Spinning out of control? A study of media advisers in politics
Abstract:
We are all familiar with the activities of political spin doctors, yet much of our knowledge is filtered through reports by journalists whose image of them is often not flattering. In this paper I use interviews with 28 media advisers to Labor and Coalition governments to try to assess the influence of spin doctors on the news. Among other issues I will discuss the co-operation (as well as conflict) between media advisers and journalists and the way in which news is a result of negotiated process. Finally I will examine Tiffen’s notion of spin as a two edged sword which sometimes produces the opposite result to that intended.
Bio:
Dr David McKnight is an associate professor at the University of New South Wales, in Sydney, Australia. He is the author of a number of books on the media, politics and history. They include his latest book, Big Coal, (co-authored) and Rupert Murdoch: an investigation of political power, as well as Beyond Right and Left: New Politics and the Culture War which discusses renewal of the progressive political vision. His current research areas cover political spin as well as climate change and politics. He was formerly a journalist on the Sydney Morning Herald and on ABC TV’s Four Corners as well as the weekly Tribune
About Research Seminar and Workshop Series
School of Communication and Arts Research Seminar Series
The research seminar and workshop series occur each semester, each with a different topic and guest speaker from UQ or otherwise.
Friday, 16 August Hybrid: Online via Zoom and in person at the | Archives: A Knowledge Café on Ways of Knowing, Seeing, Being, and Accessing | A conversation hosted by Kate Newey, Bernadette Cochrane, Madelyn Coupe, and Hannah Mason |
Friday, 23 August Hybrid: Online via Zoom and in person at 09-738 | Dispatches from Trump-World: Preppers, Climate Disasters and a Front Row Seat the 2024 Republican National Convention | |
Friday, 30August | Indigenising the Curriculum Pedagogy Jam | Dr Amelia Barikin and Prof. Anna Johnston |
Friday, 13 September | Assessment Security Pedagogy Jam | Dr Amelia Barikin and Dr Maureen Engel |
Friday, 20 September Hybrid: Online via Zoom and in person at the | Upside Down: Adaptation and Digital Affordances in Stranger Things | |
Friday, 11 October Hybrid: Online via Zoom and in person at the | Linking research, teaching and engagement – the PEATLI project |