This fully-updated new edition of Politics and the Mass Media provides a comprehensive introduction to the role of mass communications in politics at all levels, from election campaigns, news reports and lobbying groups to the media activities of pressure groups. The relationship between politics, politicians and the media is a matter of increasingly contentious debate, as politicians' awareness of the importance of the media becomes more sophisticated amidst rapidly-advancing media technology and control. Providing a review of the nature and content of political communications and of recent theoretical developments, Negrine addresses the issues surrounding today's mass media, including cable and satellite television, investigation of the press, the relationship between the state and broadcasing institutions and the ever-present question of whether or not Britain needs a media policy. This new edition includes: * Case studies from television and the press * Fully revised text with updated sections on the press, broadcasting and media legislation * Brand new chapters on Europe and globalisation

'IT'S THE SUN WOT WON IT', was the famous headline claim of Britain's most popular newspaper following the Conservative party's victory over Labour in the 1992 general election. The headline referred to a virulent press campaign against Neil Kinnock's Labour party, and dramatically highlighted one of the chief features of British politics during the twentieth century - the conflict between a socialist Labour party and a capitalist popular press. Labour's frequent complaints of the political and electoral unfairness of newspaper bias meant that some commentators considered that this dispute had a heritage as old as the party itself. Others, including the Labour leadership at the time, argued that despite past tensions, the 1992 election marked the culmination of an unprecedented campaign of vilification against the party. Popular Newspapers, the Labour Party and British Politics assesses these competing claims, looking not only at 1992 but both back and forward to examine the continuities and changes in newspaper coverage of British politics and the Labour party over the twentieth century. The book explores whether the popular press has lived up to its claim of being a democratic 'fourth estate', or has merely, as Labour politicians have argued been a powerful 'fifth column' distorting the democratic process. Drawing on a range of previously unexamined sources this book offers the first original and comprehensive history of a fascinating aspect of British politics from Beaverbrook to Blair. James Thomas is a lecturer at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University, and has published articles and esays exploring the relationship between the popular press and British politics.

New Labour's electoral success of the late 20th century was due in no small part to its grasp of media communication. This book reminds us that the importance of the mass media to Labour's political fortunes is by no means a modern phenomenon.

Political Communication in Britain is a now established series of nine books, the first of which appeared in the aftermath of the 1979 General Election. This book follows the structure of previous volumes and features commentaries and assessments from the pollsters who monitored voter opinion during the 2017 General Election. It also includes chapters from party strategists responsible for devising and executing the rival campaigns. Furthermore contributions from journalists offer a media perspective on the campaign. The remainder of the book consists of academic material designed to complement and augment the aforementioned professionals’ chapters. Here the focus is on the major dynamics of political communication, specifically the roles of the press, television, advertising, internet and other such phenomena during the 2017 Snap Election.

Political Communication in Britain offers unique insights from various members of the party, media, and polling organizations that contested, reported, and analysed the 2019 British General Election, as well as leading academic experts who have researched the campaign. Following an essay by Sir John Curtice exploring how the critical issue of Brexit influenced the election, the opening part of this volume features insiders discussing their respective parties' operations, including their successes and disappointments. This section also includes expert examinations of Boris Johnson's 'oven ready deal' as well as the digital advertising and controversial public relations efforts that helped promote it. The middle part of the book considers the media, with chapters from the BBC, Sky News, and regulator Ofcom, along with analyses of the pro-Conservative press, digital-only plat[1]forms, and the more left-leaning alternative news sites. The closing section of the volume turns to public attitudes, with experts, including leading pollsters, exploring how these contributed to the Conservatives' victory. Dedicated chapters also place opinion research in broader context through examining the historical role of the exit poll, and the changing reception and reporting of polls both online and in print. Political Communication in Britain provides readers with an indispensable guide to the 2019 General Election from several of those most intimately involved in the campaign. Dominic Wring is Professor of Political Communication at Loughborough University, UK. Roger Mortimore is Professor of Public Opinion and Political Analysis at King's College London, UK, and Director of Political Analysis at Ipsos MORI. Simon Atkinson is Chief Knowledge Officer at Ipsos.

In theory, parliamentary elections are a contest between political parties whose leaders do not have a separate identity from their party in the public eye. This case study of Britain shows that this theory no longer holds; the dynamics of parliamentary elections have become more 'presidential' in the sense that the leaders of the major parties now figure more prominently on both media coverage of the campaign and in the party that voters choose at the polls. The implications for our understanding of parliamentary democracy are discussed.