Branding & Beliefs in a Global Public Sphere
Jamie Lynn Weisinger
November 26, 2010
Politics today are not what they were in the past. In the western world, democracy, a system that functions collaboratively between citizens and their government, has historically been run without the use of over-the-top campaigns and political branding. The best man for the job, be it state mayor, senator, or president, won based on the facts. Today, it is a different story. The use of public relations and social media has soured a once noble system. The democratic world we live is no longer based on facts, but on deception and manipulation imposed upon us by those in control.
In order to understand the relationship between politics and media as it relates to branding today, it is important to understand the history of media and it’s role in society. By looking at Jurgen Habermas article, entitled, “The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article (1964),” we learn that, since the beginning of the 18th century and earlier, journals and newspapers have provided a means in which public notices could be delivered to the citizens of a country, state, city, town, and village. Citizens living in a particular area could look to these publications to learn about changes and events were that were occurring. I1t was during a time of feudal transformation, one of power and authority, that news media become an outlet for public opinion.
In the late 1700’s in Europe, a change was taking place; previously, a feudal lord, nobility, and the church embodied themselves as the highest level of power over a state. Those defined as heads of state represented power over the people, not for them. These heads of state became the public authority and lawmakers. As institutions of public authority, such as courts and code enforces, became independent from these higher powers of authority, all those involved in trade and civil professions, the bourgeoisie, became what Habermas calls “the public sphere.” It is in this division that discussions of public opinion came about.
This new public opinion and representation transformed the news media of its time; what once was a publication for mere notices, newspapers provided a new outlet for the criticism of public authority by those who were subjected to it. It was out of the French bourgeoisie desire to play a role in the rule of their state that newspapers became a place where citizens discussed rules of social conduct and their views on public authority. The newspapers became a mediator between the public sphere and public authority. Average citizens, ones who previously held little authority or power, now had a voice and could speak out, or for, the governance of their city.
However, as public authority became the institution of rule, the first constrictions were created, in which citizens became the victims of private rule. The bourgeoisie were opposed to the idea of being subordinates of a higher authority. It was because of this desire to be considered that, in the 19th century, during a time of revolution for France, England, and the United States of America, newspapers began to transform in to an outlet and institution of public opinion. The pages of news journals and publications were to be transformed; content would begin including political opinion articles from average citizens, many of which were rallying for new political and social causes.
Unfortunately, this system of public opinion representation in news media doesn’t work anymore. In the 20th century, as a result of the industrial revolution and world wars, the press became an outlet of propaganda by the public authority and as a result, the public sphere expanded beyond that of the bourgeoisie, back in to the hands of those with high authority. Laws and censorship have played a large role in this transformation. With so many people belonging to one public body, rules had to be put in place in order to maintain control and power.
Today, the dominant population in power feeds the news that is reported in media to producers and publishers. Unfortunately, the content that we receive is beyond the control of average citizens. The upper class and those with political authority have secured their role as guardians of its citizens and rulers of commerce. As a result, the news media that we receive today is composed of information that is composed for a passive audience, ready and willing to believe what they see and hear without question.
We seem to be right back where we started- a dominant ruler in power, causing a divide between governance and the common man. Once again at the mercy of the public authority, those in political power now organize the content of newspapers and journals, while citizens remain passive consumers. Institutions dealing with public relations help ensure that the general public supports the political and corporate agendas by mediating what is and is not published. In order to understand this, must look back to the 20th century, when social theorists first started finding ways to influence the pubic body.
In Stuart Ewen’s article, “Unseen Engineers: The Biography of an Idea,” he states that, “When reality is distilled down to its most ‘simplified and dramatized’ form and is able to make an ‘appeal to the instincts’ of the public mind, [Edward Bernays] explained, ‘it can aptly be termed news.’” Bernays, the pioneer of public relations in America, had studied the effects of propaganda, and developed ways in which to use it as a method of molding “the mind of the masses,” so as to guide them in “desired directions.”
As can be seen in the British Broadcasting Company documentary series, “The Century of the Self,” Bernays found ways to manipulate the masses. In one of his first and best known PR campaigns, Bernays, having been hired by a tobacco company to increase sales to women, staged an event in which a dozen debutantes would be seen smoking in public. In order to attain the publicity needed to reach households across the country, Bernays set this event during the well-known Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in the late 1940’s. At just the right moment, while walking past news reporters, these women lit up their cigarettes, which were referred to in the news as “Torches of Freedom.” Cigarette sales to women greatly increased, making his first public campaign a success.
Back in the 1920’s, Walter Lippman, an American theorist and public-opinion specialist, stated that, “while an average person was beguiled by a ‘medium of fictions,’ a scientifically trained ‘social analyst’ was in a position to identify and manipulate the ways these fictions would operate.”
One way, in which to put forth this manipulation of reality, Lippman theorized, was by creating “pseudo-environments.” The ability to control public opinion could be done by channeling the emotions of passive citizens. By finding a way to instill ideas in to the mind of the public, by channeling their deepest inner desires and fantasies and making them believe that the reality was possible, free will could be exploited. Lippman argued that the way in which to achieve this was through the press. And here we are today.
It has been said that journalism and media is the basis in which democracy and the public-sphere operate soundly. When real news and journalism disappears, democracy goes down with it. The book Alpha Dogs by James Harding investigates the ways in which political campaigns and PR firms can sway a nations vote. Dating back to the 70’s, these PR firms have been manipulating the minds of not just American citizens, but other countries across the world, by creating “spin” and political-campaigns, which Harding refers to as “election machines,” that speak to “the people.” We are informed in the ways in which young, charismatic PR professionals can find ways to produce an image for a politician that can adhere to the hearts and appeal to the minds of voters.
As a result of these PR firms and political campaigning, much of the news that media consumers are being fed can be referred to as “infotainment,” a word constructed to define and suggest “a practice of the blending together of [the media’s] presentation within the broadcasting of news and current affairs.” What this means is that world news and political affairs are being watered down in the media for viewers at home. With all the technology and media that consumers are fed today, it is hard to grab the attention of a viewer. Infotainment conveys information in a “more entertaining, media-friendly.”
One of the ways that media producers can achieve this is by “aestheticisation.” Aestheticisation occurs when news is communicated to the public, but instead of presenting viewers with a story having to do solely with, for example, politics or science, the story becomes wrought with themes of style and modernization as a way to appeal to society as in-touch with popular culture. When talked about in news media, politicians, instead of being heralded or criticized for their political actions, are made to appeal to the masses on a more emotional level. Today, we can know all about the personal lives of senators and congressmen; First lady, Michele Obama, can be found in the style section of popular tabloid magazines. This form of journalism brings in to question the authenticity of the news coverage. Aestheticisation in news media and infotainment has led to the dumbing-down of news media and journalism. Today, much of the information we receive in news media could be considered works of fiction, branded and designed by those working for the government to keep citizens entertained. (Encyclopedia articles, “On Tabloidization”; “Aestheticisation”; “Americanisation”)
In his article entitled “Promotion as Institutionalized Deception: Some Coordinates of Political Publicity,” author John Corner makes a convincing argument against the use of branding in modern politics. He claims that today, “deception might be ‘the mother’s milk of American politics,” and argues that, in the 20th century, with the help of advancements in social media and technology, that this deception and influence by political branding has been “both accelerated and intensified… media.” He continues to say that “media [is used] as an agency of relay and dissemination with relative confidence and ease.”
Corner describes three types of political deception: 1), “deception that is part of communication designed primarily to increase positive evaluation of the sender,” 2), “deception as part of communication designed to increase negative evaluation of opponents or competitors,” and 3), “deception that is part of communication that is essentially reactive and that often has short planning periods, even to the extent of being spontaneous.”
W. Lance Bennett, in his article entitled, “News as Reality TV: Election Coverage and the Democrization of Truth,” discusses the ways in which political campaign communication managers use the news media to elicit a sense of emotionalism and personal connection to passive media consumers. This connection can be the determinant of which candidate a citizen will vote for. Bennett likens a presidential campaign to a soap opera; which candidate can appeal more to the masses on an interpersonal level? He references an article by The Washington Post, describing the ways in which George W. Bush used a staged Top Gun style mission as a segue into his 2004 presidential campaign:
“Bush emerged from the cockpit in a full olive flight suit and combat boots, his helmet tucked jauntily under his left arm. As he exchanged salutes with the sailors, his ejection harness, hugging him tightly between the legs, gave him the bowlegged swagger of a top gun.”
This reference reflects the ideas put forth by Corner, and is a good example of the ways in which political news and media reporting has become something that we can liken to a Hollywood drama. This mission, as we find out in Bennett’s article, was rehearsed and staged for the media. This over-dramatized, staged photo-op is reminiscent of the 2008 presidential election campaign, when John McCain announced his choice for his vice presidential candidate, Sarah Palin. The decision to pick a female as a vice presidential running mate was meant make the pairing more attractive to a larger number of prospective voters. “Hockey moms” and working-class women with families across the country came out in support of Palin. This move can be seen as a strategy of the McCain political campaign, and was used to manipulative more republicans in to giving the party their vote.
Popular culture today seems to be more important than politics. When viewers are being manipulated to believe the scripted lines that are being fed to them through the television, it creates a major threat to society. Habermas’ articles help us to see that a functioning democracy is dependent on a reliable news media system. However, when top-stories produced to generate the highest number of readers, honesty is compromised. It is unclear if this system of “democracy” and political campaigning is salvageable; one can only hope that in the end, citizens can see past the Hollywood facade.
In our modern society, the Internet plays a large role in the way that we, as citizens, can voice our opinions and express our ideas. Blogging websites are free for all to use, and we can spread our ideas with our friends and peers on social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Myspace. As of now, there are no limitations to what can be published on the Internet; we are free to say what we feel.
This modern climate of political propaganda and branding as it relates to social media played a major role in America’s 2008 presidential election; it probably would not have been possible for Barack Obama to have secured votes enough to be the winner had it not been for the generation of young adults who blogged and networked discussions on the Internet. Because of these new online outlets of communication and free press, the American public was able to make a better informed decision as to whether or not he should be the president, and if so, how he would be able to change this country for the better. Obama’s campaign staff used these outlets like Facebook to their advantage and made information very accessible to anyone who was interested. This presidential election was one of the first to utilize the Internet as a way to inform citizens, and it proved to be a successful venture.
Sadly, it is only a matter of time before public authorities and private individuals find more strategic ways to utilize social media and networking websites. As once the newspaper and television were, blogging and social media websites such as Facebook, Myspace, Blogspot, Tubmlr, Twitter, and YouTube are now powerful tools and weapon in the branding of politics. Political PR firms know the ways in which they can distract the public while setting their own agenda. The obstacle we are now faced with is to determine where the line is between propaganda and real leadership.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aestheticisation. Print.
Americanisation. Print.
Bennett, W. L. “News as reality TV: Election coverage and the democratization of truth.” Critical Studies in Media Communication, 22, 171-177. 2005.
Corner, John. “Promotion as Institutionalized Deception: Some Coordinates of Political Publicity.” Blowing up the Brand: Critical Perspectives on Promotional Culture, written by Melissa Aronczyk and Devon Powers.. New York: P. Lang, 2010.
Habermas, Jurgen. “Further Reflections on the Public Sphere.” Habermas and the Public Sphere, edited by Craig Calhoun, 421-61. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1992.
Habermas, Jurgen. “The Public Sphere: An Encyclopedia Article (1964)” New German Critique 3 (Fall 1974): 49-55.
Harding, James. Alpha Dogs: The Americans Who Turned Political Spin into a Global Business. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2008. Print.
On Tabloidization. Print.
The Century of the Self. Dir. Adam Curtis. BBC Four, 2002. Mini-series.
