News Management

News management can be defined as strategic communication by professional news sources used to influence the news in order to reach and further political goals. Traditionally it was solely about the creation and dissemination of press releases from political organizations to the media. This activity was based on interpersonal exchanges between politicians and journalists. Since visibility has become more and more important in politics, news management has changed to a professionalized and specialized process of strategic communication controlling the news flow.

The effects on the public gain a lot of attention in the literature. It is argued by many scholars that news management techniques are a democratic problem. The critics argue that media consultants bringing to politics techniques and tools that do not necessarily fit with the way pluralist democracy is conducted. Political communication becomes designed specifically for market-oriented media, and voters are transformed into passive spectators of politics. But others claim news management practices are necessary. They allow politicians and citizens to communicate more effectively, and the market orientation creates opportunities for a large number of different political actors to communicate in conditions of competitive mass democracy.

An important distinction is made between mediacentered news management and political (or partycentered) news management. In the latter, political objectives are in the center of the strategy. The media are the means, but not the goal. In contrast, mediacentered news management focuses only on creating positive news coverage and support for the politician or party. Another important distinction is between person and issue. From research in election campaigns we know that communication depends whether the object is a candidate or an issue. These distinctions produce four types of news management:

• 1
  Media-centered news management focused on a person. Strategies using personalization of politics or image management. Politicians are seen as stars, politics is framed as a game between persons instead of a political competition.
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• 2
  Media-centered news management focused on an issue. This strategy includes the staging of pseudoevents, which are events staged to stimulate media reporting. The distinction between personalization and pseudo-events blurs. News managers often try to combine image management and some action, such as bill signings and greetings of foreign guests.
• 3
  Political news management focused on a person. Here we often find news designed to attract media's preference for negative news. Attacks on political opponents, scandals, and other strategies are used to put the opponent into a negative light.
• 4
  Political news management focused on an issue. Strategies here can be about how an issue is framed and spin control (how to influence media coverage). But they also include attempts to dethematize the message.