News management
News management is the process by which individuals and organizations (especially
political parties) control information and their interactions with the
news media to achieve some strategic objective.
The following categorization of news management techniques is based on factors identified in an analysis by Gaber, 1999, primarily dealing with political news management in the UK.
Overt Activity
- Announcements and Publicity: Press releases, public speeches and the like designed to draw attention to a particular topic (and thus away from others), and convey certain information.
- Reaction: Prompt rebuttal of opposing points of view. Staying "on message" when faced with unexpected questions or dealing with breaking news.
Covert or Underhand Activity
- Spin: providing helpful interpretation to journalists in the form of
- Trails (prior to a preplanned event) in which information concerning the event is let out gradually in a way designed to create an air of currency, novelty and controversy about a forthcoming announcement (thereby enhancing its news value). Sometimes false trails may be set to increase the novelty of the event when it occurs, or to manage expectation (see below).
- Briefings (after an event, planned or otherwise) in which the event is given the most favourable (from the point of view of the subject) interpretation and emphasis.
- Agenda Manipulation: exploiting the media's aims (and especially the craving for news value) to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative.
- Setting the Agenda: manipulating the prominence given to a story by strategic and sometimes piecemeal release of information to coincide with media goals and thus achieve maximum impact.
- Milking the Story: maximising media coverage of a particular issue by the judicious use of briefings and trails. The techinique often exploits competition between news organizations, timing being a critical factor; by leaking pieces of a jigsaw to different outlets, journalists gradually piece together the story and their sense of discovery drives the story up the news agenda.
- Driving the Agenda: sustained campaign aimed at driving particular issues up the news agenda over a period of weeks and months (this is often a feature of large scale political campaigns).
- Diversionary tactics
- Firebreaking: constructing a diversionary story to draw attention away from a potentially embarrassing topic.
- Stoking the Fire: drawing media attention to stories which are damaging to those who hold opposing views.
- Burying Bad News: timing the release of negative or potentially embarrassing information to coincide with other major news stories. For example, bad news announced shortly before the weekend are more likely to get buried during the weekend, whereas good news usually are held back until Monday morning.
- Laundering: timing the release of negative or potentially embarrassing information to coincide with counterbalancing "good" news.
- Pre-emption: releasing embarrassing or negative information in advance of an expose so that "spin" can be used to place the revelation in the best possible light.
- Personality: The media is strongly drawn to "human interest" stories. Protagonists in an ongoing debate attempt to establish themseleves as distinct personalities in the minds of the general public. The media will then be able to cast the debate as a clash of personalities which in turn may make the views of the protagonists more accessible to the public.
- Building a Personality: promoting (using off-the-record briefings for instance) a particular individual as "one to watch".
- Undermining a Personality: suggesting flaws in the personality of one's opponents, or denigrating their actions or beliefs. Also known as smearing. Whether the allegations are true or false, sometimes "mud sticks".
- Kite-Flying: floating a new proposal via unofficial/unattributable sources so that public reaction can gauged without any official commitment.
- Managing Expectation
- Lowering Expectations: Briefings which reduce public expectations prior to a preplanned announcement. Places the announcement in a good light when, in the event, the reduced expectations are "miraculously" exceeded.
- Raising Expectations: A dangerous game in which pressure can be brought on an opponent (by directing the weight of public expectation on them). To be credible the source of the briefings which raise public expectations must be close to the opponent. Thus this method is normally used against "opponents" within one's own organization. Can easily backfire, when the weight of public expectation falls on the person responsible for the original, upbeat briefings.
- Managing The Lobby: This category of news management applies to powerful organizations whose pronouncements are essential to the media (e.g., Governments). Official briefings from such organizations provide an essential source of news that media outlets need. By restricting access to a select group of journalists (known in the UK government as the Lobby) pressure can be brought to bear on reporters who cherish inclusion, desire exclusivity and/or fear exclusion.
- Controlling Access: Journalists who give the organization favourable coverage may find themselves granted exclusive access or information. Those who present an unfavourable impression may find that they are given the cold shoulder.
- Bullying: in some cases, intimidating or embarrassing remarks are used to directly exert pressure on the reporters affected by it.