169,032 research outputs found
Interactivity and Branding, public political communication as a marketing tool
No full textEffective communication is essential for brands to gain awareness, interest and loyalty from their consumers; the same is as true for politics as for any manufacturer or service provider. The challenge for political parties and candidates seeking support or election is finding the means to transmit their messages to an increasingly hard to reach audience. The consumer within a political context may avoid hard news or broadcast political debate, discard any direct mail received and, when receiving glimpses of political communication, simple reject any political messages as spin and propaganda. In order that brand values are accepted and understood and accepted effective, unmediated communication is crucial and increasingly political communication strategists are turning to the Internet which can not only enable the reaching of a wider audience but can also complement and augment the brand character.
As new technologies are adopted, new modes of communication are also introduced. While a website can act as a shop front from which parties or candidates can advertise their policies and personnel, the style of the site (design, language and features) can act as metaphors for the professionalism and style of representation offered. To appear modern parties are increasingly adopting Web 2.0 tools, platforms and features. These all permit, to differing degrees, users to interact with parties and candidates and have conversations across online platforms. This interactivity can, if used strategically, be used as a tool for branding a party or candidate given that the uses of such tools can be metaphors for openness, accessibility and the representational character that may be provided post election. We explore this issue drawing on original empirical data gathered through analyses of online activities during the French and US presidential contests of 2007 and 2008 and of UK parties and MPs during 2008 and 2009. Through a process of creating narratives for each of the brands analysed, based upon a content and discourse analysis of the websites and other online presences, we identify what characteristics the online shop front is designed to project. These narratives, cumulatively, suggest that the online environment is becoming a key communicational tool for those who seek election, and potentially a key source of information for the voter; thus an important location to place strategic branded information. However it appears that interactivity is better suited to the activities of candidates, nationally or locally, due to the individualistic nature of conversational interactivity. Interactivity can thus have a significant role to play within a presidential contest where the individual is seeking office, but when representatives attempt to construct their individual brand it can also challenge traditional hierarchies within party based parliamentary systems such as the UK
Political Communication and COVID-19
Get PDFThis edited collection compares and analyses the most prominent political communicative responses to the outbreak and global spread of the COVID-19 strain of coronavirus within 27 nations across five continents and two supranational organisations: the EU and the WHO. The book encompasses the various governments’ communication of the crisis, the role played by opposition and the vibrancy of the information environment within each nation. The chapters analyse the communication drawing on theoretical perspectives drawn from the fields of crisis communication, political communication and political psychology. In doing so the book develops a framework to assess the extent to which state communication followed the key indicators of effective communication encapsulated in the principles of: being first; being right; being credible; expressing empathy; promoting action; and showing respect. The book also examines how communication circulated within the mass and social media environments and what impact differences in spokespersons, messages and the broader context has on the success of implementing measures likely to reduce the spread of the virus. Cumulatively, the authors develop a global analysis of the responses and how these are shaped by their specific contexts and by the flow of information, while offering lessons for future political crisis communication. This book will be of great interest to students and researchers of politics, communication and public relations, specifically on courses and modules relating to current affairs, crisis communication and strategic communication, as well as practitioners working in the field of health crisis communication. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. Thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched www.knowledgeunlatched.or
Social networking sites as embedded tools of political communication : an innovative form of communication about Europe ? An analysis of practices and uses of Twitter and Facebook in the European Parliament
No full textThe objective of this paper is to assess whether the use of social networking-sites by political actors at the European level presents some form of media and communication innovation. The lack of EU legitimacy is often viewed as a communication deficit (De Vreese & al, 2006; Meyer, 1999), and therefore Meyer highlights the role of political communication in legitimating governance. More recently, taking into account the evolution of communication tools, Blumler and Coleman (2010:147) note that “with the emergence and evolution of the Internet, in its many shapes and guises, there has been a range of hopes and speculations about its redemptive potential”. At the European level, this belief is even stronger. Thus Lilleker and Koc-Michalska (2011) emphasize the potential the Internet offers for legitimizing the European Parliament as a democratic institution. This presentation proposes to examine whether new public and political communicative spaces are emerging in the European Parliament as a result of the use of Internet, and more specifically social networking-sites, by political actors. Coleman and Moss consider three communicative characteristics of the blogs which all relate to impression management (Goffman, 1959): “politicians attempts to seem like ordinary people” (Coleman and Moss, 2008:9), they develop relationships with citizens which are live, spontaneous and direct, they are both “conversing with and listening to the public” (Coleman and Moss, 2008:9). All those three characteristics are today attributed to social media platforms by academics. Therefore there is an injunction for political actors to use web 2.0 tools in order to interact with citizens and allow a deliberative democracy to emerge. My presentation looks at the use of two social networking-sites (Twitter and Facebook) by Members of the European Parliament (MEP). The approach is original in that it focuses on MEPs’ usages and practices “behind the scene” of Internet. Drawing on a significant number of interviews with MEPs and political assistants but also on participant observation in the field between 2010 and 2012, it aims at better understanding how MEPs are integrating SNS into their everyday routines and whether and how it changes communicational patterns, both inside and outside the organization and political work. Doing so, it questions the relationships between professional politicians and journalists as well as the notions of e-discussion and interactivity. Given the scope of this research, the theoretical framework integrates both a political communication approach as well as a more sociological approach to mediated communication and the Internet. My research highlights how the injunction of interpersonal communication is imposed on MEPs and how it leads to the re-arrangement of the political and communicational skills and tasks within MEPs teams. It shows that web 2.0 tools do not fundamentally alter political action and communication but rather fit into a larger apparatus of various tools with distinctive objectives. Social networking-sites are embedded in a more comprehensive approach to communication, aiming at articulating various types of discourses of MEPs and adjusting language to audiences on a single platform.The objective of this paper is to assess whether the use of social networking-sites by political actors at the European level presents some form of media and communication innovation. The lack of EU legitimacy is often viewed as a communication deficit (De Vreese & al, 2006; Meyer, 1999), and therefore Meyer highlights the role of political communication in legitimating governance. More recently, taking into account the evolution of communication tools, Blumler and Coleman (2010:147) note that “with the emergence and evolution of the Internet, in its many shapes and guises, there has been a range of hopes and speculations about its redemptive potential”. At the European level, this belief is even stronger. Thus Lilleker and Koc-Michalska (2011) emphasize the potential the Internet offers for legitimizing the European Parliament as a democratic institution. This presentation proposes to examine whether new public and political communicative spaces are emerging in the European Parliament as a result of the use of Internet, and more specifically social networking-sites, by political actors. Coleman and Moss consider three communicative characteristics of the blogs which all relate to impression management (Goffman, 1959): “politicians attempts to seem like ordinary people” (Coleman and Moss, 2008:9), they develop relationships with citizens which are live, spontaneous and direct, they are both “conversing with and listening to the public” (Coleman and Moss, 2008:9). All those three characteristics are today attributed to social media platforms by academics. Therefore there is an injunction for political actors to use web 2.0 tools in order to interact with citizens and allow a deliberative democracy to emerge. My presentation looks at the use of two social networking-sites (Twitter and Facebook) by Members of the European Parliament (MEP). The approach is original in that it focuses on MEPs’ usages and practices “behind the scene” of Internet. Drawing on a significant number of interviews with MEPs and political assistants but also on participant observation in the field between 2010 and 2012, it aims at better understanding how MEPs are integrating SNS into their everyday routines and whether and how it changes communicational patterns, both inside and outside the organization and political work. Doing so, it questions the relationships between professional politicians and journalists as well as the notions of e-discussion and interactivity. Given the scope of this research, the theoretical framework integrates both a political communication approach as well as a more sociological approach to mediated communication and the Internet. My research highlights how the injunction of interpersonal communication is imposed on MEPs and how it leads to the re-arrangement of the political and communicational skills and tasks within MEPs teams. It shows that web 2.0 tools do not fundamentally alter political action and communication but rather fit into a larger apparatus of various tools with distinctive objectives. Social networking-sites are embedded in a more comprehensive approach to communication, aiming at articulating various types of discourses of MEPs and adjusting language to audiences on a single platform
Political communication ethics theory and practice
No full text"Introduces students to how political communication professionals ought to behave, and how they actually behave. The chapters by both scholars and practitioners will help students wrestle with the question of what ethical responsibilities, if any, political communications professionals have"-
The Marshall Islands : history, culture and communication
Get PDF"Draft: Not for Quotation, Citation or Reproduction without Permission of Author."For more about the East-West Center, see https://www.eastwestcenter.org/Policy decisions about communication system resources are an important part of controlled development in any society. Informed decisions are better made with a thorough understanding of the society's existing patterns of communication and their interrelationship with political, social and economic factors in historical context. This paper will present a concise historical overview of Marshallese culture. The purpose is to provide the essential background, based on existing literature, for future field research projects that will explore communication behavior.I. INTRODUCTION -- II, GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY AND EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION. Geography -- History -- Relocations (Bikini-Enewetak-Rongelap. Kwajalein) -- III. ETHNOGRAPHY. Traditional Economy. Political Organization, Social Organization and Land Tenure (Kinship. The Social Effects of Relocation). Events of the Life Cycle. Interpersonal Communication. Religion. Education -- IV. MODERN COMMUNICATION. Newspapers -- Television -- Cinema -- Radio -- Two-Way Communication -- Satellite Communication -- Modern, External Communication in the Marshalls -- Transportation -- APPENDIX I: Marshallese kinship terms
Equilibrium communication in political scandals
No full textWe present a formal model in which elite communication and voters’ beliefs during a political scandal emerge as a communication equilibrium, determined by the severity of the accusations and the degree of media scrutiny. The prediction of our model is that incumbents’ use of denials can garner support even when they face the possibility of evidence showing their guilt. In contrast, public apologies increase approval – compared to denial – only when accusations are not very serious and are likely to be proved. Results from a large survey experiment corroborate these predictions. In order to explore how changes in the information environment shapes the communication equilibrium, we estimate the structural parameters of our model and conduct counterfactual simulations. We find that increasing media scrutiny leads to asymmetric effects on incumbent communication with politicians who are the best at covering up evidence actually benefiting from increased scrutiny.</p
Western Samoa and American Samoa : history, culture and communication
Get PDF"Draft: not for quotation, citation or reproduction without permission of author"--t.p.For more about the East-West Center, see https://www.eastwestcenter.org/Informed decisions on implementation of new communication systems are better made with a thorough understanding of the society's existing patterns of communication and their interrelationship with political, social and economic factors in historical context. This paper provides necessary background information for both Western Samoa and American Samoa based on the existing literature. It is a first step in providing essential information for future field research projects that will explore communication behavior.Introduction -- Geography, history and external communication in Samoa -- Ethnography -- Symbolic communication -- Modern communication in Samoa
The Internet, public spheres, and political communication: Dispersion and deliberation
No full textThe theme of the Internet and the public sphere now has a permanent place on research agendas and in intellectual inquiry; it is entering the mainstream of Political communication studies. The first part of this presentation briefly pulls together key elements in the public sphere perspective, underscoring three main analytic dimensions: the structural, the representational, and the interactional. Then the discussion addresses some central themes in the current difficulties facing democracy, refracted through the lens of the public sphere perspective. In particular, the destabilization of political communication systems is seen as a context for understanding the role of the Internet: It enters into, as well as contributes to, this destabilization. At the same time, the notion of destabilization can also embody a positive sense, pointing to dispersions of older patterns that may have outlived their utility. Further, the discussion takes up obvious positive consequences that follow from the Internet, for example that it extends and pluralizes the public sphere in a number of ways. Thereafter the focus moves on to the interactional dimension of the public sphere, specifically in regard to recent research on how deliberation proceeds in the online public sphere in the contemporary environment of political communication. Finally, the analytic category of deliberative democracy is critically examined; while useful, some of its rationalist biases, particularly in the context of extra-parliamentarian politics, limit its utility. It is suggested that the concept of civic cultures offers an alternative way to understand the significance of online political discussion
Political communication in referendums
No full textThis chapter reviews research on political communication in referendums that have become increasingly popular in democracies worldwide. The authors define key characteristics of referendums, touch upon participation in and popular support for referendums, and highlight the differences between them and presedential or parliamentary elections for political actors, the media, and citizens. Furthermore, they discuss findings regarding media effects on issue salience, issue understanding, turnout, and voting behaviour. The authors argue that the potential for communication and campagin effects on citizens is generally larger in a referendum campaign than in other electoral contests. Finally, the authors call for more research into referendums that will likely become even more important in the future
SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, DEMOCRACY, AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN LATIN AMERICA
No full textThe implications of political communication for democracy focus on the need to promote greater citizen participation in political processes and ensure the plurality and diversity of voices in the public sphere. Observing political communication today, the action of social movements draws attention. This chapter presents a historical approach to social movements in Latin America and their relationship with democracy, from the 1980s to the present, raising considerations about movements, social counter-movements, and political communication. Political communication is a field of mediation between movements and counter-movements, which provides elements for the former to achieve the necessary visibility and disseminate their causes. The communication dynamics of social movements, as opposed to the narratives of counter-movements, is an important mechanism to defend their political agendas and promote broader social changes.Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)NOVA Universidade de LisboaUniversidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP
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