Gaining the media coverage through reputation management and PR of private-life

issues in political communication on the example of Czech politician Jiří Paroubek

PhDr. Denisa Kasl Kollmannová, Ph.D.Charles University in Prague

Theoretical/conceptual framework

Strategic reputation management, image making and political PR of private-life issues has become an instant part of political marketing and communication In electronic, print and new media, the private-life and lifestyle issues of politicians and their family members became a stable part of news coverage (Stanyer 2007, Corner 2003)Mediated private life of politicians became a soap-opera-like (van Zoonen 2005) or romantic-novel-like format (Kasl-Kollmannova 2009 and 2010)

Socio-political consequences of mediated privacy of politicians

• Politicians and their private significant others have become intimate strangers (Stanyer 2007) or distant heroes (Meyrowitz 2008), thus forming a new definition of mediated privacy (Couldry 2003) („people we know“)

• The new “authentic self” of a politician (van Zoonen 2005) is but a well prepared, constructed and managed image which is marketed to the different types of media and publics by public relations and political marketing specialists (Lilleker 2006, Lees-Marshment 2004, Ewen 1996, etc.)

• We talk about political package (Franklin 1994) or design politics (Scammell 1996) which include private life

Hypothesis and methodology

• Focus: pre-election political communication of the Czech Social Democratic Party leader Jiří Paroubek and his wifes Zuzana (1) and Petra (2) concerning private-life issues.

• Hypothesis 1) private-life issues of a politician are professionally managed and they are used as a “PR stunts” to manage the politician’s visibility in media, gain media attention and enhance political power

• Examined by using critical discourse analysis (CDA, van Dijk 1996 and Fairclough 1996) of media coverage on private-life issues of Jiří Paroubek and his family (2005-2010)

Using the concept of „privacy“ in context of political PR and reputation management

(graph field A)

• 1) publicizing and mediatization of privacy issues and family life as a PR tool to gain positive or neutral media coverage and „create buzz“ = goal: gain votes

• 2) demarketing and concealing of privacy issues and family life in concern of possible negative effects on image of politician = goal: not lose votes

Jiří Paroubek: A Czech Politician

• April 25th 2005- August 16th 2006 Prime Minister (Social Democrats)

• 2004-05 Minister for regional development • 2006-10 Social Democratic Party leader • Wives: 1) Zuzana (1979-2007)2) Petra (2007-now)

Mediated private life of Jiří ParoubekCase study 1: First wife: Zuzana

Mediated political image of private life„My wife will be somehow invisible, like the

wife of detective Columbo“

Media reactionHarsh jokes„No taste“ „You can burn her down today“ (Aha!)„Advice on restyling“

Media framing

Political reaction: Restyle and Demarketing

• New set of „official portraits of Mrs Prime Ministers´ Wife“

• Attempt to replace the „negative images“

• Media reaction: gaining interest yet not respecting it

• Role of a „wife“: charity and PR book

Mediated private life of Jiří ParoubekCase study 2: Second wife: Petra

Divorce and marriage in 2007

PR tools used to boost the image

• Interviews with Petra Kováčová – Paroubková

• Media relations

Petra´s own media engagement

Celebrity PR of Petra

• Executed by Media Agency Médea (owner Jaromír Soukup)

• Pavel Poulíček (consultant)

• Médea also a media agency for Soc-Dem party

• Financial relations never disclosed („helping Petra“)

Event management

Event management (wedding, birth and christening)

PR image

Media image

Controlling the press conferences

Book release

Linking political PR and marketing

Media reaction: comparing image according to the voters / readers taste

Demasking political PR and ironizing it

Elections 2006

Elections 2010

Political PR vs. Election results

Not visibility, but emotional factor in PR of private life is crucial

Media logic does not respond to voting behavior

Figure 1 Media relations, news factors, and PR media influence: a reciprocal model (Kleinnijenhuis 2012)

Conclusions Jiří Paroubek used both ways of political PR1. Demarketing (1st wife)2. Promoting (2nd wife)However, gaining the media attention does not mean getting political votes • Celebritization of private life of politician and using

private images in political PR does not link directly the political succes, however, it is an indispensible part of political image

• Image of private life has to respond to the target group (eg. voters of social-dem.)

Limits of the reseach• CDA primarily covers the

„media visibility“ and public information

• Yet information about processing and managing strategic reputation of politicians is a very discreet process

• Other possibilities of research:• Expert interviews – however

great (self)-censorship of information