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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) 1 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) 2 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 3 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) 4 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’ 5 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.’ 6 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); 7 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 --30-8