No one can deny the influence of media in our lives - especially since it is very difficult to escape its reach. Media is next to family, peers, organizations and occurring events one of the major influences that have an impact on a person’s political socialization and attitudes. (Thinkwell 2001). TV discussions prior elections get special attention and politicians are more and more trying to use the media to their advantage. There are various ways to get the media’s attention but with my essay I will argue that interaction in form of entertainment has developed to a trend and is now the most common instrument being used among politicians to get the spotlight onto them. Entertainment has become an important value of society and it seems that politics and show business are becoming increasingly linked.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Influence of Media and Entertainment on Politics
3. Politics as Acting: The Theatrical Nature of Campaigns
4. The Intersection of Private Life and News Coverage
5. Factors Influencing the 'Going-Public' Issue
5.1 Humanization
5.2 Emotionalization
5.3 Striving for Celebrity Status
6. Case Study: Joerg Haider and Political Staging
7. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This essay explores the increasing convergence between political communication and the entertainment industry, arguing that politicians utilize show business tactics to secure media attention and voter support. By analyzing the "mediarization" of politics, the paper examines how entertainment values have become essential tools for politicians to gain visibility in a competitive media landscape.
- The role of entertainment as a primary instrument for political news coverage.
- The concept of "politics as acting" and the importance of performance in modern campaigns.
- The strategic use of private life to foster humanization and emotional connection with voters.
- The impact of celebrity culture on political success and media filtering processes.
- A detailed analysis of Joerg Haider as a case study for populist political staging.
Excerpt from the Book
Politics is acting: “The last time in Miami I was struck by something which has been observed since politics began – that an election campaign is not only like theatre, it is theatre. What we are doing now is trying to cast the part of President.” (Times 4 Nov. 1972).
What Arthur Miller has observed proves one more time that acting has become omnipresent, whether in politics or daily life. Given the fact that the average American spends 19 and the average Briton 18 hours in front of the TV (BBC News 2005), one can draw the conclusion that society is used to acting, because it is confronted with acting in everything it sees. Politicians have learned how to use acting in order to adapt to the age of entertainment. By recognizing the importance of acting, politics has become show business, which – according to Arthur Miller – basically serves two purposes: By acting, the politician gets himself known to others whereas his main intention lies not in the fact that voters remember his ‘performance’ but mainly his name. (Miller 2001).
The second aspect is that this perception may eventually lead to sympathy and finally to affection for that politician.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the pervasive influence of media on political socialization and establishes the central argument that political interaction has increasingly taken the form of entertainment.
2. The Influence of Media and Entertainment on Politics: This section discusses the historical context of politics as entertainment and explains how modern media filtering processes necessitate an "entertaining" approach to secure news coverage.
3. Politics as Acting: The Theatrical Nature of Campaigns: This chapter examines the parallels between theatrical performance and political campaigning, noting how politicians adopt specific roles to appeal to the electorate.
4. The Intersection of Private Life and News Coverage: This section explores how the boundary between private and public life is exploited by both media and politicians to satisfy public demand for human interest stories.
5. Factors Influencing the 'Going-Public' Issue: This chapter categorizes the three main drivers of political exposure: humanization, emotionalization, and the drive for celebrity status.
6. Case Study: Joerg Haider and Political Staging: This part analyzes Joerg Haider's career, detailing how he used controversial rhetoric and populist persona-building to dominate media attention in Austria.
7. Conclusion: The concluding chapter summarizes the "mediarization" of politics and highlights the symbiotic, albeit strained, dependency between the media and political actors.
Keywords
Politics, Media, Entertainment, Show Business, Political Communication, Campaigning, Acting, News Coverage, Humanization, Emotionalization, Celebrity Status, Joerg Haider, Populism, Mediarization, Political Socialization
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core argument of this essay?
The essay argues that the boundaries between politics and entertainment have blurred, forcing politicians to adopt theatrical and show-business tactics to capture media attention and voter interest.
What are the central thematic areas?
The core themes include the mediarization of politics, the theatrical nature of election campaigns, the strategic use of personal privacy, and the influence of populist personality-driven politics.
What is the primary objective of the work?
The primary objective is to demonstrate that entertainment is now a primary tool for politicians to secure "presence" in society and to explain how this shift influences political behavior and communication strategies.
Which research methodology is employed?
The research relies on qualitative analysis of political communication, supported by literature reviews of political theory and existing studies on media ethics and political staging.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body covers the history of politics as theater, the role of media in filtering news, the "humanization" of politicians, and the specific strategic communication techniques used by populist figures.
Which keywords define this work?
Key terms include Politics, Media, Entertainment, Show Business, Political Communication, Mediarization, and Populism.
How does the author define the 'humanization' of politicians?
Humanization is defined as the process where politicians attempt to act "normally" to break down complex policy issues and build trust by revealing their private lives to create transparency.
Why is Joerg Haider used as a case study?
Haider serves as an example of a politician who successfully combined populist rhetoric with deliberate "show business" strategies to gain disproportionate media coverage and political influence.
What is the 'mediarization' of politics?
It refers to the process where political processes are increasingly shaped by media logic, requiring political actors to perform roles that are compatible with media profit motives and entertainment values.
- Quote paper
- Marcus Hitzberger (Author), 2006, There Is No Business Like Show Business, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/74805
