Communication between citizens and their governments is a key measure of the health of any democracy. In this book, authors from a range of backgrounds - political science, law, media, public policy and government, as well as those who have worked as journalists, press secretaries, PR consultants and speech writers - assess the state of government communication in Australia today. They consider the political, legal and economic context of government communication including the institutions and actors involved and the relationships between them. This includes analysing the media-government relationship and how governments use ‘spin’, new media and expensive government advertising to influence media reporting and public opinion. The authors shine a spotlight on the work of government spin doctors, speechwriters and PR consultants but they also analyse the social framework of modern communications and how citizens, NGOs and governments communicate in a mediated world.
Contents
Introduction Sally Young; Part I. The Political, Legal and Economic Context: 1. Mapping the Australian PR State Ian Ward; 2. Government communications and the law Graeme Orr; 3. The Public Service and government communication: pressures and dilemmas Brian Head; 4. Business-government communication: power, influence and mundane relationships John Warhurst; Part II. The Government-Media Relationship: 5. Television parliament: broadcasting, webcasting and public access Julianne Schultz; 6. Politicians, journalists and 'spin': tangled relationships and shifting alliances Shelly Savage and Rodney Tiffen; 7. Theories of government communication and trends in the UK Brian McNair; Part III. Government Communication Workers: Spin Doctors, Speechwriters and PR Practitioners: 8. Perspectives on government PR Noel Turnbull; 9. Spin doctors, citizens and democracy Stephen Stockwell; 10. Speechwriters and political speech: pitting the good angels against the bleak Dennis Glover; Part IV. Government Use of the Media: 11. Australian governments and online communication Peter Chen, Rachel Gibson, Wainer Lusoli and Stephen Ward; 12. A history of government advertising in Australia Sally Young; 13. Government advertising as public communication: cases, issues and effects John Sinclair and Stephanie Younane; Part V. The Social Framework: Citizens, NGOs and Government: 14. Innovations in Australian government communication Sally Young; 15. Lobbying government Sarah Maddison; 16. Citizens engaging government Katherine Gelber; Conclusion: the present and future of government communication Sally Young.
Review
' … its scope, case studies, explanations and critique all suggest its strong appeal as a second text or recommended reading for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in political communication and related courses. … Government Communication in Australia delivers significant material to begin filling … a 'sizeable gap in our understanding of political communication in Australia.' Wayne Murphy, Queensland University of Technology
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