Einar Thorsen Bournemouth University Three debates, two debates, none? The pre-campaign buzz has been consumed with a farsical confusion about the televised leaders’ debates: who should debate, when, and how many times?! By the time you read this the permeautation will no doubt have changed again, but the debacle has at least contributed to extending …Continue Reading

Jamie Medhurst  Aberystwyth University The Welsh historian, John Davies, who sadly passed away last month, once wrote that Wales was an artefact created by broadcasting. Whilst space precludes a discussion of this notion, broadcasting, its place in Welsh society and its future in Wales is currently a topic of debate and scrutiny amongst academics, the …Continue Reading

Heather Savigny Bournemouth University Harriet Harman has wheeled out a ‘pink’ bus in an effort to attract ‘the female vote’. The photo op is a standard tactic in contemporary politicians’ media management strategising. But election coverage isn’t only about photo opportunities. It is about the way in which the media choose to present such coverage. …Continue Reading

Natalie Fenton Goldsmiths, University of London It’s nearly Spring and the General Election is on the horizon. The next few weeks will be a field day for political communications – will there be a televised debate with all the political parties? Who will make the biggest publicity gaff and which party will work the Twitter-sphere …Continue Reading

Stephen Cushion Cardiff University Gordon Neil Ramsay Media Standards Trust & King’s College London Despite evidence that the TV debates in 2010 engaged and excited many people – in particular 18-24 year olds – according to the Conservative Party chairman, Grant Shapps, they “sucked the life out of the campaign”. Rather than focus on the …Continue Reading