Modern Political Communications Mediated Politics In Uncertain Terms [Hardcover]

Political communication systems in advanced industrial democracies are in a state of flux. The traditional political communication system, with its limited and regulated media channels, stable patterns of media consumption, and identifiable party loyalty, which characterized much of the twentieth century, is giving way to one that is less ordered and structured. This book provides an accessible and comprehensive account of how governments, political parties, established media organizations and citizen audiences, in the US and the UK, are adapting to this systemic change.

Against the background of audience fragmentation and widening social and political divisions, James Stanyer provides a critical appraisal of the evolving relationship of political communicators and their audience. He argues that such divisions influence citizen communicative engagement and are increasingly exacerbated by the strategic activities of political advocates and media organizations. Modern Political Communication is required reading for anyone who wants a fuller understanding of the transformation of political communication and the repercussions for democracy.

Preface and Acknowledgements

Introduction

Modern Political Communication

Part 1: Exclusion, Intimacy and the Drive for Popularity

1 Exclusive Campaign Communication: the Hidden Costs of Data Driven Electioneering

The rise of the floating voter

Market research and the electorate

Targeted communication

The cost of campaign communication

The included and the excluded

2 Governing and the Drive for Effective Promotion

The all encompassing promotional culture

Does promotion translate into popularity?

Tlƒ*