Book Reviews

Kathleen Hall J a m | e s o n P a c k a g i n g t h e P r e s i d e n c y : A H i s t o r y a n d Criticism of P r e s i d e n t i a l Cnrnpadgn A d v e r t i s i n g New York: Oxford University Press, 1984, 505 pp. Edwin Diamond and Stephen Bates The Spot: The Rise of Political Advertising on Television C-mbridge, blass.: The MIT Press, 1984, 416 pp., $17.50. Martin Linsky Television and the Presidential Elections Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1983, 137 pp. Myles blartel Political Campaign Debates: Images, Strategies, and Tactics NewY0rk: ~ n g m ~ Inc., 1983, 193 pp., $25 H~zdcover, $13.95 paper. Max Atkt n son O u r Master's Voices: T h e L a n g u a g e a n d B o d y L a n g u a g e o f Politics New York: N e ~ u e n & Co., 1984, 203 pp. Keith IL Sanders, Lynda Lee Kaid, and Dan N|rnmo, eds. Political Communication Yearbook 1984 Carbondale: Southern/lltnois University Press, 1985, 358 pp.,

$ o.oo.
Public relations has often been accused of being concerned with images when it should be concerned with reputations. And the American political system has eagerly embraced image-making as the essence of gaining politicalpower. Politicians spend much more time and money on shaping their images than they do on thinking and research to produce sound legislationand leadership. In fact, American politics has outgained many other institutions in the sophistication it has brought to creating images and selling of candidates.

Book Reviews
A variety of new books have been published in the last few years analyzing American political image-making, and they provide an important contribution to the literature of public relations. Kathleen Jamieson's landmark book on presidential campaign advertising leads the way. She uses previously unpublished campaign documents and interviews with insiders to chronicle the schemes and strategies that candidates and their ad and public relations advisors have employed to sway the hearts and ballots of often unsuspecting voters. But despite the sometime skullduggery and counterfeiting that Jamieson's research reveals, she concludes that "if political advertising did not exist we would have to invent it. Political advertising legitimizes our political system," she writes, "by afFm-ning that change is possible within the political system, that the president can effect change, that votes can make a difference. As a result, advertising channels discontent into the avenues provided by the government and acts as a safety valve for pressures that might otherwise turn against the system to demand its substantial modification or overthrow." Edwin Diamond and Stephen Bates reach a similar conclusion. Their analysis of the rise of political spot advertising is more concerned with rhetorical modes and visual styles. They are also concerned with the effects of the ads and conclude that they are part of the cause of seven new problems within the present campaign system: 1. high costs of campaigns; 2. the death of the parties; 3. the rise of the hired gun; 4. the arrival of the outsider, the non-party candidate; 5, reduced political participation; 6. the debasing of political argument; and 7. politics as entertainment and entertainment as politics. But they end their book with the statement, "Political television does not manipulate the electorate in a new, pernicious way; it mainly spreads the candidate's message more widely and more efficiently. The message still must travel past watchful eyes--the press's, the opposition's, and the voters'.'" Martin Linsky's Television and the Presidential Elections is edited from a conference on the subject attended by leading scholars, journalists, and network executives. Although it reaches no easy conclusion, a variety of problems are raised, and at least it shows a willingness on the part of network executives and journalists to openly discuss the problems with their critics. Myles Martel's book focuses on the political debate as a campaign strategy and looks at the impact of debates on candidates' images. He concludes that both media and politicians need to change the way they approach political debates.~In particular, he feels .that the news media should "cease and desist from their horserace orientation to debates.'" And candidates should be better prepared with solid information before engaging in a campaign debate. Of all the books reviewed here, Max Atkinson's is the most stimulating, and perhaps it has the most to say to public relations practitioners who need to advise their clients on their pubic appearances, even though it is largely couched in the language of British rhetoric. Atkinson's main thesis is that TV has brought about the demise of live oratory, which has been replaced with "televisuality." This means that politicians must master an entirely new set of devices for getting attention, responding to feedback, gaining charisma and achieving quotability. As David Butler says in his preface, "Max Atkinson has produced a guide that will influence both politicians and producers in shaping the material that we will all watch in the
years to come."

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Public Relations Re~lew

Finally, the Political Communication Yearbook1984 is the first in what the publishers promise to be a series of annual, volume-length anthologies on political communication. The book is divided into three parts. The first, "Current perspectives on the spiral of silence," examines the relationship of mass media effects to the construction of public opinion. The second, "Computers and political communication," addresses the question of how computer technology helps to shape what is learned and how this knowledge can be applied to political communication. The third, "Dimensions of political communication analysis in the 1980s," presents the leading theoretical and research interests current among students of political communication. In sum, there is growing scholarship in political communication that can provide new, rich, and varied insights for public relations students, researchers and practitioners. We need to make more use of this important body of knowledge. RAY ELDON HIEBERT, Editor Public Relations Review Regis McKenna

The Regis Touch

R e a d i n g , M a s s a c h u s e t t s : A d d i s o n - W e s l e y P u b l i s h i n g C o m p a n ) ; Inc., 1985. 179 p a g e s . , $ 1 5 . 9 5 His critics claim it's old wine decanted into new bottles. His clients often as not sing his praises. But whatever wisdom Regis McKenna dispenses, high technology firms in Silicon Valley and elsewhere take notice. Now the guru of high-tech PR has shared his philosophy with all of us in a highly readable volume titled The Regis Touch. Subtitled "Million-Dollar Advice from America's Top Marketing Consultant," the book provides an insight into the thinking that helped launch Apple Computer, and currently promotes more than 70 clients worldwide. The Regis--read that Midas--Touch parallels the phenomenal growth enjoyed by high technology in California's Silicon Valley. The marketing climate Regis McKenna first encountered there was very traditional. Believing traditional approaches illsuited to a world of fast-changing markets and complex products, McKenna began experimenting with new ideas in marketing and communications. What evolved is an approach stressing relationships rather than promotion of products, the communication of concepts rather than disseminating information, and the creation of new markets rather than sharing old ones. According to McKenna, most companies compartmentalize business functions, keeping marketing separate from finance, R&D, product design etc. In fact, they are intertwined. For McKenna, marketing is a new way of thinking that permeates all levels of a company. These new ideas are important for all managers who must cope with change. And in today's business environment, that means just about everybody. Marketeers have long extolled the importance of positioning a product. McKenna advocates positioning the product where the rivals aren't. This can only be done by understanding the market environment. In fact, the environment defines the product: technology trends, market dynamics, competition, social and economic trends all influence how the customer "sees" the product. A well-positioned product, targeted to specific market segments stands the best chance of success. But there's the rub. How can you position a product or company in a marketplace that changes every few months? By his own admission, "Dynamic positioning is a tricky process."

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