Politics, PR and New Media

New media technologies are beginning to emerge as the dominant force in political campaigns. During the golden age of politics, in the 1950s and 60s, the introduction of television brought politics into the home. People no longer simply read about party policies and observed pictures of potential leaders in newspapers, but rather had the opportunity to hear first hand the policies from these leaders in real-time, from their own homes. More recently, with the invention of the internet, exposure to political campaigns has never been so significant. Journalistic coverage of campaigns went from something people read about in the newspaper and listened to on the nightly news, to being covered across many internet sites which people viewed in their daily lives. Political advertisements also began to show on the internet, increasing exposure to the different positions of each party.

Whilst campaigning was taken to a new level with the introduction of the internet, I believe it has been taken to an even higher level with the introduction of Web 2.0 technology. O’Reilly describes the Web 2.0 phenomenon as “the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform. Chief among those rules is this: Build applications that harness network effects to get better the more people use them” (2006). Basically Web 2.0 technology is the move away from users as consumers of internet material, to creators of this material. Examples of Web 2.0 based websites include Facebook, Delicious and You Tube.

With the introduction of Web 2.0, public relations is now playing a significant role in political campaigns, and is now considered to be just as important as advertising and journalism in determining outcomes of elections. Take for example the trend that has seen You Tube become a channel for politicians to communicate their beliefs, policies and visions to the people. The success of Barack Obama, who is the current favourite to win the Democratic leadership to compete in the 2008 United States Presidential election, can arguably come down to his use of new media technology to communicate with voters. To prove this, the speech he presented on You Tube at the beginning of 2007, entitled ‘My Plans for 2008’ has been viewed over one million times, with the comments in response overwhelmingly positive. In doing this, Barrack’s team has successfully utilised the ability of all citizens to become content creators to generate a greater level of interaction with the public. This has enabled them to better understand what issues people want their campaign to target.

This new trend has the potential to minimise the negative effects of mediatization on political parties. This is the process whereby political institutions and the public “increasingly are dependant on and shaped by mass media” (Mazzoleni & Schulz, 1999, p.247). This process often has negative effects for the parties, as policies become skewed and damaging information is exposed. With the introduction of more interactive media, such as You Tube, politicians have a better platform to explain their points of view by their own terms, without the influence of external media sources which can potentially alter messages.

Politicians are increasingly becoming aware of the potential of new media technologies to enhance their campaigns. Through the use of Web 2.0 technology, there is now a greater focus on public relations in campaigns, with greater interaction between party leaders and the public.

Reference List

Mazzoleni, G. & Schulz, W. (1999). “Mediatization” of Politics: A Challenge for Democracy?. Political Communication, 16(3), 247-261.

O’Reilly, T. (2006). Web 2.0 Compact Definition: Trying Again. Retrieved April 30, 2008, from http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2006/12/web-20-compact-definition-tryi.html.