Buy Local: Media Constructions of a “Green” Political Identity

Abstract

The focus of this study is to provide a greater understanding of language use as an exercise of power and identity construction within political public relations through the use of media campaigns. Using Fairclough’s ( 1992 ) three dimensional discourse analysis, we examine the discourses employed by the New Zealand Green Party in the construction and reproduction of its identity and ideology, communicated through key messages in the “Buy Kiwi Made” media campaign from 2005 to 2009. The findings suggest that the Green Party contested the free trade discourse that has driven economic policy in Aotearoa New Zealand since the middle of the 1980s, and positioned itself as the lead political party for New Zealand’s sustainable development. The campaign enabled the public to identify with the philosophy of the Green Party through a process of meaning creation. It demonstrates language use as an exercise of power, through which the Green Party struggled for a stronger political position. The study also contributes to public relations theory building through incorporating a critical discourse perspective into understanding the dynamic functions of media campaigns, as well as the implications of political public relations.