Spin (public relations)

Spin Doctor is an inherited from the English name for a media, image, or political consultant and responsible for public relations. The term is used by the mass media, especially in the realm of politics and has a negative connotation, as it implies that as a " spin doctor" named person events " with the right spin (English spin) Feathers" by a subtly manipulated representation in the media care. In English is often the term " spin masters " used in addition to " spin doctor " also.

In contrast to political propagandists, it is a spin- doctor less about the teaching of a certain general point of view, but rather directly represent his client, whose policies or other persons or events in a positive or negative light as possible and in any situation the best possible public to gain attention. He works with images, productions (for example, photo shoots, events for the cameras of the press ) and with PR and uses the media for his goals, for example through agenda setting. He usually remains in the background and rarely himself appears in the media.

Not all of these funds are frowned upon, since complex relationships for a lay audience can be understood by means of public relations. Critically, however, are often favored by, among others, the spin- doctors of " staging policy ", " dramatization of politics" and the increasing focus on personalization of the campaign instead of reasoning with political content. A particularly PR - oriented political style is modified these, referred to as spin- doctoring.

Historical Development

For the first time used the term Spin Doctors Saul Bellow in 1977 in a lecture. Way into the media, he was on 21 October 1984, an editorial by journalist William Safire (New York Times), who analyzed a televised debate between the presidential candidates Walter Mondale and the incumbent Ronald Reagan. The election campaign advisers were called spin doctors, because they tried behind the stage in the spin alley to give the journalists a positive interpretation of their respective candidates. Spin Doctoring first developed in particular in countries with a majority vote, which is attributed to the greater importance of individual local politicians.

Known spin doctors

Edward Bernays, a nephew of Sigmund Freud, considered the first American Spin Doctor.

Particularly well known the title was helped, among other things as a name for Alastair Campbell, the longtime PR managers of Tony Blair, and Karl Rove, the Republican party strategist and presidential adviser, George W. Bush was in Texas and later as president by his campaign to power. Bush called Rove in his speech after the election victory in 2004 the architect of his victory.

Klaus -Peter Schmidt Deguelle became known when he consulted from 1999 to 2000 the Federal Labour Minister Walter Riester and the Chancellor's Office, and from 1999 to 2005, the Federal Ministry of Finance Hans Eichel.

In the 2002 federal elections Michael Spreng has been hired as a consultant Edmund Stoiber, Matthias Machning for the SPD.

Observers saw in the German federal election 2005 Kajo Wasserhövel in the SPD and Willi Hausmann in the CDU as the respective spin doctors to officially they acted as campaign manager.

For Barack Obama exerts primarily David Axelrod from the spin doctors of the function.

In the medial confrontation between the actress Uschi Glas and Stiftung Warentest rating because of "poor" for their cream acted Marcus Johst as a spin- doctor on the part of the actress.

The activity of the spin -Doctor is satirized in films such as Wag the Dog or Thank You for Smoking and the series Spin City and The Thick Of It. In the Danish political series Borgen - Dangerous cliques embodies Kasper Juul ( Pilou Asbæk ) the Spin -Doctor of the Prime Minister.

Examples of strategic communication in politics and economics

Public relations (PR ) agencies in the political realm in the United States, for example, the agency Hill & Knowlton, which staged a false statement to the Kuwaiti Nayirah al -Sabah before the U.S. Congress about alleged Iraqi atrocities during Iraq Kuwait invasion and thus successfully made ​​mood for the Second Gulf War.

In Germany operating agencies include Edelman Public Relations, Weber Shandwick Germany, Deekeling Arndt Advisors, Pubs field communication or Johanssen Kretschmer. The aim here is, for example, good to "sell" a particular policy, so as to represent a positive and desirable. At the center is used when the policy is a communication problem over the citizenship (or in commercial enterprises and interest to the public ) sees its own policy but it is right and necessary stops.

Professionalised campaign advice also exists in Germany for some time, but take elements of the spin- doctoring to. As before, however, the election campaign is largely planned in the party headquarters, which the campaigns are less planned out by the means of spin- doctoring as a central communication control with agencies than is the case in the U.S. or the UK. There is a highly specialized industry of political PR consultant has developed, which have their own professional association, as well as specific courses and journals.

As an example of political PR can also approach the two politicians with a party apply if they meet the collusion, for a time a controversial topic to discuss, to then end the discussion. This staged debate, the profile of both contracting parties sharpen, a subject of public debate more tangible and / or the followers of different positions give opportunity to " blow off steam ".

In autumn 2011, the daily newspaper published hitherto secret documents lobby agency Deekeling Arndt Advisors on the preparation of " withdrawal from the nuclear phase-out " ( the SPD / Green government 's predecessor ) by the CDU-CSU/FDP- led government in October 2010. A to this point of alleged success of the lobbying had been the displacement of a scheduled release of the Süddeutsche Zeitung on the link between childhood cancer and nuclear power plants until after the general election of 2009. Heribert Prantl, a chief editor of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, denied on demand, that there had been such an influence.