Television News and the `Third Force' in British Politics: A Case Study of Election Communication

Abstract

Small or new political parties may be specially dependent upon media attention and a country's election communication arrangements may have an important impact on a new party's recognition-gaining chances. This article focuses on the response of Britain's broadcast media to the SDP-Liberal Alliance, drawing on a content analysis of television news coverage of the 1983 general election campaign. A number of variables are used to assess the coverage of the parties including: the prominence of stories; the amount of `soundbite' material from party spokespersons; the proportion of party-initiated versus media-initiated stories; reporters' commentary; and key visuals. Party and media agendas are also compared. This case study suggests that Britain's election communication arrangements presented both advantages and disadvantages to the `third force'. In conclusion, a number of factors are identified as important to future research on the amenability of political communication systems to small or new political parties.

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