Government Communications and the Crisis of Trust: From Political Spin to Post-truth 1st Edition

Government Communications and the Crisis of Trust: From Political Spin to Post-truth 1st Edition – Ebook Instant Download/Delivery ISBN(s): 9783030775766,9783030775759,3030775763,3030775755

Product detail:

• ISBN 10: 3030775763
• ISBN 13: 9783030775766
  Author: Ruth Garland

This book opens up the black box of government communication during the age of political spin, using archival and official documents, memoirs and biographies, and in-depth interviews with media, political and government witnesses. It argues that substantive and troubling long-term changes in the ways governments manage the media and publicly account for themselves undermine the public consent essential to democracy.  Much of the blame for this crisis in public communication has been placed at the feet of politicians and their aides, but they are just part of the picture. A pervasive ‘culture of mediatization’ has developed within governments, leading to intended and unintended consequences that challenge the capacity of central public bureaucracies to implement public values and maintain impartiality. It concludes that public servants, elected officials and citizens have an important role to play in accounting for governments’ custodianship of this most politically-sensitiveof public goods – the public communications function.

Table of contents:

1. 1. Prologue: The Crisis of Trust
2. Part I. The Post-War Government Information Service
3. 2. How Did We Get Here?
4. 3. Thatcher and Major: Covert Changes to the Rules of the Game
5. Part II. The Age of Political Spin
6. 4. From Blair to Cameron and Beyond
7. 5. The Rise of Politically-Appointed Media Strategists After 1997
8. 6. How Bureaucrats and Parliamentarians Pushed Back Against Spin
9. Part III. Mediatization, Impartiality and Public Trust
10. 7. The Surrender to the 24/7 News Cycle
11. 8. Impartiality and Accountability as Ingredients of Trust
12. 9. What Makes Good Government Communication?
13. 10. Trust in Democratic Government in a Post-Truth Age
14. Part IV. Coronavirus and Beyond
15. 11. Coronavirus Communication: Clear, Consistent and Comprehensive?
16. 12. Conclusion: Putting the Public First

People also search: