News Management

From the rebranding of the British monarchy to the repositioning of terrorists and outlaws in Northern Ireland, the packaging of President Clinton, the information strategies of global corporations and the effective machinery of New Labour, the contemporary communication culture is dominated by news managers who are responsible for generating, containing and interpreting media events. In News Management: The Anatomy of Spin , Joy Johnson and Lynda Dyson explore media activities such as public relations, political lobbying, spin doctoring and those news roles which form a crucial adjunct to today's journalistic practices. Drawing on a series of case studies which highlight how strategies are deployed in political, corporate and non-governmental organisations, the book examines the increasingly blurred boundaries between news, advertising and product placement and investigates the ways in which interventions by spin doctors and news managers are designed to gain authority and legitimacy in the news.
Based on in-depth interviews with news managers and press officers from a range of organisations and corporations and Joy Johnson's own experience as Director of Communication for the Labour Party, News Management raises crucial ethical questions about the relationship between the media, politicians and the public as the traditional neutrality of information gives way to the proactive interventions of politically appointed spin doctors.