Performing politics
Subtitle: media interviews, debates and press conferences
By: Geoffrey Craig
Publisher: Polity Press
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 203
ISBN-13: 9780745689616; 9780745689623
Subjects: Political aspects; Mass media; Communication in politics
Description: "For successful political leaders, public speaking is only half the battle. A good politician must also be a competent performer. Whether facing critical questions in an interview, posturing in a leaders' debate, or conversing on a daytime chat show, success is reliant upon a candidate's ability to dramatically but authentically impart a strong individual identity. In this analysis, Geoffrey Craig looks at the interrogative exchanges between politicians and journalists. The power struggles and evasions in these encounters often leave the public exasperated, but it is the politicians' negotiation of these struggles that determines success. Drawing on analyses of the language and performances of leaders such as Barack Obama and David Cameron, Craig examines the particular kinds of interactions that occur across political interviews, debates, conferences, and talk shows. The political games that take place between politicians and journalists, he argues, constitute the true theatre of politics"--Back cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Mediated political performance; title: Political games; title: Political interviews; title: Leaders' debates; title: Press conferences; title: Current affairs forum television; title: Political celebrity interviews.