Abstract
Since 1945 political communications has undergone a process of modernization which has transformed the relationship between parties, citizens and the media in democratic societies. The key changes have been:
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from ad hoc campaigns by local party organizations to planned co-ordination of the election by the party leadership
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from amateur party volunteers contributing time and shoe leather to paid, professional specialists skilled in marketing and polling
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from the month-long official contest towards the ‘continuous campaign’
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from cleavage-based and issue-based conflict towards the character-based ‘personalization’ of politics
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from a campaign revolving around party platforms towards a poll-driven focus on the ‘horse-race’ strategy
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from a mass media subordinate to government towards a more autonomous, critical and powerful press driven by its own ’media logic’.
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© 1997 Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Norris, P. (1997). Political Communications. In: Dunleavy, P., Gamble, A., Holiday, I., Peele, G. (eds) Developments in British Politics 5. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-25862-8_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-25862-8_4
Publisher Name: Palgrave, London
Print ISBN: 978-0-333-67776-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-25862-8
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