But there is a paradox. The more they analyse strategy, the more they explain the purposes behind the images that we see, the more they convey a distrust of politics. Unwittingly, these skills of analysis feed into the popular belief that there is always a hidden, self-interested purpose behind a politician's words. The business of politics is seen to be about gaining strategic advantages for their own sake. It is the reversal of ends and means.
Politicians regularly come at the bottom of polls on the public's trust in professions.
By contrast, TV newsreaders come near the top. The election campaign is unlikely to alter their respective positions. Nightly we hear broadcasters expose strategy and counter-strategy. As they guide us through the world of politics, they take us down an endless mean street.