Prime Ministers on Television

Cockerell, Michael

doi:10.1080/13619468908581011

Cited by 3 publications

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“…Changes in broadcasting legislation led to the launch in 1955 of ITV (Independent Television)—a commercially funded service—bringing to an end the BBC’s television broadcasting monopoly. Day’s combative approach began in the 1950s working on the new commercial television network: a notable shift from the uncontroversial, conservative approach to interviewing politicians maintained hitherto by the BBC (Clayman & Heritage, 2002; Cockerell, 1988). Day (1989) reports in his autobiography Grand Inquisitor that changes in TV journalism at that time resulted in a less sycophantic interviewing style: “Politicians were asked questions which the public wanted them to answer” (p. 92).…”

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Playing the Man, Not the Ball

Waddle

Bull

2016

Journal of Language and Social Psychology

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A challenging question can prompt a variety of responses from politicians in their attempt to save face. Criticising the interviewer is one such tactic identified in previous research. The focus here was on this form of personalisation: responses directed personally at the interviewer, often used as a substitute for a straight answer (i.e., playing the man, not the ball). Sampling online interview videos, our analysis revealed a broad range of personalisations: many critical, but also non-critical, including flattery, banter, and advice to calm down. These tactics are discussed as effective responses, which can disarm, wrong-foot, neutralise, or beguile interviewers, often shifting control towards the politician. Furthermore, personalised rhetoric appears more widespread than previously suggested-featuring in the communicative style of many mainstream British politicians. A new typology of personalisation is proposed, designed to fit within the existing overall equivocation typology for the benefit of future empirical research.The televised political interview, a regular feature of UK news broadcasting, has become a primary method of communicating with the electorate. Ostensibly, only an interaction between two individuals, in reality, it is dialogue aimed potentially at millions (Heritage, 1985). It has, however, evolved into an entirely different situation since the apparent servility of interviewers in the early years of television. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was the first and only UK television broadcaster

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Playing the Man, Not the Ball

Waddle

Bull

2016

Journal of Language and Social Psychology

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“…Granted, Cameron still draws upon such qualities of speech-making as the development of theme, where his next section expounds on a Conservative trope of ‘belief’ and ‘values’ associated with the speeches of Margaret Thatcher (Gaffney 1991, 164). Nevertheless, following the advice of the great performer Winston Churchill who counselled that traditional political oratory was ‘ill-suited to the informality of home viewing’ (Cockerell 1988, xiii), Cameron engages the viewing audience in a manner that contravenes the conventions of the political speech. This can be seen elsewhere in Cameron's performances in less customary political arenas such as his controversial 2006 appearance on the UK's highest rating chat show ( Friday Night with Jonathan Ross , BBC, 23 June 2006) or his ‘back-stage’ video podcasts, Webcameron.…”

Section: The 2010 Television Leaders’ Debates: Articulation Address mentioning

confidence: 99%

Lights, Camera, Election: Celebrity, Performance and the 2010 UK General Election Leadership Debates

Drake¹,

Higgins²

2012

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations

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The 2010 general election was the first in the UK in which a series of televised leaders' debates were broadcast. This article takes forward research on mediated political performance and the relationship between celebrity and politics through an analysis of these debates. By discussing how the candidates perform 'personality', the article highlights the use of performance in constructing informality and a personalised audience address, contrasting these with where candidates engage in conventional political speech-making. The article also examines the strategic use of language, particularly where it is designed to align speakers with the public in opposition to the political establishment. The article argues that celebrity should not be viewed as an innate quality but instead as an interpretative set of frames, the terms of which are established through performance. The article concludes by reflecting upon the implications that can be drawn about the relationship between performance, framing and political celebrity.

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“…There is no clear account of Anthony Eden’s attempts to influence both the IBA and the BBC. BBC executive Grace Wyndham Goldie later wrote that it was ‘a salutary warning of the lengths to which a political party may go, when in power, to prevent the broadcasting of any opinions but its own’ (1977: 186; see also Cockerell, 1988; Shaw, 1996). As an indication of the closeness between professionals and politicians, we learn from Ridge-Newman that Grace’s actor husband, Mr Wyndham Goldie, had been employed by the party as an advisor on television techniques in the early 1950s (p. 50).…”

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confidence: 99%

Book Review: The Tories and Television, 1951-1964: Broadcasting an Elite

Holland

2017

Critical Studies in Television

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Prime Ministers on Television

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Playing the Man, Not the Ball

Playing the Man, Not the Ball

Lights, Camera, Election: Celebrity, Performance and the 2010 UK General Election Leadership Debates

Book Review: The Tories and Television, 1951-1964: Broadcasting an Elite

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