Summary
Contents
The SAGE Key Concepts series provide students with accessible and authoritative knowledge of the essential topics in a variety of disciplines. Cross-referenced throughout, the format encourages critical evaluation through understanding. Written by experienced and respected academics, the books are indispensable study aids and guides to comprehension. Key Concepts in Journalism offers a systematic and accessible introduction to the terms, processes, and effects of journalism;a combination of practical considerations with theoretical issues; and further reading suggestions. The authors bring an enormous range of experience in newspaper and broadcast journalism, at national and regional level, as well as their teaching expertise. This book will be essential reading for students in journalism, and an invaluable reference tool for their professional careers.
Spin Doctor
Spin Doctor
The phrase spin doctor entered British political vocabulary during the late 1980s and its meaning is captured broadly by the entry in Chambers 21st Century Dictionary as ‘someone, especially in politics who tries to influence public opinion by putting a favourable bias on information presented to the public or to the media’. The term has a strongly pejorative implication suggesting that the spin placed on information is misleading and may be consciously intended to be so: spin doctors manipulate rather than merely manage news agendas (Gaber, 2001; Jones, 1995). Consequently, Clare Short, while a minister in the Labour Government, denounced the ‘black arts’ of the spin doctors in her own party, designating them ‘the people who live in the dark shadows’ (Blick, 2004).
The ...