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CS206Y Class 5 Part 2 The Rise of the New Public
CS206Y Class 5 Part 2
Propaganda, The Extension of Democracy &
The Rise of ‘The New Public’
‘It is as impossible to imagine a genuine democracy without the science of
persuasion as it is to think of a totalitarian state without coercion’
Fortune Magazine
- T. H. Marshall (1949) ‘The Development of Citizenship in the West’ = 3
dimensions
- 18th C. = civil - ‘freedom of speech, thought & religion…right to a fair
trial’
- 19th C. = ‘political right to … participate in the exercise of power’
(e.g. vote; unions)
- 20th C. = social - ‘right to basic levels of education, health, economic
well-being & security’
(Gutstein 2009: 55)
- Extension of Democracy
- populist movements against ‘robber barons’
- rise of organized labour
- rise of campaigning & investigative journalism
- intellectual influences:
o Sigmund Freud (psycho-analysis - Civilisation & Its Discontents)
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CS206Y Class 5 Part 2 The Rise of the New Public
o Gustav Le Bon (1895) ‘The Crowd’
- rise of advertising, market research & public relations
What is the ‘New Public’?
- since 1950s:
o ‘rationalized techniques of persuasion born of advertising, market
research, and public relations were systematically applied to political
communication’ (Mayhew, 1997: 4)
- 1970s: greater interest & use
- 1980s & 1990s: mass expansion
- experts brought methods ‘that now dominate public communication’:
o ‘sound-bite journalism’
o 30 sec. pol. ads
o 1-way comm’n
o marketing ‘ideas & candidates’ via commercial mkt res. methods
-
‘evasive spin control by public figures who refuse to answer questions’
(Mayhew, 1997: 4)
Eg ‘The bow’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NDwjmF_Mlk&feature=related
Origins of the ‘New Public’
- reforms ‘designed to promote democratic aims’
- but ‘undermine political parties … [replaced] by political consultants’ (p.189)
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CS206Y Class 5 Part 2 The Rise of the New Public
- ‘rationalization of persuasion’ (ROP): ‘dominant principle’
- effective & efficient ‘means of persuasion’:
- ‘entirely instrumental’
- ‘warrants of sincerity that allow audiences to extend credit to their
persuaders are undermined’
- strategies: avoid confrontation that force ‘elaboration of claims’
Market research:
- ‘instrumentally rationalized public communication’ (Mayhew 1997: 190)
- US 1920s & UK 1930s:
o new methods - ‘assessing markets and marketing’
- 1936 Literary Digest poll:
- marketing research:
o ‘beyond selling consumer goods’
o dominates ‘management of persuasive communication’
(Mayhew 1997: 191)
o California 1933
 e.g. Central Valley Project
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CS206Y Class 5 Part 2 The Rise of the New Public
‘Advertising: The Roots of the New Public’
‘… educating the public about wants that they did not know they had’
Earnest Elmo Calkins (1928) Business the Civilizer
(Mayhew 1997: 191)
- role/function: ‘create markets for mass consumption’ of mass produced goods
- 1900s-1920s: ‘appeals to status striving & status fear’ use:
o ‘rhetoric of association & insinuation’
o ‘rhetoric of pictorial display’ = ‘implies rather than argues’
(Mayhew 1997: 192)
- resistance to advertising: ‘ideals of civic modernity’ vs new practices?
- 1st eg: “agate square” system
- 2nd eg: early years of radio
- 3rd eg: paid testimonials:
o E.g. Lucky Strikes
o ‘… inconsistent with premises of public influence’ (Mayhew 1997: 193)
- 1920s: massive increase:
- ‘public drowning in deception and misinformation and diverted from
attention to matters of civic concern by the saturation of public space by
commercial promotion’
(Mayhew 1997: 193)
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CS206Y Class 5 Part 2 The Rise of the New Public
- critics: 1st wave  Stuart Chase and F. J. Schlink (1927)
 US consumer movement
e.g. Consumer Research, Consumer’s Union
 ‘independent testing & publishing info from non-commercial
perspective’
  forums = 2-way commn (Mayhew 1997: 194)
Justifications
- Economics:
- ‘intensive division of labor requires a great deal of communication’
Harold Demsetz (economist) (Mayhew 1997: 194)
- info = ‘not a free good’  consumers ‘must expend time, att’n & effort’
- Mass media = ‘efficient, relatively low-cost channels’
- Ads = ‘abbreviated, easily digested information’
- but producers must sustain ‘quality of goods to maintain that trust’
- Advertising:
- A. A. Achenbaum, VP of J. Walter Thompson:
o info = not nec. cognitive
o ‘presentation of facts … inescapable rhetorical dimension’ (Mayhew
1997: 195)
- advertising = ‘model for rationalized, instrumental persuasion’
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CS206Y Class 5 Part 2 The Rise of the New Public
- adopts social science methods
o not just to sell messages successfully
o ‘but to justify its own project as well’ (Mayhew 1997: 195)
- must clothe ‘vocation as service in the public interest’ (Mayhew 1997: 195)
Origins & Definitions of Public Relations
‘Propaganda is the executive arm of the invisible government’
- Edward Bernays (1928/2005: 48)
- ‘Engineering of consent’
= ‘very essence of the democratic process, the freedom to persuade and
suggest’
(Bernays, 1947, quoted in Gutstein, 2009: 65)
- Ivy Lee meets A. Hitler & J. Goebbels via I.G. Farben (1933)
- Adolf Hitler (1926) Mein Kampf:
- Appeal to emotion, not reason; rational grounds wouldn’t win them
power
- Repeat a few ideas constantly;
- Use stereotyped phrases;
- Put forward one side of the story only.
- Definition of Propaganda (Gutstein 2009: 59)
Garth Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell:
 ‘The deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate
cognitions, and direct behavior to achieve a response that furthers the
desired intent of the propagandist.’
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CS206Y Class 5 Part 2 The Rise of the New Public
‘Truthful Propaganda’ (Jowett & O’Donnell 1986) =
- source correctly i.d.
- message info ‘tends to be accurate’
- presentation ‘to build credibility with audience’  could be useful in future
- planning & taking long-term view
- indicates shifts in battles over policy & public opinion
‘False Propaganda’
- ‘source is concealed or credited to a false authority’
- ‘spreads lies, fabrications & deceptions’
- ‘Propaganda’ = ‘Yet whether … propaganda is good or bad depends upon the
merit of the cause urged, and the correctness of the information published.’
(Bernays 1928/2005: 48)
- Propaganda  ‘Counsel on Public Relations’
Defining Public Relations
- Advertising = selling goods & services via ads & promotions, etc.;
- Marketing = selling goods & services via advertising + everything
else, from product design to distribution
- Public Relations:
o Does not = advertising +/or marketing
o Selling of ideas, issues, impressions, values, etc., via:
(a) Direct placement of material (i.e. ads; advertorials);
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CS206Y Class 5 Part 2 The Rise of the New Public
or
(b) Indirect influence - get journalists to accept PR stories of clients
e.g. ‘Advertorial’ = ‘ad + editorial’ = mix of advertising & media’s texts
 not overt
 editorial = not critical
e.g. women’s mags
- PRSA & Institute of PR define PR as:
‘Public relations helps an organization and its publics adapt mutually to each other’
- CPRS defines PR as:
‘the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies
of an individual or organization with the public interest, and plans and executes a
program of action to earn public understanding and acceptance’
- PR claims:
- ‘Two-way symmetric’ model
- ‘balanced & dialogic comm’n btw org’ns & publics’ (Gutstein, 2009: 65)
- PR = not disinterested providers of ‘information’
- Trying to shape opinion/decisions of: the public, government, policymakers, et al.
- not about rational arguments or facts,
- but about communicating ‘feelings’, ‘sentiment’, ‘values’, ‘impressions’
- research: analyze behaviours, attitudes, etc., to sell values you want
audiences to adopt
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