Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

How Political Actors Use the Media pp 63–83Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Political Public Relations and Mediatization: The Strategies of News Management

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

In highly mediatized democracies, political parties and other political actors have to manage the news and adapt to the fact that news media have become largely independent and highly influential. In this chapter, the authors bridge theory and research on strategic party behavior, mediatization, and political public relations to analyze why and how political parties seek to manage the news to further their strategic goals. Based on a review of the literature, the authors suggest a typology of strategies and tactics that political parties can use to manage the news. One conclusion is that adaption to news media need to follow from the strategic goals of the party. Otherwise adapting to news media is not strategic but rather surrendering to news media and news media logic.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Asp, K. (2014). Mediatization: Rethinking the question of power. In K. Lundby (Ed.), Mediatization of communication (pp. 349–373). Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bachl, M., & Brettschneider, F. (2011). The German national election campaign and the mass media. German Politics, 20(1), 51–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balmas, M., & Sheafer, T. (2010). Candidate image in election campaigns: Attribute agenda setting, affective priming, and voting intentions. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 22(2), 204–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benoit, W. L. (1997). Image repair discourse and crisis communication. Public Relations Review, 23(2), 177–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benoit, W. L. (2014). The functional theory of political campaign communication. In K. Kenski & K. Hall Jamieson (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of political communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boorstin, D. J. (1962). The image: A guide to pseudo-events in America. New York: Harper Colophon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bright, J. (2016). The social news gap: How news reading and news sharing diverge. Journal of Communication, 66(3), 343–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., Tsfati, Y., & Sheafer, T. (2008). The influence of presumed media influence in politics. Do politicians’ perceptions of media power matter? Public Opinion Quarterly, 72(2), 331–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cook, T. E. (2005). Governing with the news. The news media as a political institution (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Cutlip, S. M. (1995). Public relations history: From the 17th to the 20th century. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Vreese, C. H., Esser, F., & Hopmann, D. N. (Eds.). (2017). Comparing political journalism. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Downs, A. (1957). An economic theory of democracy. Boston: Addison-Wesley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eshbaugh-Soha, M. (2007). The president’s speeches. Beyond “Going Public”. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esmark, A., & Mayerhöffer, E. (2014). Public agenda setting between media logic and political logic. In B. Pfetsch (Ed.), Political communication cultures in Western Europe (pp. 219–244). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esser, F. (2013). Mediatization as a challenge: Media logic versus political logic. In H. Kriesi, S. Lavenex, F. Esser, J. Matthes, M. Bühlmann, & D. Bochsler (Eds.), Democracy in the age of globalization and mediatization (pp. 155–176). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Esser, F., & Spanier, B. (2005). News management as news. How media politics leads to metacoverage. Journal of Political Marketing, 4(4), 27–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esser, F., & Strömbäck, J. (Eds.). (2014). Mediatization of politics. Understanding the transformation of western democracies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esser, F., Engesser, S., Matthes, J., & Berganza, R. (2017). Negativity. In C. de Vreese, F. Esser, & D. N. Hopmann (Eds.), Comparing political journalism (pp. 71–91). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freeman, P., & Cicero, Q. T. (2012). How to win an election. An ancient guide for modern politicians. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gandy, O. H., Jr. (1982). Beyond agenda setting. Information subsidies and public policy. Norwood: Ablex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Green-Pedersen, C., & Stubager, R. (2010). The political conditionality of mass media influence. When do parties follow mass media attention. British Journal of Political Science, 40(3), 663–677.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grunig, J. E., & Hunt, T. (1984). Managing public relations. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton, J. T. (2004). All the news that’s fit to sell: How the market transforms information into news. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Harcup, T., & O’Neill, D. (2016). What is news? News values revisited (again). Journalism Studies, Online early, 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hernes, G. (1978). Forhandlingsøkonomi og blandadministrasjon. In G. Hernes (Ed.), Det mediavridde samfunn (pp. 181–195). Oslo: Universitetsførlaget.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjarvard, S. (2013). The mediatization of culture and society. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjarvard, S. (2014). Mediatization and cultural and social change: An institutional perspective. In K. Lundby (Ed.), Mediatization of communication (pp. 199–226). Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, A., & Dann, S. (2009). Political marketing and stakeholder engagement. Marketing Theory, 9(2), 243–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iyengar, S., & Kinder, D. R. (1987). News that matters. Television and American opinion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kernell, S. (2007). Going public. New strategies of presidential leadership (4th ed.). Washington: CQ Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, A. (Ed.). (2002). Leaders’ personalities and the outcomes of democratic elections. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiousis, S., & Strömbäck, J. (2014). Political public relations. In C. Reinemann (Ed.), Political communication (pp. 249–266). Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kiousis, S., & Strömbäck, J. (2015). The strategic context of political communication. In D. Holtzhausen & A. Zerfass (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of strategic communication (pp. 383–395). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kovach, B., & Rosenstiel, T. (2014). The elements of journalism: What news people should know and the public should expect. New York: Three Rivers Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kriesi, H., Lavenex, S., Esser, F., Matthes, J., Bühlmann, M., & Bochsler, D. (Eds.). (2013). Democracy in the age of globalization and mediatization. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunelius, R., & Reunanen, E. (2012). Media in political power: A Parsonian view on the differentiated mediatization of Finnish decision makers. International Journal of Press/Politics, 17(1), 56–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamme, M. O., & Russell, K. M. (2010). Removing the spin: Toward a new theory of public relations research. Journalism & Communication Monographs, 11(4), 281–362.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lecheler, S., & de Vreese, C. (2016). How long do news framing effects last? A systematic review of longitudinal studies. Annals of the International Communication Association, 40(1), 3–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ledingham, J. A. (2006). Relationship management: A general theory of public relations. In C. H. Botan & V. Hazleton (Eds.), Public relations theory II (pp. 465–483). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcinkowski, F., & Steiner, A. (2014). Mediatization and political autonomy: A systems approach. In F. Esser & J. Strömbäck (Eds.), Mediatization of politics. Understanding the transformation of Western democracies (pp. 74–89). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCombs, M. (2014). Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Medvic, S. K. (2006). Understanding campaign strategy. Journal of Political Marketing, 5(1), 11–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, T. (2002). Media democracy: How the media colonize politics. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, A., Gottfried, J., Barthel, M., & Shearer, E. (2016). The modern news consumer. New York: Pew Research Center.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller, W. C., & Strøm, K. (Eds.). (1999). Policy, office, or votes? How political parties in Western Europe make hard decisions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nabi, R. L., & Oliver, M. B. (2009). The Sage handbook of media processes and effects. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newman, N. (2011). Mainstream media and the distribution of news in the age of social discovery. Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nord, L. (1997). Spelet om opinionen. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oscarsson, H., & Holmberg, S. (2016). Svenska väljare. Stockholm: Norstedts juridik.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfetsch, B. (2007). Government news management: Institutional approaches and strategies in three Western democracies. In D. Graber, D. McQuail, & P. Norris (Eds.), The politics of news; the news of politics (2nd ed., pp. 71–97). Washington: Congressional Quarterly Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrocik, J. R. (1996). Issue ownership in presidential elections, with a 1980 case study. American Journal of Political Science, 40(3), 825–850.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Santen, R., Helfer, L., & Van Aelst, P. (2015). When politics becomes news: An analysis of parliamentary questions and press coverage in three West European countries. Acta Politica, 50(1), 45–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schulz, W. (2004). Reconstructing mediatization as an analytical concept. European Journal of Communication, 19(1), 87–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sjöblom, G. (1968). Party strategies in a multiparty system. Lund: Studentlitteratur.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spörer-Wagner, D., & Marcinkowski, F. (2010). Is talk always silver and silence golden? The mediatization of political bargaining. Javnost-The Public, 17(2), 5–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strøm, K. (1990). A behavioral theory of competitive political parties. American Journal of Political Science, 34(2), 565–598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J. (2008). Four phases of mediatization: An analysis of the mediatization of politics. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 13(3), 228–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J. (2011). Mediatization and perceptions of the media’s political influence. Journalism Studies, 12(4), 423–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J., & Esser, F. (2014a). Mediatization of politics. Towards a theoretical framework. In F. Esser & J. Strömbäck (Eds.), Mediatization of politics. Understanding the transformation of Western democracies (pp. 3–28). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J., & Esser, F. (2014b). Mediatization of politics: Transforming democracies and reshaping politics. In K. Lundby (Ed.), Mediatization of communication (pp. 375–403). Berlin: de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J., & Esser, F. (Eds.) (2015). Making sense of mediatized politics: Theoretical and empirical perspectives. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J., & Kiousis, S. (Eds.). (2011a). Political public relations. Principles and applications. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J., & Kiousis, S. (2011b). Political public relations: Defining and mapping an emergent field. In J. Strömbäck & S. Kiousis (Eds.), Political public relations. Principles and applications (pp. 1–32). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J., & Kiousis, S. (2013). Political public relations: Old practice. New Theory-Building. Public Relations Journal, 7(4), 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J., & Nord, L. (2006). Do politicians lead the tango? A study of the relationship between Swedish journalists and their political sources in the context of election campaigns. European Journal of Communication, 21(2), 147–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J., & Van Aelst, P. (2013). Why political parties adapt to the media: Exploring the fourth dimension of mediatization. International Communication Gazette, 75(4), 341–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thesen, G., Green-Pedersen, C., & Mortensen, P. B. (2016). Priming, issue ownership, and party support: The electoral gains of an issue-friendly media agenda. Political Communication, Online early.

    Google Scholar 

  • Udris, L., & Lucht, J. (2014). Mediatization at the system level: Independence from politics, dependence on the market. In F. Esser & J. Strömbäck (Eds.), Mediatization of politics. Understanding the transformation of Western democracies. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Aelst, P., & Walgrave, S. (2016). Information and Arena: The dual function of the news media for political elites. Journal of Communication, 66(3), 496–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Aelst, P., Thesen, G., Walgrave, S., & Vliegenthart, R. (2014). Mediatization and political agenda-setting: Changing issue priorities? In F. Esser & J. Strömbäck (Eds.), Mediatization of politics. Understanding the transformation of Western Democracies (pp. 200–220). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Aelst, P., Brants, K., Van Praag, P., de Vreese, C. H., Nuytemans, M., & van Dalen, (2008). The fourth estate as superpower? An empirical study of perceptions of media power in Belgium and The Netherlands. Journalism Studies, 9(4), 494–511.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Eijk, C., & Franklin, M. N. (2009). Elections and voters. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Walgrave, S., Soroka, S., & Nuytemans, M. (2008). The mass media’s political agenda-setting power. A longitudinal analysis of media, parliament and government in Belgium (1993–2000). Comparative Political Studies, 41(6), 814–836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaller, John R. (2001). The rule of product substitution in presidential campaign news. In E. Katz & Y. Warshel (Eds.), Election studies: What’s their use? (pp. 247–269). Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Jesper Strömbäck

  2. University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland

    Frank Esser

Authors
  1. Jesper Strömbäck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Frank Esser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium

    Peter Van Aelst

  2. Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium

    Stefaan Walgrave

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Strömbäck, J., Esser, F. (2017). Political Public Relations and Mediatization: The Strategies of News Management. In: Van Aelst, P., Walgrave, S. (eds) How Political Actors Use the Media. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60249-3_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation