Week 5: PR and Political Communication

This post is part of my Journalism, PR and The Media online portfolio.

In order to understand how journalism and PR influences political communication, it is important to first look back at where it all began. The set reading this week discussed The Vietnam War, also referred to as 'The Living Room War' as this was the first time people witnessed the detail of military conflict on TV from their homes. But how was this war 'spinned' to gain positive coverage?

The Vietnam War took place at an important time in the development of television, therefore it was important the military managed the media well. This is where press pools came in, the press pool was a system in which a small number of reporters were given access to gather information to then share with other members of the pool and press outside of the pool. Press pools were seen by the military as a way of maintaining military security and preventing a mass of reporters into the war zone, it meant they could control who saw what and what exactly they saw.

This links to ideas discussed in last weeks lecture and those found in my secondary reading which looks at propaganda in relation to political publicity and promotion. John Corner discusses how the growth of our promotional culture means that amongst other things, political parties need to consider how to gain positive publicity with in the media. Therefore they would want to restrict what the media saw if it made them appear in a bad light, which is where press pools would come in.

During the Gulf War press pools were in full swing and it was considered the most covered war in history. However John Pilger said that due to the press pools "Everyone missed the story...the story was that 200,000 Iraqis were killed...but by the end of the war we came away with the idea that casualties were light." Which shows how the press pools worked and helped the government gain less negative coverage as the real horrors of the war were not broadcasted out to the public.

This kind of political communication is still relevant and apparent today. If you watch this video of David Cameron on St David's Day you can spot different techniques the prime minister uses to address the Welsh nation. Cameron is wearing a suit and tie, looking very smart thus showing his professionalism. He is also wearing the Marie Curie daffodil, showing his compassionate and supportive side, this is all done in order to get a positive opinion for his party and for him as prime minister. The prime minister uses positive words to describe the welsh nation including 'great', 'beautiful', 'strong'. He discusses there industrial past and beautiful coastlines, all of this is a way of swaying the welsh nation to see Cameron in a positive light.

Bibliography

1) Bainbridge, J, (2011), Media & Journalism. 2nd edn. Spinning the War: How PR Made the first Gulf War. Australia: Oxford University Press.

2) Corner, J. (2007) Media, Culture & Society, Vol 29. Mediated politics, promotional culture and the idea of 'propaganda'.