Spin doctors

Orlando Anaïs                                  

Rouault de Coligny Oriane

Elie Rose

     English dossier

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  « Spin » mean turn. Thereby, « communication, is to change a little the trajectory of the information in the brain of our speakers » Says Christophe Reill, French spin doctor.

    Indeed, a spin doctor is an advisor in communication and political marketing, employed by a political figure. This role date of 1930, but has become popular from the debate between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale in United States in 1984. Spin doctor are most often used during the election campaign. For instance, in United States we can speak about David Axelrod, the spin doctor of Barack Obama. Or, in France where we speak about « Doreurs d'images », with the spin doctors of Nicolas Sarkozy. Also in England with Cameron's spin doctor, which has created a scandal. The question becomes, what is the place of the spins doctors in politic ?

     First, we will define the notion of spin doctors. Then, we will analyze an old function well-known by each country.

1. Spin doctors, the shadow humans

A) The political marketing

    In the Anglo-Saxon world the profession exist since 30's. The expression itself appears in 1984.

But, this job, become common in Europe from the french presidential campaign in 1965 and 1974 with the win of Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.

They are today essential to the politician.

The term « spin doctors » indicate people whose the profession is to influence the general public on the personality and the act and gesture of politician by communication techniques. Moreover, they produce information.

We can speak about shadow humans because they are uknown to the public, keep the secret and they never speak in front of the media.

B) The practices of the spin doctors

    The mission of the spin doctors is to embellish the appearance of their customers, struck by the newsworthy turmoil and succeed to influence the journalists for they repeat their messages.

To achieve that, spin doctor combine storytelling techniques and marketing principle.

They exercise a big influence on the speech, the programme and the initiatives of their clients. In England, we can note the case of David Cameron, the prime minister of England. At the time of the election, Lynton Crosby, his spin doctor manage the campaign. Up to choose if Cameron participate or not to the TV election debate.

In this story we can comment that the vocation of spin doctor is criticised a lot in england, we can speak about a presidential dynaty, with spin doctors who take a lot of place in political life.

In France, we see that spin doctors can intervene during the political crisis like Anne Hommel, DSK's spin doctor that appear after the case that all know.

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1. An old function well-known by each country

A) The propaganda of the politicians thanks to technological dévelopment

    The emergence and the development of the spin, across his american and european story, is a development linked with the development of technicals and medias. It's in the 60's, in United States that the political marketing knows a flight with the entry of television.

The marketing techniques show, as in united states thirteen years earlier, results that appears to be convincing. It seems that indeed politicians are submitted to political marketing technics insofar as they could not to remain outside the technical developments which led new mass communications technologies.

Present coherents programs and human and intellectual qualities, it isn't sufficient when the opponent resort to marketing techniques for value their image and conquer the electorate. It shall, as the opponents, use the modern communications technologies, at the risk of being ostracised of the campaign and have a candidate image of past. Political actors are accommodated to those methods, up to consider as « a necessary evil for democracy » (Marketing and political communication, Serge Albouy , 1994, l'Harmattan), a patent of modernity.

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