Communication, Strategy, and Politics – serie

Changes in technology and media consumption are transforming the way people communicate about politics. Are they also changing the way politicians communicate to the public? Political Communication in Canada examines the way political parties, politicians, interest groups, the media, and citizens are using new tactics, tools, and channels to disseminate information, and also investigates the implications of these changes. Drawing on recent examples, contributors review such things as the branding of the New Democratic Party, how Stephen Harper's image is managed, and politicians' use of Twitter. They also discuss the evolving role of political journalism, including media coverage of politics and how Canadians use the Internet for political discussions. In an era when political communication – from political marketing to citizen journalism – is of vital importance to the workings of government, this timely volume provides insight into the future of Canadian democracy.

Framed is a wake-up call for those who think that race does not matter in Canada. Combining an empirical analysis of print media with in-depth interviews of elected officials, former candidates, political staffers, and journalists, this book uncovers the connections between race, media coverage, and politics in Canada. As Erin Tolley reveals, overt racism rarely occurs in the pages of Canadian newspapers, but assumptions about race and diversity often influence media coverage. Consequently, as reporters go about selecting which political issues and events to cover, who to quote, and how to frame stories to make them resonate with the public, they give visible minorities less prominent and more negative media coverage than their white counterparts. Visible minority politicians are also more likely to be portrayed as products of their socio-demographic backgrounds, as uninterested in pressing policy issues, and as less electorally viable. The resulting news coverage, Tolley argues, does much to weaken Canada's commitment to a robust, inclusive democracy.

The pursuit of political power is strategic as never before. Ministers, MPs, and candidates parrot the same catchphrases. The public service has become politicized. And decision making is increasingly centralized in the Prime Minister's Office. What is happening to our democracy? In this persuasive book, Alex argues that political parties and government are beholden to the same marketing principles used by the world's largest corporations. Called branding, the strategy demands repetition of spoken, written, and visual messages, predetermined by the leader's inner circle. Marland warns that public sector branding is an unstoppable force that will persist no matter who is in power. It also creates serious problems for parliamentary democracy that must be confronted. This book will fascinate anyone who is interested in how Ottawa works and where Canadian politics is headed.

An eye-opening look at how political parties and the government use branding strategies and the implications that this has for Canadian democracy.

Election campaigning never stops. That is the new reality of politics and government in Canada, where everyone from staffers in the Prime Minister's Office to backbench MPs practise political marketing and communication as though each day were a battle to win the news cycle. Permanent Campaigning in Canada examines the growth and democratic implications of political parties' relentless search for votes and popularity and what constant electioneering means for governance. With the emergence of fixed-date elections and digital media, each day is a battle to win mini-contests: the news cycle, public opinion polls, quarterly fundraising results, by-elections, and more. The contributors' case studies reveal how political actors are using all available tools at their disposal to secure electoral advantage. This is the first study of a phenomenon – including the use of public resources for partisan gain – that has become embedded in Canadian politics and government.

In the thousand-channel universe, politicians must find innovative ways to reach citizens via television. Viewership for news and current affairs television programs has dropped dramatically. Meanwhile, the rise of programming that blends information with entertainment – infotainment – on Canadian television, especially in Quebec, has provided an opportunity for today's politicians to use it to their advantage. But their appearances on these programs also fuel concerns over the declining authority of journalism in the public sphere. Breaking News? traces the development of infotainment and exposes the impact of these kinds of programs on modern political communication. Frédérick Bastien lays out the issues raised by the eroding influence of existing news gatekeepers and the implications of infotainment for politicians, journalists, and citizens, while arguing that infotainment ultimately makes a positive contribution to democratic life by piquing the audience's interest in public affairs and motivating it to pay more attention to political news in general.

Opening the Government of Canada presents a compelling case for the importance of a more open model of governance in the digital age – but a model that also continues to uphold democratic principles at the heart of the Westminster system. Drawing on interviews with public officials and extensive analysis of government documents and social media accounts, Clarke details the untold story of the Canadian federal bureaucracy's efforts to adapt to new digital pressures from the mid-2000s onward. This book argues that the bureaucracy's tradition of closed government, fuelled by today's antagonistic political communications culture, is at odds with evolving citizen expectations and new digital policy tools, including social media, crowdsourcing, and open data. Striking a balance between reform and tradition, Opening the Government of Canada concludes with a series of pragmatic recommendations that lay out a roadmap for building a democratically robust, digital-era federal government.

Opening the Government of Canada presents a compelling case for the importance of a more open model of governance in the digital age – but a model that also continues to uphold democratic principles at the heart of the Westminster system. Drawing on interviews with public officials and extensive analysis of government documents and social media accounts, Clarke details the untold story of the Canadian federal bureaucracy's efforts to adapt to new digital pressures from the mid-2000s onward. This book argues that the bureaucracy's tradition of closed government, fuelled by today's antagonistic political communications culture, is at odds with evolving citizen expectations and new digital policy tools, including social media, crowdsourcing, and open data. Striking a balance between reform and tradition, Opening the Government of Canada concludes with a series of pragmatic recommendations that lay out a roadmap for building a democratically robust, digital-era federal government.

Political Elites in Canada offers a timely look at Canadian politics and how power brokers are adapting to a fast-paced digital media environment. Elite power structures are changing worldwide, and the rise and fall of political influencers permeates national headlines. In many areas, traditional elites are losing authority over prevailing social, economic, and political structures. Communication between and among elites and citizens is having dramatic implications for political institutions and governance. This volume explores the changing landscape of power brokers, the ascent of new elites, and how these groups are using digital communication to connect with Canadians in unprecedented ways. Featuring empirical studies of governmental decision makers in the public service, such as political staff and public servants, premiers, and judges, and non-governmental influence brokers, such as social media commentators and non-profit organizations, this collection is a much-needed synthesis of elite politics in Canada.

The New NDP is the definitive account of the evolution of the New Democratic Party's political marketing strategy in the early twenty-first century. In 2011, the federal NDP achieved its greatest electoral success – becoming the official opposition under Jack Layton's leadership. David McGrane argues that the key to the party's electoral success of 2011 lies in the moderation of its ideology and modernization of its campaign structures. Those changes brought the party closer to governing than ever before but ultimately not into power. McGrane then poses a difficult question: Was remaking the NDP message and revitalizing its campaign model the right choice after all, considering it fell to its perennial third-party spot in 2015? The New NDP examines Canada's NDP at a pivotal time in its history and provides lessons for progressive parties on how to win elections in the age of the internet, big data, and social media.

Despite decades of women's participation in politics and the increasing number of LGBTQ individuals who are seeking and winning political office, the gender identities of Canadian politicians continue to attract media and public attention and shape the way these individuals are perceived and evaluated. Gendered Mediation takes an original, intersectional approach to these issues by building upon the gendered mediation thesis to argue that political communication and reporting reinforces impressions of politics as a masculine domain that privileges men and treats women as outsiders. Organized into three sections, the book investigates politicians' gendered strategies for shaping their own and others' public images, the gendered characteristics of media coverage of politicians, and voter reactions to these self-presentations and media depictions. By examining how sexuality, race, age, and class intersect with gender to produce differing political identities and responses, the contributors make new theoretical and empirical interventions into research on gender and political communication. Their findings have profound implications for democracy not only in Canada but for democratic political systems elsewhere.

Canada's political landscape has changed, but scholars are still grappling with the profound alterations brought about by the internet and social media. What's Trending in Canadian Politics? examines political communication and democratic governance in a digital age. Exploring the effects of conventional and emerging political communication practices in Canada, contributors investigate topics such as the uses of digital media for political communication, grassroots-driven protest, public behaviour prediction, and relationships between members of civil society and the political establishment. This interdisciplinary volume lays robust theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of transformative trends in political communication and in the relationship between political actors, institutions, and democracy. Original and timely, What's Trending in Canadian Politics? sheds light on digital innovations while providing a broader perspective on the online and offline dynamics of contemporary Canadian political engagement.

Canada's political landscape has changed, but scholars are still grappling with the profound alterations brought about by the internet and social media. What's Trending in Canadian Politics? examines political communication and democratic governance in a digital age. Exploring the effects of conventional and emerging political communication practices in Canada, contributors investigate topics such as the uses of digital media for political communication, grassroots-driven protest, public behaviour prediction, and relationships between members of civil society and the political establishment. This interdisciplinary volume lays robust theoretical and methodological foundations for the study of transformative trends in political communication and in the relationship between political actors, institutions, and democracy. Original and timely, What's Trending in Canadian Politics? sheds light on digital innovations while providing a broader perspective on the online and offline dynamics of contemporary Canadian political engagement.

Political leaders are the public face of a party during an election campaign. But what type of work is conducted behind the scenes by lesser-known party members attempting to propel their leaders to victory at the federal level in Canada? Inside the Campaign is a behind-the-scenes look at the people involved in an election campaign and the work they do. Each chapter reveals how campaign staffers, as well as by those covering and organizing election-related events, perform their duties and overcome obstacles during the heat of a campaign to get their respective leaders elected. Practitioners and political scientists collaborate to present real-world insights that demystify over a dozen occupations, including campaign chairs, fundraisers, advertisers, platform designers, communication personnel, election administrators, political staff, journalists, and pollsters. Inside the Campaign provides an inside look at, and unparalleled understanding of, the nuts and bolts of running a federal campaign in Canada.