Communication Consultants in Political Campaigns: Ballot Box Warriors

237 Pages·1997·0.81 MB·English

by  Robert V. Friedenberg

Communication
Consultants in
Political Campaigns
RecentTitlesin the
Praeger Series in PoliticalCommunication
Robert E. Denton, Jr., GeneralEditor
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RhetoricalStudiesof NationalPoliticalDebates—1996
Edited by Robert V. Friedenberg
Communication
Consultants in
Political Campaigns
Ballot Box Warriors
Robert V. Friedenberg
Praeger Series in Political Communication
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Friedenberg,RobertV.
Communicationconsultantsinpoliticalcampaigns : ballotbox
warriors / RobertV.Friedenberg.
p. cm.—(Praegerseriesinpoliticalcommunication,ISSN
1062–5623)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0–275–95206–1(alk.paper).—ISBN0–275–95207–X(pbk. :
alk.paper)
1. Politicalconsultants—UnitedStates. 2. Mediaconsultants—
UnitedStates. 3. Publicrelationsandpolitics—UnitedStates.
4. Electioneering—UnitedStates. I. Title. II. Series.
JK2281.F75 1997
659.2'9324'0973—dc21 97–14471
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright(cid:1)1997byRobertV.Friedenberg
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:97–14471
ISBN:0–275–95206–1
0–275–95207–X(pbk.)
ISSN:1062–5623
Firstpublishedin1997
PraegerPublishers,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Series Foreword vii
Robert E. Denton, Jr.
Acknowledgments xi
1. A History of Political Consulting in America 1
2. Polling Consultants: The Intelligence Service of the Ballot
Box Wars 31
3. Speech and Debate Consultants: The Infantry of the Ballot
Box Wars 69
4. Narrowcast Media Consultants: The Submarine Service of
the Ballot Bax Wars 95
5. Newspaper and Radio Consultants: The Artillery Corps of
the Ballot Box Wars 127
6. Television Consultants: The Air Force of the Ballot Box
Wars 153
7. The Future of Political Consulting: Tomorrow’s Battlefields 199
Additional Readings 213
Index 215

Series Foreword
Those of us from the discipline of communication studies have long be-
lievedthatcommunicationispriortoallotherfieldsofinquiry.Inseveral
otherforumsIhavearguedthattheessenceofpoliticsis‘‘talk’’orhuman
interaction.1 Such interaction may be formal or informal, verbal or non-
verbal, public or private, but it is always persuasive, forcing us con-
sciously or subconsciously to interpret, to evaluate, and to act.
Communication is the vehicle for human action.
Fromthisperspective,itisnotsurprisingthatAristotlerecognizedthe
naturalkinshipofpoliticsandcommunicationinhiswritingsPoliticsand
Rhetoric. In the former, he establishes that humans are ‘‘political beings
[who]aloneoftheanimals[are]furnishedwiththefacultyoflanguage.’’2
And in the latter, he begins his systematic analysis of discourse by pro-
claiming that ‘‘rhetorical study, in its strict sense, is concerned with the
modesofpersuasion.’’3Thus,itwasrecognizedover2,300yearsagothat
politics and communication go hand in hand because they are essential
parts of human nature.
Backin1981,DanNimmoandKeithSandersproclaimedthatpolitical
communication was an emerging field.4 Although its origin, as noted,
dates back centuries, a ‘‘self-consciously cross-disciplinary’’focusbegan
in the late 1950s. Thousands of books and articles later, colleges and
universities offer a variety of graduate and undergraduate coursework
in the area in such diverse departments as communication, mass com-
munication, journalism, political science, and sociology.5 In Nimmo and
Sanders’s early assessment, the ‘‘key areas of inquiry’’ included rhetor-
ical analysis, propaganda analysis, attitude change studies, voting stud-
ies,governmentandthenewsmedia,functionalandsystemsanalyses,tech-
viii SERIESFOREWORD
nological changes, media technologies, campaign techniques, and
research techniques.6 In a survey of the state of the field in 1983, the
same authors and Lynda Kaid found additional, more specific areas of
concern such as the presidency, political polls, public opinion, debates,
and advertising, to name a few.7 Since the first study, they also noted a
shift away from the rather strict behavioral approach.
Adecadelater,DanNimmoandDavidSwansonarguedthat‘‘political
communication has developed some identity as a more or less distinct
domain of scholarly work.’’8 The scope and concerns of the area have
further expanded to include critical theories and cultural studies. While
there is no precise definition, method, or disciplinary home of the area
of inquiry, its primary domain is the role, processes, and effectsofcom-
munication within the context of politics broadly defined.
In1985,theeditorsofPoliticalCommunicationYearbook:1984notedthat
‘‘more things are happening in the study, teaching, and practice of po-
litical communication than can be captured within the space limitations
of the relatively few publications available.’’9 In addition, they argued
that the backgrounds of ‘‘those involved in the field [are] so varied and
pluralistinoutlookandapproach,...it[is]amistaketoadhereslavishly
to any set format in shaping the content.’’10 And more recently, Nimmo
andSwansoncalledfor‘‘waysofovercomingtheunhappyconsequences
offragmentationwithinaframeworkthatrespects,encourages,andben-
efits from diverse scholarly commitments, agendas, and approaches.11
In agreement with these assessments of the area and with gentle en-
couragement, Praeger established the Praeger Series in Political Com-
munication. The series is open to all qualitative and quantitative
methodologies as well as contemporary and historical studies. The key
to characterizing the studies in the series is the focus on communication
variables or activities within a political context or dimension. As of this
writing,nearly40volumeshavebeenpublished,andtherearenumerous
impressive works forthcoming. Scholars from the disciplines of com-
munication,history,journalism,politicalscience,andsociologyhavepar-
ticipated in the series.
Iam,withoutshameormodesty,afanoftheseries.Thejoyofserving
as its editor is in participating in the dialogue of the field of political
communication and in reading the contributors’ works. I invite you to
join me.
Robert E. Denton, Jr.
NOTES
1. SeeRobertE.Denton,Jr.,TheSymbolicDimensionsoftheAmericanPresidency
(Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press, 1982); Robert E. Denton, Jr., and Gary
Woodward, Political Communication in America (New York: Praeger, 1985; 2nd
SERIESFOREWORD ix
ed., 1990); Robert E. Denton, Jr., and DanHan,PresidentialCommunication(New
York:Praeger,1986);andRobertE.Denton,Jr.,ThePrimetimePresidencyofRonald
Reagan (New York: Praeger, 1988).
2. Aristotle, The Politics of Aristotle, trans. Ernest Barker (New York: Oxford
UniversityPress, 1970), p. 5.
3. Aristotle, Rhetoric, trans. Rhys Roberts (New York: The Modern Library,
1954), p. 22.
4. DanNimmoandKeithSanders,‘‘Introduction:TheEmergenceofPolitical
Communication as a Field,’’ in Handbook of Political Communication, ed. Dan
Nimmoand KeithSanders(BeverlyHills, Calif.: Sage, 1981), pp. 11–36.
5. Ibid., p. 15.
6. Ibid., pp. 17–27.
7. KeithSanders,LyndaKaid,andDanNimmo,eds.,PoliticalCommunication
Yearbook:1984 (Carbondale:SouthernIllinoisUniversity,1985), pp. 283–308.
8. Dan Nimmo and DavidSwanson,‘‘TheFieldofPoliticalCommunication:
Beyond the Voter Persuasion Paradigm,’’ in New Directions in Political Commu-
nication, ed. David Swanson and Dan Nimmo (Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage,1990),
p. 8.
9. Sanders, Kaid, and Nimmo,PoliticalCommunicationYearbook:1984, p. xiv.
10. Ibid.
11. Nimmoand Swanson,‘‘The Field of PoliticalCommunication,’’p. 11.