The description of government communications as ‘spin’ has been part of the political lexicon since the mid 1990’s. But what is the reality behind its image? A new research project from LSE questions the idea of ‘political spin’, examining the changes in government communications to ask whether the UK civil service is being politicised and what this might mean for democracy and the media.
The Labour party’s landslide victory in 1997 following 18 years out of power heralded a new era for British politics in a number of ways. A new communications operation, led by Tony Blair’s press secretary Alastair Campbell, brought in a centralised, highly disciplined and robust style of information management to government. Across the civil service, the
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She said: “I was attracted to researching the concept of ‘spin’. Is it manipulation, a label or name calling? To me that seemed a very crude way of describing what is a major part of government operations. And where did ‘spin’ come from? This led me to investigate what it felt like from the point of view of government press officers, people whose voices are rarely heard. Is it really true that civil service communications is being politicised, and what might this mean for their tradition of impartiality? Most importantly, how could ‘spin’ relate to changes in public …show more content…
Although Spads have existed since the Harold Wilson government in 1960s, she traces their rise to the early years of the 1980’s Conservative government. She said: “I found that government has relied on the help of political advisors since the Thatcher era, when big and sometimes controversial projects had to overcome internal and external resistance. Their influence then grew and increased during the New Labour era. For ministers keen to ‘drive through’ radical change, and to be seen to be doing so, the kinds of checks and balances typical of civil service impartiality started to be seen as an obstacle to the implementation of government policy. Ministers wanted Spads to help overcome resistance and communicate the programmes aggressively through the media. Where did this leave the more cautious government press officer?”
Ruth has interviewed 25 people in total for her research: 16 former civil servants, 6 former journalists and 3 Spads. Many of the journalists interviewed for the research hold the view that Spads fundamentally changed the nature of political reporting. Ruth said: “Journalists started to work with Spads outside of normal working hours and have personal relationships with them which they weren’t able to have with the civil service. Spads became the source of much of our political news. In a way, this approach has helped to facilitate the 24 hour
One friend kills another. Speeches are presented. A war breaks out. This is the story of Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome who was killed by Brutus and a group of conspirators. Many argue that Brutus was a patriot, and many argue that he was a betrayer. People argue that he was a betrayer because he betrayed Caesar’s trust and gave a speech against him. However, when you think of Caesar’s personality, arrogant and slightly reckless, he could’ve made bad decisions and caused Rome a great deal of trouble. Brutus was a patriot to Rome since he did what was best for the country and even took his own life instead of running away. He put his own feelings aside to do what was right.
The films The Searchers and Avatar both make use of the master narratives of regulating social order and disorder. One is used as a way to reinforce this narrative, while the latter is shaped more towards critiquing the overall of ideal of the American social order. The struggle presented by an external threats in both films give the opportunity of interpreting and contrasting the master narrative and the effects that can come from imbalances in social orders.
Democratic is when citizens vote for all elected officials. Many had defied political system as it was, and thrived towards to create a democratic system that will be beneficial for America as a whole. Andrew Jackson was one of those individuals who challenged the government’s views, and whose name is tied closely to democracy. This essay will focus on the aspects that made this president so great and how democratic was he in actual fact.
It is important to include cultural issues in the helping process to be more effective. We also need cultural competence because the U.S. is becoming more diverse. Therefore with diversity comes different beliefs, norms, and values. Eurocentric values dominate sciences and began cultural universals which puts the clash of dominate and non-dominate cultural behaviors in motion. In 1996 the NASW Code of Ethics increased the recognition of cultural competence. It is important to know diversity exist within ethnic and cultural groups because social workers need to know that relationships between helping professionals and clients may be strained. This happens because of the distrust between groups. Another important aspect is that the professional realizes their own values, biases, and beliefs. The reason for this is because they must value diversity to start with and understand the dynamics of difference. Culturally competent practitioners have to go through developmental process of using their own culture as a starting point to meet all behaviors. Striving for cultural competence is a long term process of development. The literature on cultural competence is theoretical and conceptual. They have not been evaluated in a systematic way. Roughly there are 2 million Native americans in the U.S. Which survive decimating disease, over-repressed in child welfare system, suffer from health problems, and are among the poorest people in the United States. Working with them clearly falls within the social work clearly mandate to serve vulnerable and oppressed clients. However, we do not know how many people from this group is actually receiving help from social workers. Even though it is important to train social workers to provide care in th...
This is better explained by the public servant knowing why he is doing the job and who it is benefiting, socially, and how he is impacting and making a change for the better in their own mind, personal. In the first two “chapters” of Caught between the Dog and the Fireplug, or How to
Interprofessional Practice (IPP) is the ability to provide a comprehensive health care service to all patients. Healthcare providers achieve this joining together and working collaboratively to deliver quality care across a range of healthcare settings. An interprofessional setting may offer several benefits to patients, including improved access to healthcare, less conflict and tension amongst caregivers, improved use of clinical resources, better retention of staff, better results for patients in particular those with chronic diseases. (http://www.ontarioshores.ca/about_us/our_approach/interprofessional/). This paper will discuss the benefits of an interprofessional practice to the patient.
Louw, P. E. (2010). Spin Doctoring: The Art of Public Relations. The media and political process (2ed., p. 81). London: SAGE.
During the Great Depression, while the competitors were cutting costs and reusing outdated designs, Kress was expanding and building more elaborate stores than their previous ones. The architecture was referred to as an “emporium” evoking an elegant atmosphere more suited to a fine cloth or furniture store in New York rather than the five & dime stores dotting small town America. Many wonder what the driving force was behind these design decisions, especially during a national time of economic recession. Perhaps simply to outpace the competition, but perhaps more importantly Samuel Kress was an avid art collector and a proponent of public art enhancing a community. In this way the Kress legacy of the brand became more than a retail business, it became a symbol of small town civic pride.
Edward L. Bernays deserves recognition far greater than that which he receives. "The father of spin" documents the career of Edward Bernays, the man himself and the monumental findings that precede him. Bernays not only fathered public relations as we know it he also shaped molded and embodied ideal practices of public relations and spin in everything that he did.
Smith, P. (1999) „Political Communication in the UK: A Study of Pressure Group Behaviour‟, Politics, 19(1): 21-27
Statistics state that children and teens who participate in team activities/sports show better communication skills, and are better rounded. “When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality.” That quote is by Joe Paterno. Being apart of team helps develop a good character, morals, and confidence.
The study of public administration only continued to grow over the course of the next two decades. As the study of public administration expanded, so did the development of s...
What is ideology? How can it help us understand media? Use academic literature to support your argument.
...ot function properly. Politics and administration should be seen as very interconnected. It is worth reiterating just as the structure of governments has changed over the years, the structure and role of public administration have also changes dramatically. Furthermore, it is important to state that public administration has grown from its traditional role of merely implementing policies adopted by the “political” branches of government to playing very significant role in the formation of public policies. This is definitely more evident in regards to professional expertise bureaucratic officials provide during problem identification, agenda setting, policy formulation, and evaluation that shape the content of public policy today. Overall, the idea that Wilson has proposed gives an accurate idea of what the relationship should be between politics and administration.
McLoed and Hawley (as cited in Wilson, 1995) elucidated appropriately, "a recurrent journalistic controversy has involved the question whether journalism is a true profession or merely a craft." Sparked primarily by Lippmann and Dewey, extending into the age of the penny press (mid 1980s) and later, the attempt to commercialise the news (late 1980s) to our present era, there has existed a contentious debate on journalism being distinguished as a profession (Wilson, 1995). Encapsulated in a democratic homeland since the advent of time, media systems are habitually acclaimed as the “fourth power,” with its journalists often hailed as the “watch-dogs” of such a society. Lending itself to act as ‘gatekeeper’ for the wider society and performing the traditional role of journalism, the media (overall) exist as powerful “instruments of knowledge” that perform the function of providing information to the masses in a public sphere, where issues may be discussed, justified and contested (Scannell, 1995, p. 17). Evidently, media workers play a pivotal role in our society; however, their status in the realm of professions is not definite.