Communications and Politics: The Media and the Message

Abstract

Lincoln, at Gettysburg, characterized the American democracy in part as ... for the people. More than one skeptic has amended Lincoln's statement to read: government for those who make themselves heard. The formulation can be taken still a step further: American democracy can be defined as government for the people most effectively heard. Effective communication is important in two respects to those who would wield political power: it is effective communication which elects men to the nation's offices, and it is effective communication which enables men to exercise control over the direction and activity of the government and to incorporate certain opinions and preferences in the policies and laws of the land. Those who win elections in the United States are successful, for the most part, because they effectively communicate-even if all they do is instill in the electorate an awareness of their name, their party, or their personality. Effective organization and congenial ideology are important, but these alone are not enough. The candidate seeking election has to gain visibility in a competitive world. He competes for the attention of the voter not only against his opponents for the same office but also against others on the same ticket who likewise wish to be visible and popular. He has to compete against nonpolitical communicators who, like him, want to attract the attention of an audience-the candidate on television has to lure the viewer away from other advertisers as well as from entertainment programs. The candidate furthermore has to compete against the everyday forces of work, play, and leisure which divert the voter from instruments of political communication. The American system of elections, then, creates a highly competitive political arena within a universe full of nonpolitical sights and sounds. In American society, where men are busy and issues complex and politics musters relatively low interest, what interest there is tends to be diffused among many levels of candidacy and contention. During the relatively short campaign season, the candidate must somehow get through to the voter, get him to the polls, and impress himself enough upon him to capture his vote. Because of the intense competition and the sophisticated technology which is needed to effectively reach the contemporary voter, the cost of modern communication is high-high enough to drive many out of the political marketplace and, occasionally, drive some into rebellion.