For Jo andJack , with love: DD ForJen:PG Da 'li唯 d Deacon is Lec個 rerin Co mmu 剖開位 on and Media S 個 dies Peter Golding is Pr ofesωr of So ciology and Head ofDepartment, Depar 恤 ent ofSocial Sc ienα 為Lo ughborough University Taxation and Representation: The Media, Political Comm 口 nication and the Poll Tax David Dcacon and Pctcr Golding Department of Social Sclences, Lo U9 拙。 rOU9h Universi 句 iv British Li brary Ca 個 lo g1iin g in Publica 位 oilDa 個 Deacon , David Taxation and Representation: The Media, Poli 位 cal Comtnunication and the Poll Tax Acamedia Research Mo Ii ograph: 11 I.Ti位 e II. Gölding, Peter m. Series 336.25 的 BN: 0 86196 390 3 ISSN: 0956-9057 Published by John Li bbey & Company Ltd, 13 Smi 也 sy ，位 d ， S Uínm erley Street, Lo ndonSW18 4I罰， En gland. Telephonè: +44 (0)81-9472777: Fax +44 (0)81-9472664 John Li bbey Eurotext Ltd, 127 rue de la Républiql 趟， 92120 Montro 1i ge ，扭曲 ce. John Li bbey -C.I.C. s.r.I., via Lazzaro Spallanzani 11, 00161 Rome , 1 個 ly 。 1994 John Li bbey and Co mpany Ltd. All rights reserved. Unauthorised duplica 位 on contravenes applicable laws. Printed in Great Bri 偵旭 byWhits 組 ble Li thoL 瓜， Whitstable, Kent, UK Contents Chapter1 Chapter2 Chapter3 Chapter4 Chapter 5 Chapter6 Chapter7 Chapter8 Appendix1 Appendix2 Appendix3 Acknowledgements vi Preface Vll Citi 扭由包 p ， éommunication and Politiês 一 The Tarnished Ideal 1 A BriefHistory ofthe Poll Tax 21 Selling Accountability: Government Promotion ofthe Co mmunity Charge 45 Promoting Dissent: An ti Poll T ，也 Campaigr 血 g 71 Policy Made Public: Media Co verage ofthe Co mmunity Ch 訂 ge 111 Journalis 俗 and the Poll Tax 149 The Politics ofPolitical Co mmunication: The Determinants and Im pact ofPoll Tax News 181 Rethin 旭 ng Political Co mmunication 199 Methods 205 Referenêes 207 In dex 213 v vi Acknowledgements The empirical rese 缸 ch that forms the basis of tbis book was funded by two grants from the Economic and Social Research Co uncil (reference numbers: R000231512 and R000233523). We are gratefulωthe Co uncil for their support and interest 旭 therese 位曲， and to the anonymous referees who cons 個 lctively cO lÌlID ented on the grant submissions 阻 .d end ofprojectreports. We would also like to thank Jo Al dridge, Natalie Fenton, Al an Brym 阻， Karl As h- worth , An drew Shaw, Julie Johnson and other co lI eagues at 也 e De par 個 ent of Social Scien 白 s ， Lo ughborough University for their advi 間，倒也個 nce and support. Our thanks 曲 o to Jo Wakefield for her careful transc 旬 tion ofthe interview 草， Pe 記 r Beaman for his technical suppo 此， Bob Fran 蛤 in for his steady supply of po lI恤 clipp 旭函， and Wendy Monk for her me 位 culous proofreading. 。田 fur 也 er thanks to all 也 ejournali 喲， news editors, poli 位 .cians ， presSnre group representa 卸的， trade unionists, business men and women and press and publicity officers , who agreed to be interviewed for the research. Without their co -o peration and candour many important elements of 也 is story would have remained hidden fromview. Finally , our th 叩 ks to 0 田 families ， whose forebearance and 悶 pport during the completion of tbis manuscript made the crea 位 .vestraine 個 ier 切 be 且 Preface 'Lo okl Quickl Wasn'tt 加 tapo 位 cy Just now? Too late. It's gone. We threw the proposer out'. Aris切 pheries ， The Assembly ofWomèn D ……刑 1990 也 eteform of 叫 loc 叫 govemmentfmànce wàs one Qfthe mostnewsworthy 的 picson the intetnational news agenda) Newspapers as geographicàlly diverse as Zim. babwe's Harráre Her a1 d, The SöVÏet Union's Pravda and Iz vest 駒， France's Le Monde , It aly's La Rep 的 licca ， Thailand's Bangkok Post and the USA's Washington Post ran lead stories on 也 e issue, and in Australia Th e Melboume Age edi 切 rialized 世 ataxco 叫 d be designed to sow social dissent and e 缸 n unpopul 缸 ity for a govemment ，也 is is it' (3/4/90: 13). Evenmediafarremovedfrom 也 e intêmâtional news agency rounds felt compelled to report the political debate it provoked. For example, down in the Falkland Islands, The PenguinNews ruminated on the political rammcations of 'a good scheme' that had been 'poòr 甘 im plemented' (7/5/90: 12) When the British Conservative Govemment aiJ.n ounced in 1986 i tS inten- tion to replace the existing method of local domestic taxation with a new 'Community Ch 缸醉， it couldn't have anticipated the controversy it w 自 unleashing. Yet within fo 肘 ye 訂 s ， 'The Poll Tax' 一 as it became more publicly and pejora 位 vely known - had split the ruling p 訂你仕 om top to bottom , precipitated serious breakdowns in public order , conipro 血 isedthe electoral viab 血 ty and intemational cred 晶晶 ty of the Government , incited a cacophony of derision from a normally quiescent media , and brought down a Prime Mini stβr who merely mönths before had been considering 扭曲直到 tely postpon 姐 gherre 位 rement. Úl political ter n'is alone ，也 e 晶晶-， 亢的 nofthe Comm 叫你 Charge ranks as(one ofthe most abject (ailures 姐 i British domestic history. 、_) This book charts the development of 血 1s political crisis, and in p 缸 tic 叫叮 (0 tl') (/' 就 i 討 ii T 缸 ation and Representatio n: The Media , Political Cô mmu 剖開 tionand 也 .ePo lI T ，坦 / (心仙 ho 棚 w 血卸 e 切協岫 su … u extends beyond the conten 位 ous issues raised by the new tax , for its im- ρplementation and subsequent abandonment has provideq 句 invaluable j 啊。的凶妙的呻 lore bro 咖 p 加 ciples inv 伽他 thec()mm 叫 ca 位 on \. and formation of public policy'; As a major fiscal rèform with impor 個 nt cons 位 tutional and political implications, the Co 血 munity Charge was in- troduced against a background of considerable opposi 位.o n. The Govern- ment energetically promoted the change; an q" citizens were principally dependent on the media for information aboutl~t. How did such promotion occ 恥 and with what effects? What form did public discussions take and with what effect on policy forma 位 on? An d how far did the media çater for a full public discussion of such a 血 a 吋 jo 肘 r legislative i 恤 nnovat 位 io 9'?攻，? In i 加 tω s i|!jJb 卸叫 r mo 叮 're general c ∞ ont 缸肘 ri 跆 bu 泌咐 t 位 ion to 0 盯 understanding 0 叫 ft 晶 hesi 站 g 趾 E 趾 c 祖 c 閃 eoft 也 he l …伽心旭恤血… i 站蜘伽叫位伽岫削叫 C 阻叫仙 a 叫恥… lc agendasa 缸 repol 扭 it 位 ica 吋 II 蛤 y generated. For logistical , rather than ethnocen 仕 ic reasons, our discussion foc u. ses on the reporting ofthe Co mmunity Ch 缸 gein En gl 祖 d and Wales, rather than in Scotland - which experienced both a diffetent implementative timetable 個 d intensity of media and public debate. The first chapter contextualizes /' our research within the broader debates currently active wi 也 M 也 e fields of media sociology , social policy and political science, and outlines several conceptual models 曲的 informo 盯 analysis. The second chapter provides r' a contextual overview of the history of the poll tax , and the main poli 位 cal issues its introduc 位 on raised. The third looks at the strategies employed by 也 e British Governme 前，趾 st to promote itsEagship policy, and then to J ameliorate the political crisis it created. The fourth chapter provides a , comparative analysis ofhow opponents ofthe tax mobilized publicly. The 扭曲， provides a detailed comp 缸 ative analysis of national and local media J coverage of the t 缸， and explores how 也 e terms of reference of media debate shifted as the policy cycle proceeded. The sixth chapter examines the news gathering of jo 凹 nalists and editors in reporting the t 缸， andthe political and strategic fac 切扭曲的 shaped their percep 位 ons. The seventh, / draws together material from preceding discussions to explain the specific fac 切 rs that in f1 uenced the building ofmedia agendas on the poll tax. It also explores the in f1 uence of media discourses over public perceptions of the tax. The conduding chapter considers what broader inferences can be drawn from this case study of political communication. Chapter 1 Citizenship, Communication, and Politics - The Tarnished Ide aI Democracy in troubled times: on being an informed citizen T 峙的 ook ………… which people 盯 e able to take p 訂 t 怯 the poli 位 callife of their society. When we 組 lk of citizenship we soon a 控 ive at notions such 的 p 叮 ticipation and involvement, but above all we w 血 隘的岫圳 umbleacro 啦 phantomof 伽叫 or 蚓 ~itizen'~ ./ Clichés about the 'information society' and the deluge of infôrmation to whichwe 缸 e all subject, have become so commonplace that we sometimes lose sight of so 血 e simple tru 也 s. Democracies, even large scale cómplex democracies such as ours, in which power is exercised by the few and the remote, assu 血 e they 缸 'e inhabitβd by informed citizens. Without some knowledge ofwhat the polity is up 妞， people cannot even begin to exercise any reasoned impact on the 可 stem which govems their lives. We therefore foster an ideal ，旭 which people receive a wide range of political informa- 位.o n ， which they sift, consume and deploy in rational decision making. The outcome may be a vote, a motion at a pressure group committee meet 旭 g ， a street riot, or a yawn of disinterest and contemp t. But the informed ci 位 zen exercises choice on the basis of information received. The tβmpting metaphor is that of the supermarket ，祖 which the votβr saunters among the shelves of ideas and policy op 位。由， making shrewd calcula 位 ons about cost benefit balances and the comparative virtues ofthe ideological packages on offer. Trolley filled, the citizen strolls to the elec- toralcheck- 。前， votβin hand. The problem, ifwe extend the metaphor just 1 2 T 阻 a 位 onàndRep 悶 enta 鈍。n: The Media , PO 隘的問 1 臼 mmunication and the Poll Tax a little furth 肘， is that not everyone can get to the same store. Some can afford bigger and better-filled trolleys. The shelves 缸 e f; 叮 from full, and many goods somehow never make it to the front ()fthe display stands. Some 個 rn out to ~ be very different (r om the glittering i 扭曲 prömised on the νpackaging{ The citizen “ shoppe~ is exercising choice wi 也祖 ve 可 d 挖出 ct and effectivè limits. This book is an at 能 mpt to chart those limits, to find out why the goods are packaged the way they 缸 e ， and what gets them on to the shelves. For the ideal of 也 e informed ci 位 zen is precisely that , an ideal. An alysts have always been aw 盯 e ， ofcour 鈍， ofthe potential ofthe modern mass media to interrupt and dis 的 rt the flow of information from the political 叮 ena to voters. It is a long 位 me since we lived 祖 anyth 旭 g approaching the Athe- nian polis. But in recent years we have been increasingly alive to the limits of our ideal. There 缸 'e at least two reasons for this. ,/ First, we have been witnessing dramatic changes i 科組組但.anJ:Ù2盟住心 I ofthe media through which poli 位 calinforma 位onp Ìim訂 ilyreachβs ;i. s. In recent decades the ownership ofmajor national newspapers has continuβd ωfall in 切 the hands of a small number of large corpora 位 ons ， frequently controlled by tycoons with uncompromising and naked political objectives alongside 也 eir commercial 的 pira 位 ons (Golding and Murdock, 1991). Several 仕 ends have evolvedfrom the increasingly conglomerate character of the media. The political profile of the national press has become steadily less balanced , with a preponderance ofConservative supporting, or at least Labour oppos 恆 g titles that even the last Royal Commission on the Press recognized as creating a 'gap in political terms which could be filled with advantage' (cited in ibi d.). The increasingly commercial and competi 位 ve character of 也 e press has alSO fostered what some commentators iden 位穹 的 'de-politicization' ， of the popular 削 es especially (Curran and Seat 凹， 1981: 123). Politics recedes before a rising tide ofhuman interest, show- biz related stories which transform the press 恤 to an appendage of the entertainment industry in both economic andc 叫 turalform. Broadc 部位 ng ， too, reflects this 仕 end; 'Television in Europe thus becomes increasingly an entertainment medium' 但 e Bens, Kelly and Bakke, 1992: 95). Television, as the major and increasingly prominent altemative to the newspaper as a medium for political communica 位 on ， has also entered an age in which the 扭曲 ideals of public service broadcas 位時缸 e being confronted and dis- placed by the pressing imperatives of market driven new technologies of dis 出 bution (Gold 坦 g ， forthcoming). Chap 記 r 1: Ci tizenship , Co mmunication, ànd Politics - The Tarnished Ideal Secondly, our ideal informed citize p. is further disadvantaged by the \growth of the ‘public relations state' ,)a. phenomenon 切 which we return shortly. Inf ormation designed to persuade is never the same 由 information passively offered as a service, and while this may naively understate the inevitably ideologïcal ch 叮 ac 切 r of anything we can sensibly c 叫 l' 旭 forma “ 位 on' , it does reflect ，部 we note below, a sea change in the opera 位 onofthe modern state. For many writers within political science the anxieties and critiques im“ plicit in 也 ese observations 訂 e unfounded. Inf ormation flows have 恤， creased, electorates have become more sophisticated, and democracy is the rich 紅的 a res 叫 t. Notions of 'cognitive mob 也 za 位， on' suggest that rising levels of education have created better equi 即 ed p 石五日 ations ﹒ Together with the gröwth in media provision 也 Ìs nourishes thβdemocra 位， cprocess (Inglehart, 1977). Th 間， as Dal 的 n argues ,‘ At the same time 也 at the co 俱 Ìtive skills of Westem mass publics have improved, so too have the public'sresources 的 day there is a ne 盯 lyunli 凶能 d supply and v 前 ietyof political news , we c aÍl [now] be more sanguine about fhe nature ofbelief systems 恤 co 臨時叮叮 publics.' (Dalt 凹， 1988: 凹， 32). As will becomβclear throughout this book our views are far less confident. /宜 'he changing nature ofthβcommunication system is count 位 balancedby \._ changes 祖 the 帥部 ta 伽 ns of citizenship~ 0 盯 case s 旭旬， ofthe m 咖 change in local taxation introduced in Britain in 也， e 1980s , was centrally conceived by its 盯 chitects 旦旦 an 祖 itia 位， ve to change the bas 泌 of citizenship. At local level 也 is was designed to be for 也 e be 此 er ， an 缸 gument we examine in the following chapters. The poll tax arrived in the wake of considerable efforts by the ideologues of the newright to seize the moral , high 且至! and citizenship proved an attractive ba 函正高高屁立泣區 dβ ，i:t te about the 怯 x wound on ，也 is theme became an insis 切 nt 血 0 位 f within the poli 位 cal dialogue of thβlate 1980s. 她 s. Thatch 肘 's speech to the GeneralAssembly ofthe Church ofScotlandinMay 1988 ，恤 sis 臼 dthat 句 'most Chris 位 ans would reg 配 d it as their personal Christian duty to help their fellow men and womβn' ， from which premise shemovedrapidlyto the 今 conclusion fhat 'intervention by thβstate must never become so great that it effectively removes personal responsibility' (see Rab 間， 1989). This w 的 parallelβd by influential articles by the then Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd , in which he argued that 'the idea of active ci 位 zenship is a necess 缸 y complement to that ofthe enterpris 晦 culture. Public service may once have been the duty of an 組妞， but today it is 也 e responsibility of all who have 可/ v / 3 4 T 臨 ation and Represen 個 .tion: The Media , Poli 位 cal Co mmunica 位 on and the Poll T 臨 位 me or money to sp 缸 4 個肘 d ， 1989). The ac 位.v e ci 討 zen was someone nurtured by the fruits of free enterprise, and happy to reinvest 也 eir well deserved acquisitions 姐 to reSponsible patronage of 也 e less fortunate. lt W 自 not al 的 gether surp 也 ing that 也 e debate about the poll tax came to / adopt this language. 的Mill er notes ，區血 e battle over the t 路 'for p 缸" liamentary and public opinion the 訂 guments have had to be p ù. tin terms of values which 訂 e more broadly sh 叮 'ed. These have centred largely on explicit and implicit 血 odels of citizenship'. (M 血 er ， 1989: 96). \ The citizen found herseijl constituted 祖 three very differem and confused ( '~~~e~: 如此， mdmostMdiaonally ，部 informed and responsive p 缸旭 erto 也 e state 旭 theman 茍 ementofthe 而梅克耐高高站在孟晶石 EIZJs than encoura 到時， with signs of continuous loss offai 也 in the body politic, 也 e fragmentation of a civic culture, and pluralist stagnation (see Topf, 少_ 1989). Second, the ci 位 zen was being urged to become the new 扭扭扭扭 J thropic active citizen conjured up by the enthusiastic visionaries ofvolun- k 、 teer welfare capitalism. The citizen 豆豆豆豆豆豆豆路 received her most 仁 authorita 位 ve acclamation from the Commission on the subject established by the Speaker of the House of Commons in 1988. In these terms ci 也阻" ship became a target for schools in encouraging appropriate curricula, and thesumm 訂 y description of community voluntary work (Commission on k ci 恥的峙， 1990)t Finally, we had the citizen ~s consumer,_exerting civic 令~一一一一一 power through the mechanics of the market, bullis h1 y clamouring for satisfaction in the glass and steel shop fronts of the town hall cus 切 mer service centre, citizens' 也缸 terinhand. Ami dst such confusion 也 e 血 .edia have a strategic role, enshrining and 已 /ç_ promo 伽 g one or another 面証 el ， labelling and evaluati 時 theme 恥 and 7 話詢服冊商 ëñ :-c而 êiãf 屆高豆豆 a 叫 eisthepa 句 layed by the state as a dominant so 盯 ce of information and imagery which becomes the raw material for media work. An d in 也 at role we cannot ignore the massive expansion of the public relations state. The rise of the public relations state All governments like to be well thought of. They pro 血 ote their own policies and denigrate those of oppos 坦 gp 缸位 .es as p 缸 t of the routine business of politicallife. Even Napoleon invested 位 meandmoney 祖 m 暐旭 gsurethe Moniteur purveyed the right line. But in recent decades the scale and ferocity ofthis aspect ofpublic life have escalated substantially. Writing of Chapter 1: CitizensWp , Co mmunica 位.o n ， and Poli 位的明 TheT 缸 nished Ideal the United States, Oscar Gandy has drawn attention to the rise of the information professionals within government. ‘At every level of gover Ii- me 此， in every agency, thete 缸 e information specialists whose responsi- b 泌 ty it is to ensure 也 at 也 enation's publicmediacarry 也 e desiredmessage forward to the general public, other government 0 血 cials ， and key corpor- ate leaders who have a role to play in the formulation and implementation ofpublic policy' (G 祖旬， 1982: 74). Gandy goes on to 缸 gue that this system works through what he terms (‘凶 orma 伽叫咄 es'~Th 帥缸訟吋祉泌的 orm 體型戶臨的帥， but 闊的盯 es 切 reducetheCost 切坦起草泣忘訴函區忌。 f obtaining informa- tion they need to construct news. By making life easy for the news seekers, information managers can influence and even determine the flo W' and character of coverage about their ac 位 .vities in the news media. That is, obviously, the basis on which all public rela 位 ons and publicity work rests. In the post-w 位 period in Britain it was for long assumed 曲的 politics was mo 社 ng to a steady state of ideological convergence, in'which agreement about the nature ofthe goodsocietywas disturbed only by minor squabbles over its administration. This 'consens 肘， or ‘Butske Ui te' happy statβcame to a rude end, if it ever really existβd ， wi 也 the return of' con viction politics' and the launch ofthe Thatcherite project in the late 1970s. Once more government was 扭曲 e business of winning he 叮 tsandm 扭曲. The state is at the heart of the news machine. Studies of news have pere Ii- nially plotted the dominance of items about the machinery of gover Iim ent and the routine drama of Wes 個 lnster life wi 也旭 thebroad 缸 rayofnews coverage. Though this has, as we noted above, declined 自 a proportion of the whole , and indeed its reduction has recently occasioned some distress among politicians (Straw , 1993) , the predominant flavour in the daily diet of the news media continues to be the whiff of political grapeshot and the odour ofWestminster's hot air. 'News prioritizes the state and its agents, treating even minor state activi 位的 as inherently newsworthy, viewing agents of the sta 切 as ‘ reliable' sources and as interesting speakers, and portraying the visible aspects ofrelations among states' (Kni ght and Curt 詣， 1987: 的). Of course this portrayal has its own elisions and evasions (Golding , 1981). But 也 is combination of ideolo 斟 cal divergence and the prom 垣 ence of the state as an object of media attention has created the conditions for a substantial increase in public relations ac 位 vity by the state. ♂ Tλ 正與 v' 5 6 T 臨 ation and Represen 個 tio n: The Media , PO 加叫“ mmunication and the Poll T; 盟 Many observers have noted the importation of the machinery and prac 偏 低 ces of the advertising industry into poli 位 cs. A new branch of this craft appears , in whatNim 血 o and Combs describe 扭扭‘ indus 仕 y of experience brokers' , of'propartists' consisting of'professionalhypesters with a v 前 iety of specialities and s 泌 ls' (Nimmo and Combs, 1990: 67). That poli 位 cs is nowg 盯 landed by an app 盯 atus of spin doctors, 10bbyists, consultants, communication analysts, press officers, and their kin is only too familiar. The political 叮 ena is a supreme1y image-conscious one. Af ter all, as the architect of the Sun's dramatic rise rather innocent1y puts 仗， 'it is poli 說， cians, rather than newspapermen, who tend to exaggerate the power ofthe press'ιamb ， 1989: 161). f' í Government has become a major e 月 10yer of press and public re1atio n. s 心 j 翩翩， andof 帥的隘的In 1992 HM Government spent 的 3 別扭 on r on advertising. Betwee 叫 986 and 1991 theinc 自由 e 祖 its expenditure 姐 」叫做 msw 帥的 out~er cent, and the total expenditure of 也 is kind \!.I rough1y doub1ed during 也 e decade. The Government's advertising budget dw 缸 fs that of such mega corporations as Ford, General Motors ，個 dPr ∞" 如 r and Gamb1e. Moreover the Government's figures no 10nger include privatized corporations such as British Te1ecom (“ 6 million in 1992) or the utilities. In deed, spending on the promotion ofprivatization initiatives formed a sig 祉 ficant p 缸 t of this publici 可 e fl' ort. The sell“ o fl' of the water indus 佐 y was supported by campaigns costing f. 42 臨別 io 且， more 也 an twice that spent on the earlier gas privatization. In May 1990 也 e then Government En ergy Secretary, John Wakeham, w 部 appointed to c 心 ordi nate government publicity and information, and new proposa1s to give senior ministers PR 'minders' were revea1ed (Independent on Sunday , 17 June 1990). Growing politica1 protests about these deve10pments 1ed to the appointment of a public enquiry by the Nationa1 Audit Office , which showed 也 e very major programmes of expenditure undertaken 旬， for examp1e the Dep 盯 tment of Trade and In dustry on its 'Enterprise Ini tia- tive'. Perhaps the two key administrative measures, above all others, whichcame 如 symbolize the force of 也 is shift 旭 government promo 位 on were the incorporation ofthe government statistica1 service into the super“ visory embrace of the Tr easury, and the assump 泣。 n in 1989 by 愉 S Thatcher 浴缸 enchant ChiefPress Secretary, Bernard In gha 血， ofthero1e of head of the Government Inf ormation Service simultaneous1y wi 也 his otherduties (In gham , 1991: 367 一的; Roya1 Statis 位 ca1 Society, 1990). The promotion of good news and radica1 policy initiatives has continued to Chapter 1: Ci tizenship , Co mmunication, andPolitiω 叫祖 eT ，缸 nisb 吋 Id 叫 a 位 ract subs 個 ntial reso 叮 ces. In J an. u 盯 y 1994 the Secretary of State for Education announced that he was 個 spend over f. 2million sending a 1eaflet intoev ，位 yhomein 也 e country giving the Governme 肘， s views and advice onmorali 紗， citizenship, discipline and family values. Between 1989/90 and1991/92Depar 恤 entofHeal 血 spendi 呵。 n public re1ations rose from f. 0.8 抽血 ion to f.1. 49m 血 ion (Hansard , WA Co l. 244 , 8 June 1993). A Corporate Afl'airs In telligence Unit was estab1ishβd to seek out , and compile form 恆 isterial promotion, stories illustrating the success of the Govern- ment' s health service reforms. S 旭過缸 1y ， in housin 菇， f.4 .5m 到抽 nw 部 spent on public re1ations to promote the 'right to buy' policy betwëen 19 "8 0 and 1993. It is in this context that we should understand the promotion of the Com- mu 國 ty Charge de心 cribed in t 垃 ss 個 dy. Whilethe 吧空空空空豆豆些 d promo- /2.~ ~.:♂ tiona1 e fl' ort inv 哩哇旦出“空缸 gewer 色空穿白磁蛇頭 f 也控股!:~ entire1y /-U ν ← consis 館益 tw 迪金主 ~p d. inthe 血缸 kçtingof 也 .e state which had been rising 區區已 yb 叫 Go1 ，峙， 1990).( 那 poli 叫 promo 位 on does not 吋 happen atna 位 onal1eve l. The 10cal state has not been s10w to 1earn thβse new 肘 cks. The appointment ofpublic 叫甜 od 蕊迋京前 5 師布面前話証 予函諾諾8. 1 e fl' orts of varying kinds has become a common feature of the 10ca1governmentscenβry ﹒ The evo1ution of municipa1 newspapers, bring- ing the good news to every doorstep 扭曲 e community, is a good indicator of this deve1opment , though ，扭扭曲姐恤an. d Murphy note, they are of such recent orig 姐 that they were 討 rtually overlooked in the 1977 Royal Commission on the Press (fl 叫 detail on this phenomenon see Franklin and Murphy, 1991: Ch. 6; Fr 祖國恤， 1988). In all thes 晦 ways ，也 en ， the marke 位 ng of government ac 位 .vity has become a 臼 ntralac 位 vity of modern statecraft. In evitab1y the 1aunch of any major policy initiative will be devised with this app 缸 atus of promo 位 on and information management in mind. 祖旦旦旦 mmu 剖 ty Charge became a 臼 st JP? 些做些單恆星 E 同仁暫住把堅. We neea oriefly to assess how well equipped students of political co 血 munication were to understand 也 is process. Political communication: the doub1e absence To understand the process of political communication we need to draw on the insights of both policy analysis and of media and communication rese 訂 'ch. Unfortunate1y both have been curious1y silent on 也 e intercon- o c:; 7 8 T 阻 ation and Representation: The Medi 訟， Po 加開 l Co mmuni 間越 on and the Poll T 缸 nection between the two. The detailed intellectual history and disciplinary evolution which explain 血 is 的哩 t essential to 0 凹 concerns here , but we do need briefly to review them. Poli 位 cal studies frequentlý pay lip service ~o the impo 此 ance of the media and communications. In p 甜詢問， howe Vé r, this emerges only in cursory reference to 血 e role ofthe media, especi a11 y as witness to the recurrentand playful cI ash of pressure groups wi 血也 .e poli 位 cal system/Most policy analysis finds its roots , implicitly if not explic 設旬， in 也 e 誼 nd of systemic model developed , cI assical 跡， by writers like David Easton 徊的恤， 1965). <" In this model the policy process becomes ，的 use the familiar metaphor , a black box , which produces ou 句 uts in the form of decisions and actions. In to the black box go inputs in 也 e form of demands ànd supports, either as votes, payment of taxes, and obedience, or al 臼 rnatively as dissent, press- ure and articulatβd cIaims. While it is not diffic 叫 t to develop a critique of functionalist models of this 垣 nd ， even 盲 refmed and moderated f()rm they underpin a large number of policy analyses. Im portant in such a view is the understanding of policy as a process 函 ta product, and that insight releases the potential ('~ such traditions of policy ana 蟑螂 as 加 plementation 也 eory and incrementalis 哩 d Each of them ，恤 prac 位 ce ， however, retains the sense of this process evolving within an 'environment', which contains tl!e economic and social s 仕 uctures of the wider society beyond the polity ~ Our focus in this book is 0 的 h 已 medi~ 個 d 也可 forma cruci 刮過 art of this èÌìì忱。 mp9.Indeedwe d 再叫起倒 也叮叮 'e inherently p 缸 t of the modern policy process, which is inconceiv- able without the rhetorical and publicity app 缸 atus ofpoli 位 cal communi- cation. Thus to devolve so much of the essential character of the po 垃位 cal process to a residual category of actions in the 'environmen t' is 拍 miss much ofthe core ofwhat determines and shapes policy. It is s 凶 Is 凹 prising how minimal an appe 前 ance the media and communications make in many policy analyses, and even where they do it is organizational com- munication rather than media communication which dominates (Nixon, 1980). Tν/A 郎 t 伽 same t 拋iI加 me 血 med 社品曲 ia st 仇叫 1 w 叫 it 也 h the rol 抬 e of j 知 O 盯 nali 諂 sm and the careful and c 叫 ri 位伽 ca 叫 1 analysis of the symbolic world of media out 句 pu 叫 t. Where it has been inclined to address politics it has remained resolutely 'media -c en 仗 ic' ， rarely drawing on the research and theory available within political sociology or policy analysis. 、 2 Chapter 1: Citizenship , Co mmunica說 on ， andPo 加 cs 且 TheT 缸 nished Ideal Perhaps the most powerful concept to be developed in 血 e attempt to und 酬 and 叫你也粗的叫叫酬的呼叫加叮恤叮叮 The notion ofpri 血 ary definition was formulated by Hall and his colleagues in 也祉 analysis of news coverage of‘mugging' (H a11 et a1., 1978). Domi- nant forces in society do not dictate directly the tβ:rms and vocabulary of news coverage , either conspiratorially or by dictat. They 缸 'e able, how- ever, through the s 仕 uctures of news production, to ensure that news reflects the interests of 也 e powerful. This reproduction, in 也 e last instance , does not ignore the real autonomy ofnews producers. But because ofthe importance of accredited sources with authority to defme news salience and form, and the unavoidable exigencies and speed of routine news production ，也 e news process produces 'a systematically structured over- accessing to the media of those in powerful and privileged posi 位 ons. The media thus tend , faithfully and impartially, to reproduce symbolic a11 Y the J e 油加 g struc 個 reofpower 祖 society's institutional order' (ibi d.: 58). The media thus become secondary defme間， dependent on the hegemonic defm- ing power of accredited sources, the representatives ofm 吋 or social ins 位徊， 位 ons. 向三?至苦 I.l;:' '1}-川 r ι-_ 品 ('i' t i This model is an 姐 sightful and e fT ective one. Not surprisingly, though , it 名言 has been regul 甜甜甜 dwi 恤 mediaanaly 呦， mthsthathmoughf77 wo 吋 r 成啦 k 旭 ing 兮'吋 overb 句 yS 缸 ch 沮 1β 郎 si 姐 nge 侃 r 丸'， whoa 盯 rg 訊 u 泊 est 油 ha 肘 tt 晶 heI 阻 nodelfi 包 or 叩 'ce 臼 sa 組 na 叫 lyst 臼 st 切 ;0 rJ 戶、 7 ignore b 切 ot 晶 h th _t'l processes by y 戶\7 1 扭 l 泣 ichs 叩 ot 盯Ir C 凹 es c ∞ ont 臼 es 仗 t for accreditation, and y- the strate 斟 .es 也 ey employ to command attention (Schles 姐阱， 1990).As 。盯 discussion of news sources 志高志而江那誼妞， we would share 恤 reservation about the notion of prim 訂 y defmition, while remaining anxious to retain its essential insight into 也 e relationship which exists between the media and power struβtures in society. o Ö "0 9 Taxation and Represen 組 tio n: The Media , Poli 位 cal Co mmu 凶間組 on an :d the Poll Tax is an attempt to explore the applicability of a more substantial model ofthis 垣 nd. The analysis of political communication 函， of course, a well developed and extensive 缸 ea of research and discussion. Yet it remains a curiously un- helpful one in answering the questions posed by this study. There are three _ reasons for this inadequact. :P irst, po 挂毯 cal communica 位 on research has - í been .obsessed wi 也 the proþess-Qf ~lectionee 且時這 The natural experiment providedby 也 e spectacle of elections has been just 的 o bewitching 切 avoid for generations of commentators and researchers, and we readily pleaù 訊Ii lty to sh 訂祖 g 也 is fascination (Billig et aL, 1992). Yet it should be only 個 o ob 討 ous that elections are anything but the normal state of 也 ebody poli 位 c. The content and volume of public debate, the intensity of poli 位 cal rhetoric, the attentiveness of ci 位甜的， and the energy and partisanship of political media 缸 e all 切 tally atypical in the periods fra 血 ed by elections. This does not mean we can learn nothing from 也 e study of elec 位。帥， butit does suggest we would do well to be w 訂 y of generali 泣 ng 扭曲 e poli 位 cal communication process per se from the lessons of election research. 于[S econdlY ，如 tion research defmes 伽 nature of politics and po 加 cal communication in é!_ very closely fraJll ed 血 anner. By politics is me éUl t par 望 J 一-一_ 、」旬-闕_ _ :-"-_J<-_ olitics, and by political communication is meant th 墅里 o_!!! 跑單位 veappealof 予 arties to electors. Political co 血 municationresearch has much to gai 甜苦 Ut )茁濟問蕊區首品 dli 組 e ， from attempts to draw attention to 也 e essentially po 加 c 叫 character of all communicatio 肘， the ideological inves 恤 entinall 10 forms of public communication, whether fiction or non 也 c 位 on ， whether dealing with the familiar artefacts of policy or the less obviously but equally powerful politics of the do 血的啦，也 e personal, and the mundane. ? ThirdlyJolitimIcommmimti 凹的捌 rchhasrem 恥 edlargdmh 空空空空 L inth 泌 country with the mβtropolitanandn 甜 on 些! me d! a. Th iS ls a mistake for two compleme 前可話函函;即此也 econth 鼠忌 gaofcen 叫一 local state relations has been at 出 ehe 盯 t of many of the key changes in British poli 位 cs over the past two decades. We examine these changes later in this study. Suβhhasbeen 也 e importance of these changes that m 吋 ordebates about the role of the state have been generat 吋 bythe 血 within poli 位 cal~ theory. On the one hand it is suggested th 前 we now hav(a dual sta 詞， ) 。 perat 旭 g separately at local and nationallevel (Saunders, 19 '8 1, 1982). ~ The extent to which this is a genuine separation or a contingβnt one is important 阻 d conten 泣。 us. On the other hand theorists have suggested Chapterl: 口的 zenship ， Co mmu 剖開封 on ， andPoli 位 cs - The Tamished Ideal that primary social divisions are no longer derived from class positio 間， but by sectoral divisions determined by people's position 的 consumers of services , notably those provided by the local state (Dunleavy, 1989). The other reason why concentration on 也 e national media is a mistake is more obviously rooted in the media system. This coun 設 y continues to have 吋翩翩 ld 崢伽 n 愉叫缸伽 gion 向服心 992 伽 rewereover 2, 000 regional papers, including over 1, 000 freesheets, whose number~ had more than doubled in a decade. But even the p 副 d 位 tles have been flourishing. Despite the closure in November 1988 oftheNorth West Times , the frrst new regional daily for 100 ye 帥， t 凶 is 堅堅空姐一旦血[O US ('1宇 L ~一些空空白 ec 切 r. Between 1980 and 1992 the number of paid for regional daily titles grew by 12 per cent, and of Sundays by 28 per cent. Nearly 90 per cent of adults read a regional paper. Behind the bald statistics of survival , however, lies even more impressive evidence ofthe continued potency ofthe regional press. The readership and use made of local papers is demonstrated in a wide u 訂 iety of research which conftrms how prominently 也 ey feafure in people's overall media diet , and most of all, of course ，旭 their consump 位 on of news about local matters. Despite the high penetra 位 on of national newspapers to households in general, na 位 onal readership 函， of course, dis 缸 ibuted among a nu 血 berof titles. Where above 80 per cent ofhouseholds 旭 a given locality 缸 'ereading a local paper they 缸 e all reading the same paper 的 often as not , since local monopoly is the norm. The power ofthe local press for local agenda-s 的峙 is manifest (Golding, 1989). Thus both policy analysis and media research have, by operating in splen- did isolation , left the field clear 切 a tradition of political communication ' , research which is itself severely @l demouri~ed by virtue of a steady diet 7 。 f electoral poli 位 cs. To move beyond this impotence we need to exam 坦 ea little further the nature of media-polity interaction. Rewriting the sociology ofnews so 叮 ces: a typology of roles Al though the mass media 盯 e crucial intermediaries between ‘society as audience' and ‘society as so 叮 ce' (El lio 仗， 1972) ， concerns aboutthesocial impact of media representations have always exceeded attention to the processes by which they are themselves socially constructed. Yet to under- 11 12 T 磁 a 的 onandRepr 田 entation: The Media , Politi 問 l Co mmuni 闊前 .on and the Pòll T 盟 瑚 nd 伽 impact ofmedia discourses we mu 恥伽 nd 切伽 iro 叫 ri 蚓 i Gandyi 油 d 由 .en 吋 t 討 i 盒 fied i 尬 ta 臼 s theneed ‘可油 t 切 og 伊 o bey 卯 O ll<吋.d agenda setting to determine whos 鋁 et 俗 s the media agenda, how and for what purposes is it s 仗， and Wi th what impact on the distribution of power and values in socie 昕， (Gan 旬， op. ci ι: 7). By exploring the rela 位 .ve influence of in 組組位 ons 也 d 恆 divid uals in the formation ofmedia agendas, we are Jlllalysing strategic power 旭 our society, which as Silverstone (1990) perceptively points 0 帥， isvery difl'erent from the tactical power of audiences to select and re-appropriate JmemMgbmM 叫 dualte 恥 Unfortunately, prim 前 y research 旭 to news s() 盯 ces remains scailt and intermi 此 ent (Gandy, op. cit.; Ericson et a1., 1989) , with most of our undet- standing derived from 'internaUst' analyses ofjourn aU sts at wotk (Schles- 旭 ger ， op. cit.). Nevertheless, several important conceptual principles 盯 e 到 ready available which provide an invaluable foundation for t 挫 sbook. 心 he firS~iS that j 叫 Usts 叫出 eirsources 叫跑過空白哩 B ship, where information is bartered for pubUcity (T unstall ，即 7 的 .H 仰自 ever, in this market place ofideas, certain vendors sell their messages with greater ease and 加 f 訂 greater volume. Gans (1979) identifies fo 肘 major factors that influence the performance of news sources in shaping media agendas , that enc 呻 sulate a range of current debates around news sources andtheir 垣 fluence. v' 、 '、 t The 趾呼 hctorbthincenφ ie a source has to seek pubUcity through thè media/G 阻 s concentrates on the endemic disposition of institutions and individuals towards the news media - contrasting the ‘eager' sourc~s who would suffocate without the oxygen of pub 區 city (such as pressure groups andpoUticians) , with ‘ recalcitr 祖 t' sources, who are habitually more indif- ferent or fearful of media scru 位 ny. However, it is also important to appreci- ate that the degree of incentive a news source has is contextual. Even the keenest news so 盯 ces will have certain issues they would prefér 的 keep private, not just because they may have something 扭扭曲， but also be- cause every human being and organization requires privatβspace behind their pubUc face - a 'private culture' within which decisions can be made and confidences respected (Ericson et a1., op. ci t.). Co nversely, even the most reluctant source can experience diffic 叫位的 ü it fails to respond approp 品 ately to media scru 位ny ，的 t least in risking further dangerous intrusions into its private affairs. It may also, of course, use the media to further its own poUtical ends (閱 11 肘， 1993). chapterl: ci 位 zenship ， Co mmuni 阻 tion ， andPo 恤 ω 自 TheT 回 nished Ideal v Gans' second fac 切 r is the power of a source. Hi s point ，也 atthere 心 rui 恤 ent (l_ and access ofnews sources r 恥 tsor 石誨 r social and poUtic~!hierarchi 帥， is 祉 so prominen 位 y emphasized - albeit 抽difl' erent degrees 一姐 olli 誼  analyses ofjournalists and their sources (Sigal, 1986; Ericson et a1., op. cit.; Gan 旬 ， op. cit.; Herm 姐姐 d Chomsky, 1988; Seymour- 訂閱， 1987 ， Hall et 祉 ， op. cit.). Schlesinger characterizes this as t!!e 'cultural capital' of a news source 一i. e. i 的 perceived legitimacy, authoritative 閻明 and 甜甜 ectabili 旬， which is derived 吐 om the location a source has 姐 thein 咐他 tional field … Official sources m 可 not always have to be beUeved, but they do have to be t 述 en seriously' (op. ci t.: 81). Those with a high cultural capital will receive coverage as of right , whereas 0 也 er sources have to compete fì 叮阻 βdia attention by developing media strat 曙 ies. From 也 is work, it is possible to discern several general themes about the power of 姐 stitu 位 ons and; 旭Çli viduals to shape media discourses that 訂 e saUent to our discussion. 'Eir 鈍， as not all pubUcity is good pubUcity, the power of news sources is not just located in their abillty to a 前 ractmedia attention, but also to manage 也 e nature of that coverage, and where necess 缸 y 切 suppress or divert media attention. As Tuchman (1978) pointso 前， the power to keep an occurrence out ofthe news is an important aspect of agenda-building power. This is 也 e significance of our earUer observation about the new management regime of official s 個位組 cs. S 缸 ec ∞ ond 趴訪拘 ow 咐 ers of ‘池尬油 e 缸 en 肘 lcloωs 肘 e' 閻 d ‘油品 s 叩 d 枷 Oωs 盯 e' (趾加 ic 臼 so 阻 n et a1. ι . ， op. cit.) 缸 e difl'erentially available, and 缸 e closely Unked to broader configurations of political and economic power. This is most evident in the power of sources to censor media debate , such as in the ability ofthe state to impose a range ofunique sanc 位 ons on the media, and ofthe rich to employ the legal system 13 [...]... 1992 the Counclll Tax became law, and on 1 April1993 repled the poll x in England,J Scotland and Wales J r'lf) 3 2y~-' 41 Taxation and Representation: The Media, PoliCommunition and the Poll Ti Chapter 2: A Brief History ofThe Poll Tax h e final two ye'S between the announcement and actualrepeal ofthe controlled However, a Warwick Uversity study the effects of nonregistraon for the poll t on the. .. England and Wales was held in abeyance until after the 36 / The decision to introduce the tax over four yes in London w aIso subsequently rescinded 37 , Chapter 2: A BriefHistory ofThe Poll Tax Tation and Represention: The Media Politi1 Communicaon and the Poll T; I! by a system of 'banded' poll tax that would link the sysm more direcdy rLLo abilitj:_!pa~ A vote on the amendment was held on the 19... ~ F - 63 Tation and Representation: The Med PoliI mmunion and the Poll Tax the charge was high , then we could rehearse one of our preferred general election themes: LabourCostYouMore'" (i bid.: 138) The P s national campaign egy erefore cused on "the ree flagship councils ofWandsworth, Wesinster and Bradford, briefing the media that should these low poll taxed e remain Conservati the pty would be... Thatcher's demise , and the announcement of the new/ Council Tax, the Ptyspin doctors 170rked strenuously to drawthe out ofthe ce deb In tandem with the bland and low key es on the uncil T.e Pty played down the Council Tax in their campaigning, and ironip allelwith the 1987 General Election , conspicuously avoided the issue ie 1992 General ffiecml Ine 1992 Conservative manifese Co uncil Tax ! received... eprincipal sk of the DoE Press oflỡce in the coming mosw be to justify the poll tax Not my Whitehall PR men see that as a rewarngtask' (Guardian , 2/3/90: 6) 53 Taxation and Representation: The Media, Polil Commnnion and the Poll T j'most householdsẻwill be be offwiầh the Community Ch they / e now with the 'r-ates' (DoE News Release , No 16 , 1311188) In March 1988 , a Sly of a speech by the EnvirOIiment... higher the band, and the higher the Council Tax levied) , and the number of adults living in the property (single adult households could claim a 2 5 per cent reduction in their Council Tax) The new business taxation and central grant rangements remained essenally unchanged The consultaon period for e Council Tax w very brief and the legislation was forced through parliament where the proposals met... ? Although political controversy over the poll tax intensified in Scotland durg 1 9 8 , there fol lowed a h ia tu s in the poli caldeb ateinElar an Wales However, the issue remerged once again in early 1989 , wi the introduction of the Community Chge in Scotland and the stt ofthe registration process England and Wales Here agn m or cs emerged for the Government First, as we discuss in the next chapter,... failure to elicit public, media and intra-party support for epolicy A 47 Taxation and Representation: The Media, Poli1 Com.munication and ePoIl T ese two strategies changed as the policy cycle proceeded, as did the nature ofthe messages conveyed These changes were 1gely dictated by contextual polical developments Prior to the tax' s introduction in England and Wales , the prootion of e Community Charge... history of .e poll x Weshall also be assessing the evaluative and interpretative capacity of news so'ces and suggesting that the power of arbiters , for example, is far more limited in defming the terpretave dimension of policy an it is in relation to evaluation 19 Taxation and Repentation: The M ed.ia, PO1 mmiI.tion and the Poll T We begin the analysis by assessg the genes and background of the Community... MacGreg 1991) Tation and Representation: The Media Polil Communion aIid ePollTax tive as well as person Labo authories (,'\ ./ The impact of e~~J!9-bxpectedly ];lẽgh charge~ were twofold Firstly, the bitter wrangling onthe policy within the Cúnservative P over the policy turned into open warfởkbeers from the right as well as the left ofthe Party, openly turned on the Govern.entand exhorted them to repeal . Depar 恤 ent ofSocial Sc ienα 為Lo ughborough University Taxation and Representation: The Media, Political Comm 口 nication and the Poll Tax David Dcacon and Pctcr Golding Department of Social. Co verage ofthe Co mmunity Ch 訂 ge 111 Journalis 俗 and the Poll Tax 149 The Politics ofPolitical Co mmunication: The Determinants and Im pact ofPoll Tax News 181 Rethin 旭 ng Political. Ca 個 lo g1iin g in Publica 位 oilDa 個 Deacon , David Taxation and Representation: The Media, Poli 位 cal Comtnunication and the Poll Tax Acamedia Research Mo Ii ograph: 11 I.Ti位 e II. Gölding,