Soundbites and Spin Doctors.

How do the media affect the conduct of democratic politics? What is the best conceivable relationship between the media system and political system, assuming that the private sector is likely to be of continuing dominance both in press and broadcasting? How can governments regulate media in the public interest without encroaching on proper independence and freedom? Is the increasing degree of promotionalism in political life (for instance the soundbite, the pseudo-event, the orchestrated party conference, the emphasis on the telegenic) a threat to rational debate and decision-making? These are questions with a lineage in many parts of the world, especially the United States, but they are now being addressed with a fresh sense of their importance by British political studies.

This recent crop of books clearly indicates the trend, if not always directly. One of the reasons for this new interest is undoubtedly the growing concern within British political culture about the state of media-political relations, of which the seemingly irresistible rise of the `spin doctor' is seen to be one symptom and the perceived impact of the tabloids on popular opinion another. This is a concern which …