From Soap Box to Soap Opera

Television, Politics and the Dumbing-Down of the Electorate

There has been a good deal of speculation in recent years concerning the negative impact of the media, especially television, on politics and political culture in British society, writes Liam French.

Poor election turnout rates and political apathy, particularly amongst young people, is often attributed to the increasing attrition of political culture brought about by the trivialising effects of the media. Politics now has to be packaged in order to grab our attention amidst the many media and communication channels that dazzle and distract us.

To this end, politicians come to rely more and more on PR consultants, press advisors and image-management experts. In today's media saturated society, image management is paramount and manifests itself in various practices such as 'the walk-about' (or ‘the ride-around’ in David Cameron’s case), the press conference or carefully stage-managed public appearance at a high profile media event.