Public and Political Communication

Deception cues in political speeches: verbal and non-verbal traits of prevarication

by Nicla Rossini

In Esposito A. et al. (2011) Analysis of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication and Enactment: The Processing Issue. Lecture Notes in Computer Science 6800, pp. 408-418. Springer-Verlag: Berlin and Heidelberg. Invited chapter.
Please find it on Springer:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/64l056688102q3q2/

N.B.: THIS IS A PRE-PUBLICATION DRAFT. IT MAY CONTAIN ERROS AND DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE PUBLISHED VERSION. FOR QUOTATION PLEASE ASK ME A COPY OF THE PUBLISHED VERSION OR FIND IT ON SPRINGER.

Deception is a determinant social phenomenon already observed
extensively in the literature of several different... more Deception is a determinant social phenomenon already observed
extensively in the literature of several different research fields. This study presents the analysis of both micro-expressions and voice features in sample TV clips, in order to outline a defined research agenda on the topic.

“Wolves at the Door: Musical Persuasion in a 2004 Bush-Cheney Ad”

by Matthew Killmeier

Matthew A. Killmeier and Paul Christiansen, “Wolves at the Door: Musical Persuasion in a 2004 Bush-Cheney Ad,” MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research 50 (2011): 160-180

Many journalists and scholars overlook the discursive role of music in TV political advertisements. But we argue that... more Many journalists and scholars overlook the discursive role of music in TV political advertisements. But we argue that music is a potent means of political persuasion. Music in advertisements is determinative; all other elements—images, voiceovers, sound effects, written text, and so on—are circumscribed by the music and interpreted in relation to it. Music determines an advertisement’s character through framing and underscoring; musical frames establish interpretative categories and generate expectations, while underscoring comprises music that closely coordinates with images and voiceovers to form a persuasive aesthetic and rhetorical unity. A close reading of a 2004 Bush-Cheney advertisement applies this theory of frames and underscoring to explain the advertisement’s effectiveness. Without music, the advertisement would not only fail to persuade, it would also make no sense.

Estratégias de Comunicação Política Online: Uma Análise do Perfil de José Serra no Twitter / Political Campaigns and Online Strategies: The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections

by Francisco Paulo Jamil Marques

Co-authored with Fernando Wisse and Nina Matos. Published in Revista Contemporanea. vol.09 – n.03 – setembro-dezembro 2011.

Title in English: Political Campaigns and Online Strategies:
The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections. Text in... more Title in English: Political Campaigns and Online Strategies:
The case of the 2010 Brazilian Elections. Text in Portuguese. Abstract in English: This article examines some of the main changes that Brazilian elections have faced thanks to the new media. More specifically, it studies how the candidate José Serra (PSDB, Brazilian Social Democracy Party) used Twitter over the 2010 presidential race. The text analyzes the new behaviors perceived once the digital media play an important role in getting votes. Are there new methods to run political campaigns? Or indeed one sees the continuity in the ways to reach voters? The study investigates the messages (tweets) posted by José Serra (@ joseserra_) during the 15 days before the 2nd round of presidential elections (17 to October 31, 2010). The empirical sample is based on the 221 messages posted by the candidate in the chosen period of time. On the one hand, we can say that the use of Twitter becomes important (a) to promote the public image of Serra; (b) to build a network with thousands of users willing to support him; and (c) to stimulate informal styles of interaction. On the other hand, it becomes evident that electoral strategies, even on Twitter, remain constrained by traditional conceptions of political marketing. KEYWORDS: Democracy. Elections. Internet. Online Campaigns. Twitter.

Internet e Eleições 2010 no Brasil: Rupturas e continuidades nos padrões mediáticos das campanhas políticas online / Internet and Elections in Brazil: A study on the transformations of political campaigns over the last years

by Francisco Paulo Jamil Marques

Co-authored with Rafael Sampaio. Revista Galáxia, São Paulo, n. 22, p. 208-221, dez. 2011. Keywords: internet; democracia; representação; eleições; campanhas online, internet; democracy; representation; elections; online campaigns.

Title in English: Internet and the 2010 elections in Brazil: disruptions and continuities on the mediatic standards of... more Title in English: Internet and the 2010 elections in Brazil: disruptions and continuities on the mediatic standards of online political campaigns. Text in Portuguese. Abstract in English: This paper aims to identify some of the contemporary transformations in Brazilian online campaigns by analyzing three factors: (1) the new possibilities of providing political information, (2) the availability of mechanisms for participation and (3) the use of tools directed to improve accountability in electoral contexts. Paradoxically, such transformations have proven to be a kind of trend that directs how consultants manage online campaigns. In this sense, once the candidates – in case they wish to legitimize their political positions before their electorate – watch themselves being forced to offer the users abundant political information, as well as mechanisms of intervention and accountability, we consider this scenario and stand by the idea that improvement demands aimed at democracy as a whole end up being transferred to deputation candidates themselves.

Communicative Informatics: An Active and Creative Audience Framework of Social Media

by Linda Gallant

Communicative informatics reflects the interactive complexity of web-based communication and a paradigm shift away... more Communicative informatics reflects the interactive complexity of web-based communication and a paradigm shift away from mass communication. Three discursive spheres (database and information systems, human computer interaction, and active audiences) work together to control online communication openness and its consequences for post-mass media society’s public common. This has implications for communication freedom, creativity, and constraints in an information-based society. Four propositions shed light on how online audience activity is encouraged by and imperative to corporate interests; how audience creativity can create, accept, or reject messages; how the online audience is monitored; and how online rhetoric can produce or inhibit public commons. Evidence shows that social media’s corporate interests can be at odds with online privacy and citizen communication. This tension is explored with a unique focus on rhetoric, argument, and the communication between audience members and Internet-based corporate media by way of digitized communication feedback loops.

Mightier than the sword

by Dan Binns

Composed for a Public Relations subject assessment in 2008.

We live in a society of speed. From the short black to the Big Mac to the humble two-minute noodle, modern society has... more We live in a society of speed. From the short black to the Big Mac to the humble two-minute noodle, modern society has become a blur of thrift and alacrity. With the advent of the internet people have also created a need for connectedness; wireless networks, mobile phone internet and 24-hour net cafes provide such communication opportunities. And for an allegedly growingly apathetic populace, we seem to consume an awful lot of news and media services. But just how much do the mainstream media dictate the subjects that arise in our interactions with other people? By examining existing research on political rhetoric in the late Twentieth and early Twenty-First Centuries, and the effects the mainstream media can have on contemporaneous social discourse, this essay will posit that socio-political agendas are integrated not only into political language, but permeate every aspect of modern life. In addition, society’s obsession with speed has had an effect on the modern vernacular. This will be explored, and furthermore, these examinations will be justified via an assessment alongside time-honored public relations theory.

Do the Online News Sites Kill Journalism as a Profession? (Slides) MediAsia 2010, Osaka, Japan, 28 - 30 October 2010

by Roumen Dimitrov

Presentation slides

Le débat en ligne à l’échelle municipale : une dépolitisation sous contrainte ? (2009)

by Stephanie Wojcik

Version de l'auteur, rédigée en 2008. Texte paru dans Lefebvre R. & Roger A. (dir.), Les partis politiques à l’épreuve des procédures délibératives, Rennes, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2009, p. 69-85.

Les modérateurs des forums de discussion municipaux. Des intermédiaires démocratiques? (2007)

by Stephanie Wojcik

Publié dans Questions de communication

La mise en œuvre de forums de discussion sur les sites Internet de certaines municipalités suscite des espoirs quant à... more La mise en œuvre de forums de discussion sur les sites Internet de certaines municipalités suscite des espoirs quant à la possible apparition de formes nouvelles de délibération, en partie déliées des contraintes temporelles enserrant les dispositifs hors ligne et susceptibles d’amenuiser les hiérarchies sociales et les relations de pouvoirs manifestes dans les débats en face-à-face. Les forums nécessitent la présence de professionnels (responsable de la communication, webmestre) qui en assurent le fonctionnement régulier. Dans quelle mesure leur gestion de la discussion électronique influe-t-elle sur les conditions et les modalités de participation de la population ?
Nous avons observé trois principaux rôles du modérateur : le manager, l’arbitre et l’intermédiaire. Dans le cas de l’animation du forum, son investissement dans le débat a une part certaine dans l’intérêt que les internautes portent au forum. Dans l’exercice de sa fonction d’arbitre, le webmestre indique ce qui est dicible dans l’espace du forum et les formes que doivent revêtir les interventions. Lorsqu’il endosse la fonction d’intermédiaire et qu’il transmet certaines contributions aux responsables politiques, il s’arroge une prérogative clairement politique. L’accès de la parole des internautes à l’espace politique apparaît dès lors teinté d’opacité, jetant le doute sur le caractère réellement « démocratique » des pratiques de cet intermédiaire.

Délibération électronique et démocratie locale. Le cas des forums municipaux des régions Aquitaine, Languedoc-Roussillon et Midi-Pyrénées (2005)

by Stephanie Wojcik

Thèse de science politique

Understanding Blogs: Just another Medium?

by Marcus Leaning

Published in Alec Charles and Gavin Stewart, (2010) The End of Journalism? London: Peter Lang.

This chapter examines the arguments that blogs have  transformed certain social practices. The chapter is divided... more This chapter examines the arguments that blogs have  transformed certain social practices. The chapter is divided intro three sections: section one provides a brief history of blogs and an examination of the term blog.  Sections two and three explore the different arguments put forward concerning the transformational power of blogs. Section two examines the case for the power of blogs to transform civic life while section three looks at those arguments proposed to counter such claims. 

The uploaded file is a pre- publication draft, the book is due for publication in 2010.