Bypassing the press gallery: from Howard to Hanson

Abstract

Traditionally politicians have been dependent on political news media to get their message across to the public. The rise of social media means that politicians can bypass the Press Gallery and publish directly to their target audiences via Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms. This article argues that Prime Minister John Howard’s (1996–2007) use of talk back radio and early forays on YouTube were pivotal in the trend towards ‘disintermediation’ in Australian politics. It draws on two studies. One involving interviews with 87 key media actors from the Howard era including journalists, broadcasters, politicians and media advisers; and a second, which includes fresh interviews with contemporary press secretaries. This article examines the shift from a ‘mass media logic’ to a ‘hybrid logic’, considered from a mediatization theoretical position. We also ask important questions about the press gallery’s ongoing relevance in the digital era, when politicians preside over their own social media empires.

Populists Prefer Social Media Over Talk Shows: An Analysis of Populist Messages and Stylistic Elements Across Six Countries

“…Social media plays a major role in the political communication strategies of contemporary parties (Stieglitz, Dang-Xuan, 2013). Especially, Twitter and Facebook have emerged as central media platforms that rival traditional news media in reach and influence (Fisher, Marshall, & McCallum, 2018). The possibility to bypass news journalists and the ability of political actors to communicate directly with their publics increases the chances of successful self-promotion (Lilleker & Koc-Michalska, 2013).…”

Favorable Opportunity Structures for Populist Communication: Comparing Different Types of Politicians and Issues in Social Media, Television and the Press

“…Against this three-way classification of media interventionism, the oft-asserted preference of populist politicians for social media becomes understandable, but further aspects can be added. Many populists consider journalists and "established" mass media to be controlled by the ruling elite; in their view, mainstream political reporting misses the views and interests of "the people," is corrupt and systematically denigrates those politicians who would stand up for the true "will of the people" (Fisher et al 2018;Moffitt 2016). Three expectations can be derived from this (Krämer 2017): first, populists want to systematically circumvent the mainstream media; second, populists need a platform from which they can criticize the mainstream media as distorted and unfair; and third, they must offer an alternative medium to those citizens they have been able to alienate from the traditional media.…”

“…We want to investigate this question in a more differentiated manner. We want to test not only whether politicians commonly classified as populist actually communicate in a more populist way across several Western democracies but also whether they do so more strongly on social media (and talk shows) to avoid the mainstream media they despise for perceived distorting journalistic intervention and cozy links with the establishment (Fisher et al 2018). In addition, we want to test whether this tendency of members from populist parties is particularly strong in the context of the five populism-related topics identified above.…”

Fake News and Aggregated Credibility

“…The advent of social platforms has created online environments for disintermediation, i.e., "cutting out the middleman," such as reporters, editors, and media personalities (Eldridge II, García-Carretero, & Broersma, 2019;Fisher, Marshall, & McCallum, 2018). In the mentioned environments, anyone is given the possibility to write and publish anything, anytime, and anywhere.…”