments one gains a picture of a seemingly non- problematic, at the very least, to urge govern- stop round of initiatives, announcements and ment press officers to Justify tbe tbinking achievements (Table 3). behind govemtnent policy and ... help[ing] The Department for Education and Skills the public—by belping Jourtialists—to issued 86 releases in this period—an average understand tbe policies of tbe government of 3.3 a week. Of these 86, almost half (35) of tbe day, without appearing to be cheer- were about new initiatives being taken by the leaders/or government. Department; a further 12 involved announcements, covering new appointments, the imple-

Playing the media's game Table 3- Analysis of press notices issued in first half of An additional issue fiows from the very nature 2006 of the news production business. Politicians, Type of news Dept of Dept of and their proxies, are highly susceptible to release Education Health both explicit and implicit media pressure. They want to maximize the positive and Initiatives 35 52 minimize the negative; and in order to achieve Announcements 12 41 this they have to play the media s game. What Visits/launches 9 14 Policy statements 12 21 this means in practice is meeting journalists' Reviews/consultations 10 10 criteria as to what constitutes news'. This Statistics 8 53 Total 86 200 Tittp://www.comms.gov.uk/public_website/guidance/ propriety/govemmenl_conimunications.aspx viewed 10 Department of I lealth Press Release bbrary viewed 14 July July 2006. 2(X)6 http://www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/ Press Office Das and Don'ts http://www.comms.gov. PressReleases/PressReleasesLibrary/fe/en Department tbr uk/Public_Website/guidance/propHety/politicians/dos_ Education and Skills Press Notice library y viewed MJuly donts.aspx viewed 10 July 2006. 2006 http://www.dfes.gov.uk/pns/newslist.cgi

Copyright t 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Public Affairs, August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa 224 Ivor Gaber mentation of new rules and regulations and so policies ... and make a positive case' whilst at forth and 9 involved launches of new pro- the same time being objective, explanatory grammes, centres, etc. It is significant that in and unbiased'.^ this period the Department announced a One of these news releases is worth further 10 reviews and consultations, indicat- examining in a little more detail, exemplifying ing that this level of almost frenetic activity was as it does, the dilemma outlined above. The ongoing. opening sentence of the release, headlined 'New era begins for NHS dentistry", reads: Health case study Claims of a tnass exodus of dentists from tbe NHS pnwed unfounded as tbe great Activity, at least in terms of the issuing of news majority of dentists bave signed up to new releases, was apparently even more frenetic in dental contracts, announced bealtb min- the Department of Health. In the first six ister Rosie Winterton today. months of 2006 no fewer than 200 releases emanated from the Department—an average This related to a controversy that followed a of 7.7 a week, or more than one every working claim by the British Dental Association (BDA), day. Admittedly a significant number — 53 — the body representing the majority of dentists, were statistical news releases which the that the Government was offering its members Department is obliged to issue, but almost new contracts, on terms that were less the same number — 52 — contained news of favourable than those they had previously new departmental initiatives; and a further 41 worked under. As a result the BDA warned that were announcements of new appointments, thousands of dentists would refuse to sign up. new measures, etc. Irrespective of the rights and wrongs of this A flavour of these releases can be gleaned claim, the release on the day the new scheme just by taking one day at random. On 7th April began, took a highly partisan position by 2006 the Department of Health website leading on, what the Department of Health, displayed the following press releases: ** saw as its victory' over the recalcitrant dentists. • Dozens of new doctors surgeries and health It has to be said that the Department s own centres this year; assessment of the 'success' of the new scheme • New GP contract combines better patient did not appear to be shared by the national care and good value for money; press which headlined their stories: • GPs encouraged to tackle more long-term conditions, including dementia, depression, Million patients lose NHS dentists, kidney disease and obesity; 2000 dentists quit NHS rather than sign • Waiting lists continue to fall despite winter new contracts. pressures; • New era begins for NHS dentistry. Dentists pull out, 3 million patients left without NHS dentists by Labour, The overwhelming message appears to be one of unremitting good news, with more in 1 M Dumped by Dentists, the pipeline. In such a situation it is almost One in W dentists refuses to sign con- inevitable that press office staff will find it 10 tract. difficult to find the right balance between delivering messages that 'justify government GCN Guidance notes op, cit. ^See Table 3 for details regarding Department of Health '"8 April 2006 Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail. I'kUly Star, websites. Daily Express, Daily Mirror and the Guardian.

CopyriglK <_- 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ud. Journal of Public Affairs, August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa Problem of political communications 225

Nor were the press office's efforts to put a doctors' (Phillis Report. 2004). In evidence positive spin on their story helped, when their given to the Phillis Inquiry, which looked into own minister, Rosie Winterton, described the the whole process of Government Communi- figures as quite gloomy'." All of which raises cations,' ^ this author argued: the question as to the extent to which, in this instance, the Department of Health press / bat>e altvays believed tbat the British civil officers were failing in their duty to provide service tradition of impartiality is a critical information that was objective and explana- element in the success of governance iti this tory, not biased or polemical'.'^ country. I maintain tbis view. However, However, this is to argue in terms of the as a result of the developtnents I have 'letter of the law' as opposed to common outlined in my book (We Westminster sense. Governments are large organizations Tales: the 21st century crisis in political that need to communicate what they are doing. journalism,- Barnett and Gaber, 2001) It would be unrealistic in the extreme to I believe that we are now moving into an expecl press officers, employed by the era in wbicb civil servants tvorking for tbe Government, to act like independent journal- govemtnent in an information capacity ists, making news judgements about the bave to operate ivith different rules from Government's programme—supporting that tbose pertaining to tbeir colleagues else- which they approved of and opposing that wbere in Whitehall. which they did not. This would clearly be a I believe that tbe attempt to distingtilsb world of fantasy democracy. However, that is press officers—as neutral pun 'eyors of infor- the burden that is apparently placed upon mation^ frotn spin doctors' is fallaciotds. them by the guidance notes they work It is bard, if not itnpossible. to distinguisb under—notes that require them to publicize between being positive and upbeat iti one's what the government of the day is doing in presentation of govemtnent itiformation positive' terms, whilst at the same time and 'spinning'. Basically, both are tbe working: same process of presenting tbe goi'em ment to secure an itnpartial and objective of tbe day in tbe best possible ligbt Wis presentatioti of the case tbat avoids extends not just to accentuating tbe posi- inaccuracy, inconsistency or bias. '^ tive but also to tninitnising tbe negative. For example, a couple of years ago I was advisitig a researcb organisatioti (tvhich Sensible guidelines for had cetrtral government as one ofits main government press officers clients) about bow tbey might best maxi- mise their positive media coverage. Wiyat I There is clearly a need for a healthy dose of foutid was that when tbeir finditigs realism to infect this particular part of the body rejlected well on government then the politic. Recognition is required of the fact that government press release annouticing government press officers are not objective tbese findings tvould be trailed' and, often purveyors of neutral information, they are, to enougb, accotnpanied by a tninisterial use a term that they themselves reject 'spin statement eitber iti the Hotise or in tbe media. If however tbe jitidings rejlected "Quoted in Daily Telegraph 8 April 2006 MiUion patients lose NHS dentists P 1. badly on tbe Govertittient tben tbe press ^Prcss office Do's and Don'ts op. cit. office would issue a lengtby techtiical ''/but. release, often at 5pm on a Friday, witb '•This author conducted a scries of focus groups in 1999 no accompatiying tninisterial statement with staff in the Home Office Press Oftice and was left in no doubt that statf tbere did not view themselves as 'spin Were is notbing wrong ivith tbis process doctors' and vigorously rejected the lerm. except that it indicates tbat the dividing

line between 'press officers' and 'spin countries. In Britain, ministers received data doctors' is artificial. '^ 40 hours before the public, while in the US the corresponding time was only half an hour. In Thus we have a situation in which poli- France and Ireland, ministers received the ticians, and civil servants, operate under an numbers only an hour in advance, while in almost constant pressure to be seen to be Australia they only get three hours. presenting new and ever-more exciting solu- Newspapers reported Michael Fallon the tions to major problems that are presented as Conservative MP, who headed the investi- almost immediately soluble. This explains why gation, as saying: politicians and their press offices sometimes, no doubt against their better judgement, We cbief statistician in Canada told us 'spin'. nobody else operates like that. Wis kind of leeway means tbe Government canptit out a press notice in advance of publication; it means tbey can put out different figures, Lies, damn lies and govemtnent covering the embarrassing statistics witb 18 statistics anotber announcetnetit.

Unfortunately this remorseless diet of 'good In passing, it is worth noting that this news' has been accompanied by growing emphasis on the upbeat and positive in levels of public distrust. One particularly government communications is in marked concerning barometer of this decline in trust contrast to what happens during election can be seen in the credibility that the public campaigns. An analysis of the news releases gives to official statistics released by the issued by the three main parties during the last Government. A Mori survey undertaken for general election campaign reveals that for all the Office of National Statistics in 2005 three parties, attacks on their opponents was contained the alarming findings that of those the biggest single category of topics covered questioned, 65% believed that official figures in their news releases. For Labour this were changed to support politicians' argu- accounted for 33% of their releases during ments; 59% thought the Government used the campaign, for the Conservatives attacks them dishonestly and 58% thought official on the other two parties accounted for 37% of figures were politically interfered w^ith.'' By their releases and for the Liberal Democrats July 2006 the situation had w^orsened. The 28% of their releases were such attacks (see House of Commons' Treasury Select Commit- Gaber, 2006). tee reported that faith in official statistics had plummeted even from its 2005 low, with only 17% of UK adults believing the ONS produces its data without interference and only 14% Tbe 'pertnenant campaign' thinking the Government used the figures honestly.'^ So why, in government, this focus on good news' and the hard sell'? To state the obvious, Perhaps of even greater interest was the representative democracy, involves politicians Committee's revelation that British Govern- getting themselves elected and subsequently ment ministers had more time to consider how re-elected. Nothing wrong with that, resulting they should publicize (or 'spin') official as it does (to misquote scientist Richard statistics than politicians in comparable Dawkins) from a 'selfish political gene'. In Evidence submitted to the Phillis Inquiry. other words politicians find themselves "''It is New Labour, as much as the public, that lacks tnist' Polly Toynbee the Guardian Tuesday 22 Novem- '"'Pressure grows for refiguring of ONS' by Edmund ber 2005. Conway, Economics Editor Daily Telegraph 26 August ''Ibid. 2006.

Copyright <: 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Public Affairs, August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa Problem of political communications acting in ways that are analogous to the larger scheme of democratic govern- Dawkins" concept of the selfish gene'— ... ment, both in guiding responses to tbe past a predomitiant quality to be expected in a election and in anticipatitig reactions to successful gene is ruthless selfishness (Daw- tbe next (Omstein and Mann, 2000, p. 4). kins, 1989, p- 2). Dawkins was talking about the role of the individual gene in the process of But Omstein and Mann point to the dangers evolution, but a similar notion can be applied of the permanent campaign' mindset: to the individual politician who is programmed to survive and reproduce (or at least ensure ... tbe permanent campaign is sotnething that his party reproduces). Hence for different from government's perennial politicians, whether consciously or uncon- need for public support Every day is sciously, the next election (or their own election day in the permanent catnpaign. personal legacy) will always be at, or near, Sucb campaignitig is a non-stop process the forefront of their calculations — they seeking to manipulate sources of public would not be democrats if it were not. And approval to etigage in tbe act of governing this preoccupation extends to those working itself In the long run, without good- for politicians — their communications staff as faitb promise-making in elections and demonstrated above with reference to govern- protnise-keeping in government, represen- ment communications staff. tative democracy' is unaccountable atid This state of affairs is encapsulated in the eventually unsustainable We more phrase the permanent campaign'—first used that campaigtiing infiltrates into govern- by the political journalist Sidney Blumenthal ing, the more we may expect the values of a more than a quarter of a century ago. He campaign perspective to overrule the employed it to describe a modus operandai values of a steerstnan perspective (Om- that 'remakes government into an instrument stein and Mann, 2000, pp. 15-17). designed to sustain an elected official's popularity' (Blumenthal, 19K2, p. 7). On first A key characteristic of the permanent glance the notion of a 'permanent campaign' campaign' can be found in the core statement might appear to be the negation of democratic of values on the UK Government Communi- practice, given that it seems to imply that the cation Network's Home Page, where the focus 'power of incumbency' should be used to of government communications is described as cement the existing political elite in power; being: but, in another sense, the permanent campaign' can be seen to representative demo- ... to provide a continuous dialogue cracy in its quintessential form. The Blu- between tbe government and tbe public. mentha! definition of the permanent Its members bring tbe voice of the public to campaign' is particularly sharp, perhaps not tbe beart of policy making and service surprisingly, coming from someone who went delivery, putting the government in touch on to advise President Clinton. A more with all wbo are affected by its policies and rounded definition is provided by the Amer- actions. '^ ican scholars Omstein and Mann in We Permanent Catnpaign and its Future' who Howell James, who was appointed the first wrote: Permanent Secretary of Government Com- munications in 2004, took this notion one Any democratic political systetn is based stage further when he described his own on the idea tbat wbat happens in govern- primary function as: ment is related to people's electoral choices. Elections and tbeir attendant campaigns '^http://www.comm.s.gov.uk/Public_Website/about/ are not a thing apart from, but integral to. role.aspx viewed 14 July 2006.

.. .to make tbe voice of the public heard at This is a restatement of the position first the policy table so tbat govemment devel- enunciated by the Mountfieltl Report (estal> ops and delivers services wbicb reflect lished by the Labour Govemment shortly after customer expectations and desires.20 coming to power in 1997) which argued:

This is an interesting way for the head of a A ny Govern m ent tieeds m odern a nd govemment communication network to effective relations tvitb the tnedia. We describe himself—it bears some striking effective communication and explanatioti similarities to the concept of the 'transmission of policy and decisiotis sbould not be an belt' developed under communist regimes in after-thought, but an integral part of a which organizations, such as the trade unions, detnocratic Govemtnent s duty to govern were seen as twoway transmission belts witb consent (Mountfield Report, 1997, p. 4). shifting information betw^een the government and the people. But whilst in authoritarian The position was hardened-up in the Phillis societies it is understandable why govern- Report into Govemment C

The Howell James/GCN positioning represents This is a key concept in understanding the an archetypal statement of a govemment and problem' of political communication as it has goveming party that political marketing scho- evolved, for it suggests, indeed it states, that lars would characterize as market-orientated — communicating government policy is equally one which is orientated towards what its as important as developing and implementing 'customers' (i.e. the voters) want, rather than it. When the Phillis Report was first published 'sales' or producer' orientated parties that this author wrote: seek to sell' themselves and their policies to the voters, in line with some overall ideological It is utiderstatidable bow it [the notion that position (Lees-Marshment, 2001, p. 1). In presentation is as important as policy] govemment, a market-orientated party has to tnight appear tbat way iti Opposition. But keep itself focussed on the customer' other- in Govemment, it should not be tbe case. w^ise it loses its direction and sense of purpose. For, while comttiutiications should not In such an environment communications be an 'aftertbougbt'—iti tbe policy devel- take on an enhanced role within govemment. opment process, working out bow policies Howell James describes it thus: should best be communicated ougbt to be integrated into tbat process—//)/** does not, Comtnunications is now centrally posi- or sbould not, tnean tbat cottitnunicatiotis tioned, feeding into tbe tbree departtnental is as important as policy making or policy core functions: policy advice, operational delivery. It is precisely because of tbis delivery and corporate services.'' mindset that tbat botb New iMbour and the New Labour Government bave found tbemselves facing tbe current morass Howell James 'Crafting the Message' in Whitehall & (Gaber, 2004, p. 36) [tbis referred to the Westminster World 8 Feb 2005 p. 10. ^'See footnote 20. difficulties the Govemment was tbeti

Copyright & 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Journal of Public Affairs, August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa Problem of political communications 229

facing with regard to Iraq's 'weapons of Hence, we have the 'political communi- mass destruction'}. cations paradox. Democracy is based on a trust — i.e. that there is an implicit contract It was Alastair Campbell, while still the between voters and politicians (i.e. that if Prime Minister's Press Secretary, who publicly voters elect a politician she/he will do as they laid bare that the way communications was promised). However, in the very act of com- practised by New Labour had, in fact, become a municating their willingness to try and abide hindrance to good govemment. He conceded by that contract politicians risk losing that trust that while winning and maintaining media because they are communicating with elec- support was rightly a major priority for Labour toral considerations uppermost in their minds. in opposition, but it remained so once they had The more they communicate, the more they achieved office and eventually cost the are doubted. Hence, the tnist which is a Govemment dear in terms of trust. He wrote: fundamental to the workings of a democratic system is constantly being undermined. we did make a concerted effort to get a better dialogue witb some parts of the media ivhere before there had been pretty much none. This was of course about Tbe 'paradox' resolved reaching their readers But therein So is this an argument that democracy's lay the seeds of spin. The consequences Armageddon is fast approaching? The answer were g reater tha n we anticipated. is not necessarily, because just like other We appeared, and perhaps we were, over- organisms, democracy does seem to exhibit controlling, manipulative. People stopped some selfish gene' characteristics of its own trusting what we had to say (Camp- which can lead to self-renewal in the wake of bell, 2002, p. 19). these negative forces. It does this in a number of ways. This lack of trust is a more complex First, we see the phenomenon of the rise of phenomenon than it might first appear and new parties and/or leaders who portray them- did not disappear with the demise of Campbell. selves as 'new' and 'untainted' — as 'trust- In the run-up to the 2005 General Election the restorers'. In the United States the emergence Labour Party came across what it thought to be of a presidential candidate who comes from a very odd phenomenon. All the factual indi- outside the Washington beltway' is a common cators seemed to show that health and educa- occurrence — Reagan, Carter and George W. tion— two of their key areas — were improv- Bush all laid claim to being outsiders to ing, yet their polling was demonstrating a Washington.^^ The same phenomenon can paradox. Whereas people said they thought also be observed in the UK. Over the past two their own schools/hospitals were improving, decades we have seen, the creation of the they also thought they were exceptional (and Social Democrats metamorphosing into the lucky) and that nationally things were getting Liberal Democrats, the birth of New Labour worse. One possible explanation was that and now the emergence of David Cameron's people no longer believed what govemment reinvented Conservative Party. In terms of w^as telling them (aided and abetted by some party leaders Thatcher, Blair and Cameron, all newspapers) and hence discounted their own campaigned for their respective party leader- personal experience, precisely because it ships, less on the basis of continuity, and more seemed to accord with a govemment line, that they were almost programmed to disbe- lieve.^^ " Reagen was presented as a former Hollywood actor. Carter was a 'peanut farmer' fn)m Georgia' and George Conversation with Phillip Gould, Labour's election W. Bush plays the roleof agtHKlol'Texasboy"—despite strategist, 28Januar>' 2()()5. his East Coast upbringing.

Copyright < 2007 John Wiley & Sons. Ltd. foumal of Public Affairs, August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa Ivor Gaber as 'trust- restorers', committed to making a alternative sites of political news both for the fresh start. media and more directly for the public as But it is not just the politicians who undergo well/ And the development of so-called this process of renewal. There is also an almost citizens' journalism' —i.e. the use of mobile regular re-balancing' ofthe power relationship phones and other new technologies to com- between politicians and the civil service, in the municate text, audio and video information, communications field. Following the Phillis either between users or directly from users to Report the civil service reasserted its influence the mass media, is becoming an important by ensuring that the Govemment Communi- addition to the contemporary informational cations Network was headed by a civil servant environment. (Howell James) and also removed from Alastair Finally, the whole process of corrupted Campbell's successor at Downing Street, any political communications provokes a reaction, executive powers over civil servants. This was often from the very people who are part of it. a near-repeat of the pattern of events under the The processes of spin' excite a great deal of Conservatives when the Whitehall machine journalistic interest. In exposing the succeeded in ensuring that Margaret Thatch- politicians' communication methods (of which er's powerftil press secretary (who also headed they are part) the media play a major role in the Government's information service), Ber- undermining them as well. nard lngham, was followed by a succession of A snapshot of coverage of the term 'spin career civil servants. doctor'"^^ suggests that media interest was at its The corruption of communications which, height during the years of when Alastair as described above, results from the over- Campbell was Tony Blair's media advisor— supply of infonnation and the over-emphasis though that is not to suggest that these on the positive, also gives rise to new forms of activities have necessarily diminished, only communication that seek to by-pass the that media interest in them appears to have institutional roadblocks that are perceived as done so (Figure 1). being the cause of the problems. Over the past This increased coverage of the political decade we have seen, as alternative sites of communications process has made it increas- political discussion, email communications, ingly difficult for politicians to continue with message boards, newsgroups and, most 'business as usual' as far as their communi- recently, the explosion of biogsites (these cation activities are concerned. In recent years played a significant role in revelations sur- Jo Moore, Charlie Whelan and Alastair Camp- rounding the extra-marital affair of Deputy bell— un-elected 'spin doctors' — have, for a Prime Minister John Prescott) becoming time, occupied the centre of the national political stage, a phenomenon that would have been inconceivable just 20 years ago. A classic ^ Among the most lively of the political blogs are Con- case of this came in December 2006, when servative-supporting: Guido Fawkes http://5thnovember. blogspot.com/ and Iain Dale's Diary — http://w"WTv. Tony Blair became the first serving British iaindale.blogspot.com/ Labour-supporting: labour Home Prime Minister to be interviewed by the police http://www.labourhome.org/ and Recess Monkey http:// as part of a criminal investigation (into the www.recessmonkey.com/ Liberal Democrat supporting: Dberal England http://liberaIengland.blogspot.conV and alleged sale of political honours). The inter- Lynne Featherstone MP http://www.lynnefeatherstone. view, many newspapers suggested, was timed org/2006/07/blogging-poUticians.htm ) Nexis count for mentions of spm doctor/s

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 8 6 40 37 57 85 155 252 318 265 259 186 234 165 88 120 114 (57 in first 6 months)

Copyright C 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. fournal of Public Affairs, August 2007 DOI: iaiOO2/pa Problem of political communications 231

350 300 250 200 150 100 50 w 0 r, ™ W n X \ 1 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006* Figure 1. Mentions of term 'spin d(x:tor/s' in The Times 1990-2006. The 2006 figure is based on the first 6 months of the year. Source: Lexis Nexis Professional. by Downing Street to take place on the same In addition, academics, and authors, can also day as the publication of the final report into claim some credit for bringing their own light the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. And the to bear on politicians' communication activi- Government also used the day to announce it ties, thus making these activities somewhat was dropping a major investigation into alleged more transparent.^^ None more so than two of corruption involving the Govemment of Saudi the pioneer academics in this field—Jay Arabia, British Aerospace and five other major Blumler and Michael Gurevitch. Their land- policy announcements. However, if there was mark 1995 study—77)^ Crisis of Public a plan to bury bad news' the newspapers in Communication — opens with the words. the UK were not slow to draw comparisons This book appears at a time of increasing with a similar controversy on 11 September concern about the ways politics is commu- 2001, when a Labour media advisor, Jo Moore, nicated to the public (Blumler and Gurevitch, suggested that the attack on the twin towers in 1995, p. 1) and they concluded, seeing both New York made it a good day to 'bury bad grounds for pessimism and hope: news'.^' Newspaper headlines on the day following Tony Blair's police interview in It is as if, more than a century after December 2006 included: the lamentations of the prophets and theoreticians of 'mass society', some of Honours police question Blair on a very the ills of that oppressive social structure good day to bury bad news are visited upon us again. Today they are Daily Telegraph 15 December 2006 reflected especially in the professionaliza- tion of politics and associated attempts to How they tried to bury bad news again manage and control public communi- Daily Mail 15 December 2006 cation for manipulative purposes, with the resulting alienation oftnany citizens. A Cash For Peerages; Blair questioned by real basis for hope arises, however because police on day of 'burying bad news', that very process appears to have incited a The Independent 15 December 2006 several-sided disgust and spurred new forms of communication, admittedly often imperfect and raucous, but pointing tenta- Tony Cops It; PM is accused of burying tively in the direction of democratic values. bad news over honours quiz The Mirror, 15 December 2006 In particular the books of former BBC correspondent Jones (1995, 1999. 2003) have played an important role 26,She was subsequently forced to resign in exposing the activities of government spin doctors.

Mass democracy may be a contradiction in logged decline in the use of newspapers. terms—but both parts of that equation Television news is less effective than it used persist, albeit in contention, in the political to be at reaching young people and has communication system of the mid-1990s severe difficulties among some sections of (Blumler and Gurevitch, 1995, p. 221). Britain's ethnic minority communities. In the last three years, television news has also weakened its hold on viewers from Conclusion social groups C2DE (Hargreaves and Thomas, 2002, p. 5). A decade on it is possible to see a heightening of the trends identified by Blumler and Gurevitch. As indicated in this paper, the flow^ On the content side, this author's research in of govemment information has continued to 2000 revealed that between 197S and 1999 grow. But it would be naive to suggest that there was a significant reduction in the amount more political information emanating from of political coverage being broadcast by the govemment results in more political coverage main terrestrial channels. The percentage of in the mass media. Indeed, the opposite might stories devoted to politics on the main BBC TV well be the case. It is indisputable that on the news bulletin declined from 25.6% in 1975 to positive side of the balance sheet there has 14.6% in 1999; on ITN the decline was from been a huge growth in terms of the quantity of 22.25% in 1975 to 15.3% in 1999 and on news media reaching the British public since Channel Four News from 17.6% in 1985 (the 1995. One thinks of 24-hour radio and TV news channel only began broadcasting in 1982) to channels (in their infancy when Blumler and 15.8% in 1999 (Figure 2) (Barnett etal., 2000, Gurevitch were writing), the growth in the size p. 15). (if not the sales) of newspapers and the Further research in 2002 indicated that the explosion in political websites (Norris, 2000, apparent decline had continued with figures pp. 13-16). However, the quality' of the for percentage of political news in the main political information, and the breakdown of evening bulletins being reported as BBC 14.7%, the audiences it is reaching might suggest a less ITN 13% but Channel four bucking the trend than optimistic scenario. on 22% (Hargreaves and Thomas, 2002, p. 91). Three snapshots indicate that the more pes- The third 'snapshot' relates to the decline of simistic outlook might be more appropriate. the reporting of parliament in the mainstream As far as the audience for news is concemed, media (see Franklin, 1996). Whilst it is tRie that an ITC/BBC research report in 2002 con- political aficionados can now access parlia- cluded: ment through the BBC's Parliament Channel, the truth is that, overall, very few people do. In ... there has been a significant decline in the months of June and July 2006, BBC audiences for television and radio news Parliament was one of only a handful of digital and current affairs, along with a well- channels that failed to record a single week

• BBC DITN Q Channel 4

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 1999 Figure 2. Per cent of stories devoted to politics on BBC, ITV and Channel Four Main bulletins.

Copyright & 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. foumal of Public A^airs, August 2007 DOI: 10.1002/pa Problem of political communications 233 when its total audience reached 100000; in they wrote about 'the alienation of... citizens' other words it failed to record a national it was when average turnouts at UK general average daily viewership of more than elections was 77%. Since then we have seen a 14OOO/" And there is no compensation to dramatic fall in formal electoral participation; be found in the pages of national daily- in 1997 it was down to 71.4%, in 2(K)1 to 59.4% newspapers, in fact the situation has continued and in 2005 to 61.4% (most, if not all, of this to deteriorate, with not one title now having a small rise, could be accounted for by changes daily page devoted to covering the previous that made postal voting considerably easier) day's parliamentary proceedings. Thus, in terms of trust' — the cement that However, more germane to this discussion, holds the democratic system together—there and a fertile area for future research, would be can be no more devastating proof its absence, an analysis of political coverage in the media than these figures on voter participation. that sought to distinguish between the ebb and It would be easy, but fallacious, to conclude flow of daily politics (akin to the category of that this breakdown in trust can be laid entirely election news that researchers have dubbed at the doors of either the government (in terms the horse race elements — who's up, whos of the information flow discussed in this paper) down, strategies and tactics, personalities, or the more popular explanation, the media. etc.) and the ebb and flow of daily governance; Major social trends do not usually lend the type of news that would be most likely themselves to simple cause/effect relation- initiated by a government press release or a ships. However, in terms of the way that the ministerial briefing. ^'^ Until such an analysis has UK political system is currently functioning been completed one has to rely on anecdotal one can at least conclude with a satisfactory evidence and the impression garnered from a null hypothesis. Namely that is there is no close observation of the UK media over the evidence that increasing the flow of political past 2 decades, that lead, this author at least, to communication from government to electors conclude that there has been a rise in the does anything to enhance trust and electoral former and a decline in the latter. participation. Indeed there is some evidence However, one additional trend has to be taken that this enhanced information flow might, in into account when forming such judgements, terms of the democratic system, be counter- and that is the rise of the specialist" reporter. productive and that the fears about the In the past, stories about government initiat- long term stability of liberal democracies, ives in the education or health areas, for example articulated by Fukuyama, might indeed have might have been covered by the political staff; some credibility. they are now increasingly covered by the health or education correspondent. Thus, any attempt to measure changes in overall political coverage References wouJd have to take cognisance of this change. Bamett S, Gabcr I, 2001. Westminster Tales: The However, one change in the political 2Ist Century Crisis in Political Journalism. environment, since Blumler and Gurevitch Continuum: London. concluded their study, is indisputable; and that Bamett S, Seymour E, Gaber I, 2000. From Cali- is the decline in electoral participation. When aghan to Kosovo: Changing Trends in British television News 1975-1999. University of Westminster: London. '"Audience figures from the British Audience Research lUircau website &http://www.h:irb.co.uk/vicwinj(.sum- Blumenthal S. 1982. The Permanent Campaign. niary7mon[hreports.cfm?rcp<)n=m<>nthgmulti&rcquest- Simon Si. Schuster: New York. esttimc(>ut=500 vied 25 July 2006. Blumler J. Gurevitch M. 1995. The Crisis of Public ^'*Scc Norris (2()()()) and McNair (2000) for arguments that suggest that modem political communications assist the Communication. Routledge: London. democratic process and Franklin (2004) for the counter Campbell J. 2002. Time to bury spin. British Jour- view. nalism Review 13(4): 19.

Dawkins R. 1989. The Selfish Gene. Oxford Jones N. 1995. Soundbites and Spin Doctors. Cas- University Press: Oxford. sell: London. Franklin B. 1996. More interested in Cantona than Jones N. 1999. Sultatis of Spin, the Media and the the match? The decline in newspaper reporting New Labour Government. Victor Gollancz: of Parliament PSA Conference Proceedings London. 1996. Jones N. 2003. The Control Freaks. Politicos: Franklin B. 2004. Packaging Politics. Edward London. Arnold: London. Lees-Marshment J. 2001. Political Marketing Fukuyama F. 1993- Ihe End of History and the Last and British Political Parties: The Party's Just Man. Penguin Book: Harmondsworth. Begun. Manchester University Press: Manche- Gaber L 2004. 'Alastair Campbell, exit stage left: do ster. the 'Phillis' recommendations represent a new McNair B. 2000. Journalism and Democracy: An chapter in political communications or is it Evaluation of the Political Public Sphere. 'business as usual'? Journal of Public Affairs Routledge: London. 4(4): 365-373. Mountfield Report. 1997. Report of the Working Gaber I, 2006. Dislocated and distracted: media, Group on the GovertimentInformation Service. parties and the voters in the 2005 General Cabinet Office: London. Election campaign in British Politics. 1(3): 1- Norris P. 2000. A Virtuous Circle: Political Com- 23. munications in Post-industrial .Societies. Cam- Gaber I, Underwood J. 1999. The Home Office Press bridge University Press: Cambridge. Offiee A Review of its Operation and Organis- Omstein N, Mann T. 2000. 7he Permanent Cam- ational Stnieture: Final Report. Unpublished paign and its Future. American Enterprise Insti- report by Clear Communications London, sub- tute and the Brookings Foundation: Washington. mitted to Government Deeember 1999. Phillis Report. 2004. An independent review of Hat^reaves 1, Thomas J. 2002. New News, Old govemment communications Presented to the News, London BBC/Independent Television Minister for the Cabinet Office. Commission. Power Inquiry. 2006. Power to the People: We Herman E, Chomsky N. 1994. Manufacturing Con- Report of Power: An independent Im/uiry into sent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Britain's Democracy. The Power Inquiry: Vintage: London. London; 28.