Linkages Between Public Relations Models and Communication Managers' Roles in Spanish Political Parties

Abstract

Studies of political and electoral communication usually focus on the strategic dimension of campaigns from a marketing approach. In these studies, public relations and communications are viewed as a set of techniques that serve political parties and other actors of the political scene, concentrated on media relations. This instrumental perspective is not in keeping with the structural dimension of organizational communication in the activity of political actors: political parties, pressure groups, and political leaders. From this point of view, during managing periods of governance and during electoral campaigns, the most applied communication form by political parties is structured in accordance with the major communication models founded by public relations theorist James E. Grunig: the press agent model, the public information model, the two-way asymmetrical model, and the two-way symmetrical model. This research shows the applicability of these models and its links with the roles of in-house political communicators in Spain according to the results of a quantitative survey focused on inside professionals who provide communicational services for the seven main political parties in this country.

KEYWORDS:

• communication models
• media politics
• professional roles
• public relations
• Spanish politics

Notes

The campaign managers continued exercising their functions during non-election periods, which would indicate the marked electoral aims in the communication of the Spanish political parties.

The marginal secant role means metaphorically the function of the blotting paper.

According to ADECEC—the Spanish association of businesses dedicated to public relations and communications consultancy—the political parties do not form a part of the top 20 business industries for whom Spanish public relations firms provide a service (ADECEC, 2005). These data suggest that in Spain, the tendency of political parties' public relations activities is not going to change and they will continue to be reduced to a more technical and less strategic vision dominated by media relations.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jordi Xifra

Jordi Xifra, PhD, is professor of public relations, Pompeu Fabra University, Spain. He is the director of the Research Group on Organizational Communication and Public Relations and president of AIRP, the Spanish Association of Public Relations Researchers.