One issue in the Public Relations industry that has had an overwhelming influence on how people view professional communicators, especially those working in a political environment is the role of 'spin doctors'. It has had a much wider public policy implications because they appear to be at the heart of the relationship between government and its stakeholders.
If you have never heard the word 'spin doctor', look again at the nearest photograph or television image of your favourite politician. Is he sounding a little more articulate than you remember? Are his clothes set off better against his surroundings and do his eyes gleam with a new camera-friendly sincerity as he announces noble schemes for the upliftment of the nation?
What we see are 'doctored' politicians, phantoms conjured up by the efforts of relatively unknown image builders of political parties. These image builders manipulate media images, publicise friendly opinion polls and sponsor articles, advise leaders on what to wear and in short, create marketable political commodities.
British Labor Party politician Tony Benn quotes : "We should put the spin-doctors in the spin clinics, where they can meet other spin patients and be treated by spin consultants. Then the rest of us can get on with the proper democratic process."
A 'spin doctor' can be simply described as a political press agent or publicist employed to promote a favourable interpretation of events to journalist.
Like it or not, the role of politicians, the expectations of the electorate and the role of communications in the political process have all changed radically. The reality remains that like politicians, spin doctors are forced into existence because there is no such thing as objective truth. As a very famous slogan says, "perceptions are facts because people believe them".
The modern term 'spin doctor' was first used in the New York Times during the 1984 US Presidential election when Reagan's advisers were observed during the daily media briefings. They arrived carrying brief cases (hence the association with the traditional image of carpet-bagging doctors of the mid-West) and they worked the room (back and side-ways: spinning), while giving rapid-fire answers to the jostling reporters.
The Oxford English Dictionary now defines a spin doctor as 'a spokesperson for a political party or politician employed to give a favourable interpretation of events to the media'. The term also has conveniently come to be understood as an amalgam of 'spin'- to place a slant on events- 'doctor' in the pejorative sense of patching up, falsifying and manipulating.
UK Politics and News from No.10
Media Management has played a significant role in UK politics for some time, with 'spin doctor' figures like Alastair Campbell. Campbell was the first real British spin-doctor holding considerable power which we get to watch in the BBC TV documentary News from No.10.
Former Labour Spin Doctor Alastair Campbell.
This BBC film sheds unique light on the relationship between the Prime Minister Tony Blair and his influential press agent, Alastair Campbell. Mr Campbell was appointed as Tony Blair's official spokesman in 1004. The documentary breaks new political ground by showing some of the inner workings of the relationship between Number 10 and Westminster's lobby journalists.
Arguably, he has been the most famous press secretary the UK has ever seen.
The scale and variety of the media today has made it vitally important for politicians to maintain a positive media image. More and more effort and money is put into this with every election that comes around, with style now ruling over substance in most political spheres.
References:
Cutlip, S. et al. (2000) Effective Public Relations, 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Tench, R. & Yeomans, L.(2006) Exploring Public Relations. Essex: Pearson Education Limited
