Political Parties and Elections Modern Media Strategies

Success Criteria – I can… What you will learn… Success Criteria – I can… Describe different methods used by political parties during election campaigns. Explain why modern media strategies are both effective and ineffective About modern media strategies employed by political parties How effective such methods are at helping a political party succeed in an election

Traditional Methods V Modern Methods of election Campaigning While a party’s campaign will not, on its own, win an election, a badly organised campaign can certainly lose one. Parties require a good ‘air’ attack via modern methods but also require a good “ground war” making use of more traditional strategies

Traditional Methods V Modern Methods of election Campaigning Traditional Strategies Include: Canvassing Posters Leafleting Newspaper campaigns Party Political Broadcasts Modern Strategies Include: Use of Social Media Phone Banks Blogging Websites – YouTube etc Use of mobile technology i.e. Apps Voter Targeting Software

Modern Media Strategies As old party loyalties and affiliations based on social class have started to disappear more 'floating' voters have emerged As more people have become 'floating' voters political parties have given more attention to influencing these voters. It could be claimed that people's opinions on the 'short term' factors are shaped by the information they receive from a range of sources = TV, Newspapers, Radio and the Internet/Social Media.

When dealing with the Media and politics, it is important to remember 3 key points: 1 - INTERPRETATION news and events are not just reported, they are interpreted. Media organisations may view the same event in different ways from another. People receiving the information may interpret it differently. 2 – OWNERSHIP Media organisations are owned. Many of the most popular UK newspapers in circulation are owned by a just a few companies. i.e. Rupert Murdoch, owns News International - which has 35% of the newspaper market in the UK! – As well as these newspapers, Murdoch also has a controlling stake in SKY TV (and therefore Sky News)

3 - POLITCAL MANIPULATION Political parties are aware of the reach and influence of the media. Therefore media is used by politicians and political parties i.e. leaks to the press, spin, social media presence etc. On the one hand it could be argued that the mass media simply reflect as well as reinforce political preferences that are already established.   However, it could be argued that the mass media are able to distort the flow of political information by setting the agenda for debate and transmitting information when and how they see fit, easily manipulating the voting intentions of the undecided. 

TV and Influence? Television remains the most widely used form of media in the UK today. 96% of the population watch TV. For some it is their only or main source of information. It is estimated that the average person watches 25hrs of television a week 51% of the UK population considers TV to be their main source of political information. By law, TV, unlike newspapers, MUST be unbiased and fairness has to be maintained. Around 20% of all TV is dedicated to current affairs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Jua9aUzHM BBC Newsnight

TV and Influence? 1 - Media Advisers (Spin doctors) Sound-bites Political parties are aware of the reach and perceived influence of the media. The effects of advertising, shopping channels etc tell politicians that TV is a powerful vehicle to influence the mind. Companies spend millions of pounds advertising products on TV to get people to BUY products. Political parties adopt similar ‘strategies' to try and influence voters to choose their party: 1 - Media Advisers (Spin doctors) Sound-bites Appearances Media Training 2 – Leaders’ Debates 3 – Digital Media Strategy

Media Advisors Special advisers and media consultants are hired by the main political parties to try and 'manage' the image of the party and their message in the media. They try to manipulate what is being reported by putting either a positive or negative 'spin' on information. Hence why they will often be referred to as “Spin Doctors”. For example, in 2010 David Cameron hired the former Editor of the Sun Newspaper Andy Coulson and made him the ‘Director of Communications’ for the Conservative Party, during the 2010 election campaign. The Sun newspaper (the newspaper with the highest readership in the UK at the time) switched its support from Labour to Conservative for the 2010 election.

Continued Influence? However - There has been a decline in the share of people voting in line with their newspapers preference, only around 51% vote the same way as their newspaper supports. It is also true that newspapers may decide which party to support once they see how people will vote, essentially just backing the favourite, i.e. the Sun switched to supporting Con from Lab in 2010 but the Cons already had a 7-15% lead over Labour at the time!

Media consultants try many strategies to manage/manipulate a party’s message or leader’s image, such as: Sound-bites - Words that stick in the mind, short, sharp, impact TV - less democratic debate and more reliance on key phrases or 'buzzwords' i.e. 2010 "change" was used and repeated in EACH of the party leaders’ appearances in the leadership debates. Party Election Broadcasts - mini-infomercials on what party stands for, strong use of imagery. Often attacking other political parties Slogans - try to 'get message' down to a catchy phrase and the image holds the vote. “Education, Education, Education” for example was a key Slogan of the Labour 1997 campaign. Appearances - Politicians from the main parties often make 'appearances' on various TV programmes, to give over a certain image e.g. in 2005 Tony Blair even appeared on MTV, to appeal to young voters! Media Training – Nicola Sturgeon has had her appearance altered to make her look more appealing to the electorate.

Quick Questions Q1 – What 3 key points are important to remember when dealing with the Media and politics? Q2 – Why is TV considered incredibly important when parties are considering their media strategies? Q3 – Evaluate the use of Media Advisers (Spin Doctors/Media Consultants) as a media strategy used by political parties during election campaigns