Topic: Media advisers and other political PR specialists work for lobby groups, government departments, and politicians. However, despite their prevalence in Western democracies, media advisers are at times dismissed as merely ‘spin doctors’ who seek to manipulate public opinion for short-term political gain. Question: Critically evaluate the media and communication activities of political media advisers, and assess the democratic value of the profession. Cutlip, S.M. (1994) The Unseen Power: Public Relations: A History. New York: Routledge. Davis, A. (2002) Public Relations Democracy: Politics, Public Relations and the Mass Media in Britain. Manchester: Manchester University Press. Davis, A. (2009) ‘Evaluating Communication in the British Parliamentary Public Sphere’, British Journal of Politics & International Relations 11(2): 280–97. Davis, A. (2010) Political Communication and Social Theory. New York: Routledge. Franklin, B. (1994) Packaging Politics: Political Communications in Britain’s Media Democracy. London: Edward Arnold. Gaber, I. (2000) ‘Government by Spin: An Analysis of the Process’, Media, Culture & Society, 22(4): 507–18. Hobbs, M. (2015) The sociology of spin: An investigation into the uses, practices and consequences of political communication, Journal of Sociology, 1-6, published online before print January 7. 7 McNair, B. (2007) ‘Theories of Government Communication Trends in the UK’, pp. 93–110 in S. Young (ed.) Government Communication in Australia. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. McNair, B. (2011) An Introduction to Political Communication. Hoboken, NJ: Taylor and Francis. Miller, D. and W. Dinan (2000) ‘The Rise of the PR Industry in Britain, 1979–98’, European,Journal of Communication 15(1): 5–35. Tiffen, R. (2012) ‘Spin Doctors, News Values and the Public Interest: The Bermuda Triangle of Policy Debate’, pp. 16–27 in M. Ricketson (ed.) Australian Journalism Today. Sydney: Palgrave Macmillan. Ward, I. (2007) ‘Mapping the Australian PR State’, pp. 3–18 in S. Young (ed.) Government Communication in Australia. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press. Young, S. (2007) ‘Following the Money Trail: Government Advertising, the Missing Millions and the Unknown Effects’, Public Policy 2: 104–18. TO GET YOUR ASSIGNMENTS DONE AT A CHEAPER PRICE,PLACE YOUR ORDER WITH US NOW

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