SEAN SPICER IS THE NEWS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SEAN ... · sean spicer is the news the...

SEANSPICERISTHENEWS

THERELATIONSHIPBETWEENSEANSPICERANDTHEWHITEHOUSEPRESSCORPS

BY

DANIELLESELMANJULIAN

ATHESISSUBMITTEDTOTHEAUCKLANDUNIVERSITYOFTECHNOLOGYINPARTIALFULFILLMENT

OFTHEREQUIREMENTFORTHEDEGREEOFMASTEROFCOMMUNICATIONSTUDIES(MCS)

JULY3,2018

SCHOOLOFCOMMUNICATIONSTUDIES

2

Abstract

ThisresearchconcernstherelationshipbetweenformerWhiteHousepresssecretarySean

SpicerandtheWhiteHousepresscorps,analysedthroughthereportageofthedailyWhite

Housepressbriefing.ThisrelationshipcanbeseenasacontinuationofTrump’srelationship

withthenewsmediaduringhiscandidacy.Thisthesisquantitativelymeasuresthereportage

bytheWhiteHousepresscorpsusingcontentanalysis(Krippendorff,2002),andqualitative

analysisofthereportageusingjournalismdiscourseanalysis(Wodak&Meyers,2001;

Fairclough,2010).Theseanalysesareachievedbyanalysingthreecasesthatbecame

headlinesduetothemomentofcontentionbetweenSpicerandthepresscorps.Thesecase

studiesare:

1)Theinitialpressbriefing,whenSpicerlecturedthepresscorpsforfalselyreportingthe

sizeofTrump’sinauguration’scrowd.

2)PressBriefing#30,whenSpicerforcefullyinstructedreporterAprilD.Ryanto‘stop

shakingherhead.'

3)PressBriefing#36,whenSpicercontroversiallycomparedSyrianPresidentBasharal-

AssadtoNaziPartyLeaderAdolfHitlerandincorrectlyclaimedthatHitlerdidnotuse

chemicalweapons.

Onlinenewsarticlesaboutthesecasestudiesfrom30mediaoutletsthathavejournalistsin

theWhiteHousepresscorpshavebeenselected.Thethesisthencomparesandcontrasts

thecasestudies’pressbriefingtranscriptstotheonlinenewsarticles.

Thetheoriesthatareusedtoperformthisthesis’analysesare,disciplinedbodies(Craig,

2016),habitus(Bourdieu,2002;Craig,2016),spin(Downes,1998;McNair,2000,Craig,

2013),politicalsourcerelations(Downes,1998,McNair,2000,Davis,2003,Sanders,2009),

newsvalues(Galtung&Ruge,1965;Harcup&O’Neill,2016),themediatedpublicsphere

(McNair,2000;Herman&Chomsky,2002,Jackson&Valentine,2014).

Thisthesisfindsthatinpoliticaljournalismthereisaproliferationofarticlesthataremore

concernedaboutthepoliticalprocessasopposedtopoliticalpolicy.Thisfindingisinline

withthefindingsfromThePewResearchCentre(2017),whichfoundinthefirst100daysof

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theTrumpadministrationthatnewsstoriesfocusedonTrump'sandhisstaff'scharacterand

leadershipasopposedtotheadministration'spolicies.Thisthesisassertsthatthispatternis

damagingtotheAmericanmediatedpublicsphere,asitstiflesthecitizen'sabilitytolearn

aboutimportantpolicymattersthatareaffectingtheireverydaylives.

Keywords:TheWhiteHouse,presssecretary,TheWhiteHousepresscorps,newsvalues,

spin,politicaljournalism,politicalsourcerelations,mediatedpublicsphere,SeanSpicer,

DonaldTrump,politicalperformance,publicrelations,mediarelations.

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AttestationofAuthorship

Iherebydeclarethatthissubmissionismyownworkandthat,tothebestofmyknowledgeandmybelief,itcontainsnomaterialpreviouslypublishedorwrittenbyanotherperson(exceptwhereexplicitlydefinedintheacknowledgements),normaterialwhichtoasubstantialextenthasbeensubmittedfortheawardofanyotherdegreeordiplomaofauniversityorotherinstitutionsofhigherlearning.Signed:

DanielleSelmanJulianDated:3July2018

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Acknowledgements

Firstly,Iwouldliketoacknowledgemysupervisor,GeoffreyCraigwithoutwhomthisthesiswouldbenothingbutacollectionofblankpages,yourwisdom,yourresearchandyourclassMediatedPoliticalTalkhasbeenastrongfoundationtobuildupon.Secondly,toVijay,Wayne,Petra,Wan,HelenandespeciallyAverill,thankyouforteachingmeoverthecourseofmyMaster’sdegreeandencouragingmetoreachmyhighestpotential.ToRobertBartholomew,thankyouforprovidingmewithanAmerican’sperspective,andintroducingmetowhatitmeanstobeaglobalcitizenasmyYear10SocialStudiesteacher.AlsotoallmyteachersatBotanyDownsSecondaryCollege,SomervilleIntermediateSchool,andCockleBaySchoolbutespeciallyMarie-LaureKillip,JaneWilliams-Hill,CarlGreenstreet,JasmineandMarkJohnson,youmightnotreadthesewordsbutIwouldnotbethestudentIamtodaywithoutyourbeliefinme,ifyoudidnotbelieveinmeyoudidagoodjobofhidingit.ToTroy,Emily,Michael,Amelia,Lizzieandallmyclassmates,thanksforyourfriendshipandmakingthebesteducationalexperienceofmylifesofar.AspecialthankstoPatrickforalwaysbeingthere(withPayWave).Tomyparentsforeverything,forallowingmetoprioritisemystudiesandlettingmespongeatriptoThailandoffyou.ThankstoAdamandKeleforgettingmarriedinThailand.ToNicola,forbeingmynumberonerolemodel.ToJonny,fortheplaylistthatkeptmesanewhilewriting.ToLawrence,sorryforcryingaboutSeanSpicerresigninginfrontofyou.Finally,tomybestfriendErin,thankyouforalwaysreadingovermywork,findingaboyfriendwholovesmyguacamoleanddrivingmearoundalot.

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TableofContents

Abstract............................................................................................................................2

AttestationofAuthorship..................................................................................................4

Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................5

ListofTables.....................................................................................................................7

1. Thesisbackground.....................................................................................................81.2Researchapproach...............................................................................................................91.3ThesisStructure..................................................................................................................10

2. LiteratureReview....................................................................................................132.1 TheCandidateDonaldTrump’sRelationshipwiththeMedia.......................................14................................................................................................................................................142.2TheWhiteHousePressBriefings.........................................................................................142.3TheRoleoftheUnitedStatesPressSecretary.....................................................................162.4WhatistheWhiteHousePressCorps.................................................................................192.5Political/JournalistSourceRelations...................................................................................212.6TheNotionofSpin..............................................................................................................232.7NewsValues.......................................................................................................................242.8TheMediatedPoliticalPublicSphere..................................................................................292.9PoliticalPerformance.........................................................................................................322.10Conclusion........................................................................................................................35

3. Methodology...........................................................................................................363.1 ContentAnalysis..........................................................................................................363.2DiscourseAnalysis..............................................................................................................383.3ResearchDesign.................................................................................................................413.4Conclusion..........................................................................................................................45

4. Tablesofcontentanalysisresults.............................................................................474.1Inferencesfromresults.......................................................................................................48

5. SeanSpicer’spoliticalperformance.........................................................................505.1TheoriesofPoliticalPerformance.......................................................................................51

5.1.1(Un)DisciplinedBodies........................................................................................................515.1.2Habitus................................................................................................................................54

5.2ThereisSpin,andthenthereisSpicer................................................................................575.3 HowSpicer’spoliticalperformanceinformsonthereportage......................................595.4Conclusion..........................................................................................................................61

6. PoliticalSourceRelations:SpicerandtheWhiteHousePresscorps.........................646.1TheRelationshipbetweenSeanSpicerandtheWhiteHousePresscorps?..........................656.2PolicyversusProcess:Aretheseinterrogativeexchangesadistraction?.............................696.3Ideologyexpressedthroughsourcequotesselection..........................................................72

6.3.1Theinitialpressbriefing.....................................................................................................726.3.2Pressbriefing#30(AprilRyanConfrontation)....................................................................766.3.3Pressbriefing#36(Assad/Hitlercomparison)....................................................................77

6.4HowdoesTheWhiteHousePresscorpsaffecttheAmericanPublicSphere?......................816.5Conclusion..........................................................................................................................84

7.PoliticalJournalismandNewsValuesvis-á-visSpicer’srelationshiptotheWhiteHousePresscorps......................................................................................................................87

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7.1ConventionsofPoliticalJournalism....................................................................................887.2NewsValuesintheTwenty-FirstCentury............................................................................90

7.2.1WhataretheupdatedNewsValues?.................................................................................907.2.2InitialPressBriefingNewsValues.......................................................................................937.2.3PressBriefing#30NewsValues..........................................................................................967.2.4PressBriefing#36NewsValues..........................................................................................997.2.5Comparisonsbetweenmediaorganisations....................................................................103

7.3Conclusion........................................................................................................................104

8. Conclusion.............................................................................................................1068.1SummaryofFindings........................................................................................................1078.2Significanceofresearch....................................................................................................1118.3Limitationsandfurtherresearch.......................................................................................114

References:...................................................................................................................116

AppendixA:InitialPressBriefingSampleArticles..........................................................121

AppendixB:PressBriefing#30SampleArticles.............................................................124

AppendixC:PressBriefing#36......................................................................................126

AppendixD:PressBriefingTranscripts..........................................................................129

AppendixE:InitialPressBriefingContentAnalysisCoding.............................................130

AppendixF:PressBriefing#30ContentAnalysisCoding................................................131

AppendixG:PressBriefing#36ContentAnalysis...........................................................132

ListofTables

Table 1: News Media Organisations in the sample ................................................................. 42Table 2: Outlets by ideologies ................................................................................................. 45Table 3: Intial Press Briefing Results ...................................................................................... 47Table 4: Press Briefing #30 (April Ryan) Results ................................................................... 47Table 5: Press Briefing #36 (Assad/Hitler) Results ................................................................. 47Table 6: Total Sample Results ................................................................................................. 48Table 7: Coded Results of Initial Press Briefing ................................................................... 130Table 8: Coded results of Press Briefing #30 ........................................................................ 131Table 9: Coded results of Press Briefing #36 ........................................................................ 132

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1. Thesisbackground

ThisthesisseekstoanalysetherelationshipbetweenPresidentTrump’sfirstpress

secretary,SeanSpicerandtheWhiteHousepresscorpsandhowtherelationshipwas

manifestedinthereportage.InanopinionpiecepublishedinPRWeek,formerpress

secretarytoPresidentClinton,MikeMcCurry(2009)asserted‘Pressbriefingsaretheraw

ingredientsofnewsstories,not“thenews”.’ThisthesisseekstoexplainhowPress

secretarySeanSpicerandhisbriefingsbecamethenews.

Thepressbriefingisthedailycommunicativeencounterwherethepresssecretary

addressestheWhiteHousepresscorpsintheJamesS.Bradypressbriefingroom.The

briefinghasbeentelevisedsince1995(McCurry,2009),withexceptionofaperiodduring

Spicer’stenurewhenmediacameraswerebannedfromrecordingduringthepress

briefings.ThepurposeofthebriefingistoformallydisseminateofficialWhiteHouse

responsestoeventsandprovideexplanationsonbehalfofthePresidentandtheirstaffon

policyissues(Kumar,2001).

ThepresidentialpresssecretaryactsassurrogatetothePresident.Thepositionhasbeenin

existencesince1929whenGeorgeAkersonfirstheldthepositionofpresssecretaryinthe

Hooveradministration(Kumar,2001;Walcott&Hult,2008).Itisthetaskofthepress

secretarytosuccessfullymanagearelationshipwiththePresidentandarelationshipwith

theWhiteHousepresscorps(Martinelli&Mucciarone,2007).Towle(1997)statesthatto

besuccessful,apresssecretarymusthaveahealthyworkingrelationshipwithboth.

MartinelliandMucciarone(2007)notethatpresssecretaryStephenEarlymetwith

PresidentFranklinDelanoRooseveltandhiswifeEleanorasmuchashemetwiththepress.

ItisbelievedthatEarlywasoneofthemostsuccessfulinthisposition(Martinelli&

Mucciarone,2007).Thereisalotofpressureonthepresssecretarytobeasuccessintheir

positionasformerpresssecretaryMikeMcCurryasserted(ascitedinKumar,2001)“a

successfulcommunicationstrategyistheonlyoneaspecttoasuccessfulpresidency.”

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BeforePresidentTrumptookoffice,itwassaidthattheWhiteHousepresscorpswasthe

president'sdailylinktothepublic(Kumar,2008).Thepresscorpscomprisesofjournalists

frommultiplemediaorganisationsthatareassignedtocovertheWhiteHousebeat.These

mediaorganisationsarenewspapers,magazines,broadcasttelevisionnetworks,radio

networks,cablenewschannels,andwireservices.TheWhiteHousepresscorpscoversnot

onlypressbriefingsbutotheractivitiesthathappenattheWhiteHouse.Theseother

activitiesincludepresidentialandjointpressconferences,newsreleasesanddiplomatic

activities(Sanders,2009).

1.2Researchapproach

Thisthesisseekstoansweranoverarchingquestion“HowdidSeanSpicerbecomethenews

subjectratherthanthenewsdeliverer?”

Theresearchsub-questionsthatthisthesiswillanswerare:

1) HowdoesSeanSpicer’spoliticalperformanceinpressbriefingsaffecthis

relationshipwiththeWhiteHousepresscorpsandtheirreportage?

2) Howdothemediaorganisations’ideologicalbiasesaffectthereportageofSean

Spicer'spoliticalperformance?

3) Howdonewsvaluesandconventionsofpoliticaljournalisminfluencethenatureof

thereportageaboutSeanSpicerandhispressbriefing?

Thisthesiswillseektoanswerthesequestionsusingamixedmethodsapproachtocontent

analysisandjournalismdiscourseanalysis.Thesemethodshavebeenselectedtoproduce

datathatisbothquantitativeandqualitative.Theanalysesofthisthesiswillbedrawnfrom

acontentanalysissamplefrom30mediaorganisationsthatbelongtotheWhiteHouse

presscorps.Fromthese30mediaorganisations,threearticleswerecollectedtorepresent

themediaoutletsfromacrossthreecasestudies.Forthediscourseanalysissample,sixof

themostwell-knownandinfluentialmediaorganisationswerechosenfromthecontent

analysissample.Anewspaperandacablenewsstationwereeachchosentorepresentthe

liberalandconservativeideologies,aswellastwonon-biasednewswireservices.

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Thetheoriesthatwillbeusedinthisthesis’analysisincludetheoriesofpolitical

performance(Craig,2016),Bourdieu’s(2002)habitusanddisciplinedbodies,Galtungand

Ruge’s(1965)andHarcupandO’Neill’s(2016)newsvalues,thenotionofspin(Downes,

1998;McNair,2000;Craig,2013),andthepublicsphereandtheidealsofthefirst

amendment(Habermas,1989;McNair,2000;Bennett&Entman,2001;Herman&Chomsky,

2002).

1.3ThesisStructure

Thisthesiscontainseightchaptersthatseektoconstructanarrativethatanswersthethesis'

researchquestions.Thisintroductorychapterhasprovidedtheresearchquestionandthe

backgroundcontextoftheissuesconcerningtheresearchquestionsandintroducethe

methodsandtheoriesthatthisthesiswillutilisefortheanalyses.Thischapterwillnow

outlinethecontentsoftheproceedingchapters.

Thenextchapter,chaptertwo,willbealiteraturereviewthatshallreviewtheexisting

literaturesurroundingthistopictocontextualisetheresearchquestionandthecore

conceptsthatwillbeusedfortheanalyses.Theseconceptsandthecriticaltheoristsare

statedabove.Byscrutinisingkeyliterature,theanalysesthatproceedwillbewell-informed

andjustified.

Chapterthreewillthenpresentthetheoreticalframeworkandresearchdesignofthis

thesis.First,thechapterwillexplaincontentanalysis,andhowthecontentanalysisofthis

thesiswillbe‘problem-driven'.Krippendorff(2004,p.xvii)definescontentanalysisas

"analysisofthemanifestationandlatentcontentofabodyofcommunicatedmaterials(asa

bookorafilm)throughclassification,tabulation,evaluationofitskeysymbolsandthemes

toascertainitsmeaningaboutprobableeffect."Thechapterwillalsoexplainhowthe

researcherwillattempttocombatsamplingbiasbyensuringthesampledmedia

organisationsliearoundthepoliticalspectrum.Secondly,thethirdchapterwillexplain

criticaldiscourseanalysisandwhythisparticulartypeofdiscourseanalysishasbeen

selected.WodakandMeyers(2001)conciselydefinecriticaldiscourseanalysisas‘language

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associalpractice’.Discourseanalysesareusedincommunications,internationalrelations,

anthropology,socialwork,linguistics,andbiblicalstudies.Eachacademicareahasunique

setsofnormsthataccompanyit(Jørgensen&Phillips,2002).Thisthesishastaken

inspirationfromFairclough’s(2010)criticaldiscourseanalysiswhichhasbeeninfluencedby

FoucauldianDiscourseAnalysis.Thirdly,chapterthreewilloutlinetheresearchdesignof

thisthesis,listingthemediaorganisationsthatarerepresentedinthecontentanalysis

sampleandthecriticaldiscourseanalyses,highlightthecasestudiesthatwillbeanalysed

andthenexplainstepsthatwillbetakentocompletetheanalyses.Followingthis,chapter

fourwillprovidetablesandanexplanationofthefindingsfromthecontentanalysis.

ChapterfivewillthenanalyseSpicer’spoliticalperformancethroughthetheoriesof

disciplinedbodiesandhabitus.AccordingtoCraig(2016,p.75)"Successfulcommunication

doesnotderivenecessarilyfromthedemonstrationofpoliticaltruthsbutfromthe

presentationofahabitusthatfusespoliticalauthoritywithperformativestyle:politicians

mustconveytheirknowledgeandexpertiseaswellasanappealingandengaging

personality.”Thischapterwillarguethatthisstatementextendstopoliticians’surrogates

suchasSeanSpicer.ThechapterwillthenexplainhowSpicer'spoorpracticeofspin

affectedhispoliticalperformanceandcredibilityaspresssecretaryonhisfirstdayand

comparesSpicertoPresidentNixon'spresssecretary,RobertLouisZiegler.Finally,chapter

fourwilldiscusshowpoliticalperformanceandspininformedonthereportage.

Buildinguponthis,chaptersixwillthenanalysehowtheideologiesofthemedia

organisationsaffecttheirrelationshipwithSeanSpicerandtheirreportage.ChapterFivewill

firstestablishthecontextoftherelationshipbetweenSpicerandthepresscorps.Then,the

chapterwillseektodistinguishbetweenpoliticalpolicyarticlesandpoliticalprocessarticles,

indoingthis,thechapterwillalsoanalysethepressbriefingtranscriptstodiscusstheevents

ofthepressbriefingsthatwerenottalkedaboutinthecasestudyarticles,suchasthe

DakotaAccessPipeline.Thechapterwillconductacriticaldiscourseanalysisonthethird

partysourcequotesaboutSpicer’spoliticalperformancetodeciphertheirideologyand

stanceonSpicer.Thisanalysiswillbeconductedacrossthethreecasestudiesuponthe

articlesfromTheNewYorkTimes,TheWallStreetJournal,CNN,FoxNews,TheAssociated

PressandReuters.Finally,thechapterwillevaluatehowthepresscorpsaffectsthepublic

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sphere,andhowHermanandChomsky's(2002)propagandamodelcouldbeappliedtotheir

reportage.

Theseventhchapterconcernstheconventionsofpoliticaljournalismandnewsvaluesand

howtheyimpactontherelationshipbetweenSeanSpicerandtheWhiteHousePresscorps.

AccordingtoSanders(2009),politicaljournalismisbothapracticeandanepistemologythat

hasitsfoundationsin‘thepublic'srighttoknow'.Thechapterwillalsoevaluatethemany

rolesthatapoliticaljournalisttakesonintheirjobandoutlinesthechallengesthatpolitical

journalistsface(Kuhn&Neveu,2002).Chaptersixwillthenmoveontoexplainingthe

originalsetofnewsvaluesbyGaltungandRuge(1965)andHarcupandO’Neill’s(2016)

updatedset.ThechapterwillthenseeHarcupandO'Neill'snewsvaluesappliedtothefirst

threeparagraphsandthefirstsourcequotefromthediscourseanalysisarticles.Thecritical

discourseanalysiswillbeperformedacrossarticlesfromthethreeaforementionedcase

studies.

Finally,chaptereightwillconcludethisthesis.Thefirstsectionofthechapterwillsynthesise

thethesis’findingsandexplainhowthechaptersworktogethertoevaluatetherelationship

betweenSeanSpicerandtheWhiteHousepresscorps,aswellashowthisrelationship

affectsthepoliticalreportingofthepressbriefings.Thechapterwillthendiscussthe

significanceoftheresearch,arguingthatthepressbriefingisafundamentalcommunication

tooltoensureanup-to-date,healthymediatedpublicsphere.Thechapterwillalso

hypothesiseabouthowDonaldTrump’s‘runningwar’withthemediacouldaffectfuture

presssecretariesinfutureadministrations.Toconcludethethesis,chaptereightwillthen

discussthelimitationsoftheresearchaswellassuggesthowtheresearchcouldbe

furtheredinthefuture.

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2. LiteratureReview

Thischapterwilladdressandevaluatekeyscholarshipthathasalreadybeenconducted

aroundthetheoreticalareasofthisthesis.First,therelationshipbetweenDonaldTrump

andtheMediaduringtheelectioncampaign(Pickard,2016;Francia,2017),inaneffortto

supplythisthesiswithahistoricalgrounding.Then,IwillidentifyandanalysetheWhite

HousePressBriefing,thedailyeventwheretheinteractionsthatthisthesisisanalysing

occurs.TheWhiteHousePressBriefingisaformaleventthatisauniquefunctionofthe

AmericanPresidency(Craig,2016;Kumar,2003).Next,thisliteraturereviewwillexplainthe

roleoftheUnitedStatesPressSecretary,thepersonwhoisinchargeofconductingthe

pressbriefing.TheWhiteHousePressSecretaryactsasasurrogatetothePresidentofthe

UnitedStatesandmakesastatementtotheWhiteHousepresscorpsonthePresident’s

behalfregardingpolicyorworldevents,andthenproceedstotakequestions(Towle,1997;

Downes,1998;Kumar,2008).Thirdly,thisliteraturereviewwillexplorethehistoryand

purposeoftheWhiteHousePressCorp,aswellashowajournalistbecomesamemberof

thisspecialclassofreporters.Then,theliteraturereviewwillexplorepoliticalsource/

journalistrelations;inthiscontext,thepoliticalsourceistheWhiteHousePressSecretary,

SeanSpicer.Fifth,theliteraturereviewwillexaminethenotionofspininpolitical

communication.Followingthis,theliteraturereviewwillexplorethejournalistictheoriesof

newsvalues,theFourthEstateandtheidealsoftheUnitedStatesFirstAmendment.Finally,

thischapterwillexplorethetheoriesbehindpoliticalperformancesuchashabitusand

embodimentwiththeworksofMcNair(2000),Sanders(2009),andCraig(2016).

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2.1 TheCandidateDonaldTrump’sRelationshipwiththeMedia

BeforeDonaldTrumpenteredhimselfasacandidatefortheUSPresident,hewasbest

knownasahotelierandrealitytelevisionshow.Francia(2017)describesTrump’srealityTV

personaas‘fieryandbombastic’.Interestingly,Spicerwasalsoreferredtoas‘fiery’and

‘bombastic’bymultiplemediaoutletsacrossthepoliticalspectrumincludingTheNewYork

TimesandFoxNews.Duringhiscampaign,Trumpverballyabusedreportersathiscampaign

events,openlyfeudingwithjournalistsandcommentatorswhodidnottakehiscandidacy

seriously(Pickard,2016).AfterTrumpannouncedhisintentionstorunforpresidentin2015,

onecommentatordeclared“DonaldTrumpisn’treallyrunningforpresident;he’srunningto

makemoremoneyandenhanceabrandthat’sbiggerthanhisreal-estateholdingsandgolf

courses”,anotherwentasfartoclaimthatTrumpwassimply“theguynursinghissixthbeer

inthebar”(Francia,2017).Trumptreatedanynegativecommentsabouthimselfandhis

campaignas‘fakenews’rejectingtheircapacitytomaketruthclaims.Furthermore,Trump

chosetobypassjournalistsbycommunicatingwiththeAmericanpublicviasocialnetwork

Twitter,whereheannouncedthatwhenhebecamepresidenthewouldchangelibellaws

(Pickard,2016).

AlthoughTrumpdidnotcooperatewithjournalistsinthetypicalwayofacandidate,Pickard

(2016)claimsthatTrumpreceived327minutesofnightlybroadcastnetworknews

coverage.ThisisfargreaterthanHillaryRodhamClinton’s121minutesofnightlybroadcast

networknewscoverageandmakesSander’s20minutesseemlikesparechange.Trumpalso

becameafrequentfigureoncablenewsmedia,thecablenewsmediaarerating-drivenand

Trumphelpedtheseorganisationsbringin$2.5Billion(Pickard,2016;Francia,2017).This

significantamountofnewscoverage,helpedTrumptostayinthepubliceye.Pickard(2016)

believesthatthis‘breathlesscoverage’ofTrump’scampaignresultedinhisfascisticpolitics

thatneverwarrantedsuchlegitimacy.

2.2TheWhiteHousePressBriefings

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InAmericanpoliticalcommunication,thedailypresidentialpressbriefingisacrucial

componentinsettingthepoliticaljournalismagenda.ThepressbriefingandtheWhite

HousepresscorpsisconsideredthePresident'sregularlinktothepublic(Kumar,2008).Itis

becauseofthisreasonthatthepressbriefingisacrucialtopicofunderstandinginthisstudy

whendiscussingtheramificationsonthepublicsphere.Pressbriefingsoftentakeplacein

theJamesS.Bradybriefingroom,locatedintheWestWingoftheWhiteHouse(Schubert,

2012).UnlikepressconferenceswhichCraig(2016)assertsarenewsworthyeventsin

themselvesduetotheelitepersonpresentingthem,pressbriefingsarenotusually

newsworthyinofthemselvesbecausethepresssecretarypresentsthem,ratherthanthe

president.Kumar(2001,p.616)describesthepresssecretarybeingused'aplenty'to

communicateinformation.FormerpresssecretarytoPresidentClinton,MikeMcCurry

(2009)agreeswiththissentiment,assertinginanopinionpieceforPRWeek"pressbriefings

aretherawingredients,theyarenot'thenews."AccordingtoCraig(2016,p.98),"thepress

secretarywillmeetwithjournalistsandprovidedetailsofthepresident'sscheduleforthe

dayandwhomthepresidenthasseen,andtheyalsospeakfortheadministrationon

currentnewsworthyissues.”Usually,theseteleviseddailypressbriefingsareinthe

afternoon(Kumar,2003).Ofteninthemorning,therewillbea'pressgaggle'.Theseare

informalgatheringswherethepresssecretaryrelaysthePresident'sthoughtsonovernight

events(Kumar,2001).Journalistssometimesconcealtheidentityofthepresssecretaryasa

sourceandrefertothemasaWhiteHouseofficialorasenioradministrationofficial.

AlanPartington(2003)statesthatinthepressbriefingthepresssecretaryactsasa'spin-

doctor'whofacesthe'wolf-pack'ofthepresscorps.Schubert(2012)elaboratesinthis

statingthatjournalistsoftenworktogetherbyfollowing-uponfellowpresscorpsmembers’

questionstoclarifyanswersgivenbythepresssecretaryandpressurethepresssecretary

intoansweringquestionstheymaybetryingtoavoid.Thepressbriefingisconsidereda

dialogicalcommunicativeencounter(Schubert,2012;Craig,2016).However,SeanSpicer's

behaviourduringthepressbriefingwasanattempttoconvertthepressbriefingintoa

monologicalcommunicativeencounter.

Inthepressbriefing,thepresssecretarytakesoncomponentsofboththeinterviewerand

theintervieweeroles(Schubert,2012).Thepresssecretaryisinchargeoftheproceedings.

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Theysetthemainagendaforthepressbriefing,liketheinterviewer.However,itistheir

tasktoanswerquestionssetforthbythepresscorps.Whenitcomestoquestion-timeand

follow-upquestions,thepresssecretarylosessomecontroloverthepressbriefing.

AccordingtoSchubert(2012,p.454),itisduringquestiontimeandthefollow-upquestions

thatthedifferencesindiscourseemerge.Itisessentialforthepresssecretarynotto

contradictthemselvesorthePresidentduringthepressbriefing.Iftheydoso,theyrisk

damagingtheircredibility.

2.3TheRoleoftheUnitedStatesPressSecretary

Downes(1998,p.264)definesapresssecretary’sroleasa‘gatekeeper’.Thisisbecausea

presssecretarymustdeterminewhatinformationissharedwiththemediaandwhat

informationiswithheld,theyhavecommandovernewssharedwiththepublicthroughthe

instructionofthePresident.Agendasubsidiesliteraturesuggeststhatitisthepress

secretary/‘informationsubsidisers'jobtosuccessfullysubsidisethemediawithinformation

onpoliciesandthepolitician'sdailyschedules,sothereiscontenttobeprintedor

broadcasted(Downes,1998,p.266).Downes'articleinvestigateshowtheroleofthepress

secretaryalignswithJ.E.Grunig'sExcellenceStudy.Whetherthepresssecretaryisapartof

thedominantcoalition(presentwhendecisionsaremade),Towle's(1997)articlesuggests

thatthisisdependentontherelationshipbetweenPressSecretaryandthePresidentand

willbediscussedindepthlaterinthischapter.

Intheopeningofhisarticle,Towle(1997)remarksthatafterPresidentEisenhowersuffered

fromaheartattack,PressSecretaryJamesC.Hagertyhandledthepressbriefinginsuchan

ablemannerthatNewsweekconductedaprofileonthepresssecretary.In1957,thiswas

outoftheordinary,theroleofthepresssecretaryhaslongbeenthoughtofasobscure,and

PresidentKennedy'sPressSecretaryPierreSalingerevenclaimedthat‘presssecretaries

werenotimportantpeople'(Towle,1997,p.301).Therewasrelativelylittleacademic

researchbeforeTowle's(1997)aboutthepresssecretaryrole.Thiscouldbebecausethere

isnotonestandardtomeasurethesuccessofapresssecretary,duetothefactthat

presidentsandthepressmayhavedifferentideasofhowapresssecretaryconduct

17

themselves.Towle(1997)believesthatameasureofsuccesscouldbehowapresssecretary

balancesthesetwosetsofexpectations,despitesomemutuallyexclusivepossibilities.This

study(Towle,1997)evaluatestheninepresssecretaries'performancesthatservedinthe

Eisenhower,Kennedy,Johnson,Nixon,FordandCarteradministrations.Thepressoffice

becameinstitutionalisedintheEisenhowerAdministration.

Towle(1997)identifiesfourfactorsthatimpactwhetherapresidentialpresssecretaryis

successfulintheirperformance.Firstly,isthepresssecretaryseenasanessentialaide,who

isrespectedbythePresident.IsthePressSecretaryan‘insider'oran‘outsider'?Hagerty

wasaninsider,hewasoneofthepeopletohaveadirecttelephonelinetothePresident

andspenttimeattheWhiteHousesocially.Towle(1997)statesthatreportersareintune

withthestatusofthepresssecretary.Towle(1997,p.298)quotesalong-timeWhiteHouse

correspondentinsaying:

FasterthanEinstein'slightwavesistheWhiteHousepresscorpswhenitcomesto

knowinghowapresssecretarystandswithapresident.Thereporterscansensethe

natureoftherelationshipimmediately,anditgovernstheirdealingswiththeman

onthepodium.

Toassessthesuccessofapresssecretaryonemustaskifthepresidentsvaluetheircounsel

onnotjustcommunicationmattersbutalsopolicy.Thesecondfactorishowthepresident

allowsthepresssecretarytodisseminateinformation.Presidentsmaybestrictonwhata

presssecretarycandivulge;othersmayallowthepresssecretarytoelaborateandinterpret

thepresident'sthoughts.Apresssecretarythatdoesnothavethefreedomtoelaboratecan

bereferredtoasa‘mouthpiece'whereasonethathaselaborativefreedomcanbereferred

toasa‘representative'.HagertyactedasarepresentativetoPresidentEisenhower,andthe

presswereforcedtorelyonHagertyasEisenhoweronlygaveapressconferenceeveryfew

weeks(Towle,1997).Therepresentativestyleofpresssecretarygivesreportersmore

insightstoworkintotheirarticles.However,thereisahigherchancethatthepresidentmay

bemisrepresented.Thethirdfactorisdoesthepresidentrespectthepresssecretaryor

doesthepresident'sactionssuggestthatthePressSecretarydoesnothavethe

administration'sconfidencecompletely.JamesHagertyhadEisenhower'sfullconfidence,

accordingtoTowle(1997,p.299)whenEisenhowersufferedhisheartattackheinstructed

anaideto"TellJim(Hagerty)totakeover."Moreover,transcriptsofEisenhower'spress

18

conferencesrepeatedlyhavephrasessuchas‘MrHagertyconferswiththePresident'

(Towle,1997).Lastly,thedegreeofrespectthatPressSecretariescommandfromthepress

isanimportantsignofsuccess.Theselasttwofactorsareconnected,andTowle(1997)

suggeststhatthepressrespectedHagertybecauseoftherespectthePresidenthadforhim.

Thepressaffectionatelycalledhim‘IronManHagerty'andisreportedlythestandardthat

pressjudgesapresssecretary.

ThereisahistoricalmodeloffailureinthePressSecretaryperformanceofGeorgeReedy,

Towle(1997)toReedyasamouthpieceforaclose-lippedadministration.Reedyservedas

PressSecretarytoLyndonB.Johnson.Johnsonwashesitantanddistrustingtowardsthe

press,preferringtoannouncesignificantnewsdevelopmentshimself.Thepresswas

irritatedbythelackofinformationtheycouldgainfromReedyandbelievedthatJohnson

wastoodomineeringoverhim.ReedywasanoutsiderintheJohnsonadministration,and

heclaimedhewas‘cutout'whenhetoldJohnsonthatVietnamwouldbeadisaster(Towle,

1997,p.304).Johnson'sfeelingstowardsReedywereseentobeobviousandmeantthat

thepressdidnothavetorespectReedy.Towle(1997)notedthatReedywasa‘No

Comment'presssecretaryandthathisjobwastobeadartboardforangryandirritable

presscorps.ItcouldbesaidthatSpicer'spresssecretaryperformancecouldbecomparable

toReedy's.

Towle(1997)alsoprovidesfascinatinginsightsintootherpresssecretaries,suchasNixon's

presssecretary,RobertZiegler,whosereputationforobfuscationresultedintheWhite

Housepresscorpscoiningtheverb"toziegle"whichmeanstogiveananswertothe

questionwithoutactuallyhavingtoanswerthequestion.Zieglerwasthepresssecretary

duringtheWatergateScandal.AftermonthsofdenyingWhiteHouseinvolvementinthe

Watergatescandal,Zieglerdescribedhispreviousstatementsas"inoperative"onApril17,

1973.ThisdestroyedhisrelationshipwiththepresscorpsandtheDeputyPressSecretary

GeraldWarrenhadtoberesponsibleforbriefingduties.Despitethis,Zieglerwastheonly

remainingpre-WatergatemembertostayonNixon'sstaffandwaspromotedtobe

responsibleforallcommunicationsactivitiesovertheexecutivebranch.Althoughpastpress

secretarieshavehadnewsarticlescriticisingtheirperformance(Towle,1997),Spiceristhe

firstpresssecretarytobecomeregularlyfeaturedintheheadlineofthemainstreammedia.

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2.4WhatistheWhiteHousePressCorps

TheWhiteHousePressCorpsisagroupofjournalistsfromvariousmediaorganisationsthat

areassignedtothestructuredWhiteHousebeat.Thisbeatwasfoundedin1896,withthree

reportersWilliamW.Price,RichardHazardandCharlesRichardsonoftheWashington

EveningStarandtheNewYorkHeraldrespectively.Thesethreeestablishedanofficeinthe

WhiteHouse’sEastWingandreportedonmorselsofinformationhandedtothembyWhite

Housestaff.TheWhiteHousepresscorpscovereventsthathappenintheWhiteHouse

suchasbriefings,pressconferences,newsreleasesanddiplomaticactivities(Sanders,

2009).ThegrowthoftheWhiteHousepresscorpsreflectsthechangeincommunications

technologies.Overtime,wireservices,radionetworks,televisionstationsandcablenews

organisationshavebeenincludedinthepresscorp.Despitethethreatofnewsroom

convergenceandthedisappearanceoftheeveningnewspaper,theWhiteHousebeatisstill

regardedasacriticalpartofthenewshierarchy.

Unlikeotherbeats,theWhiteHousebeatcombinesfocusonthePresidentasachief

executiveandapolicymaker,aswellasthestaffintheWhiteHousethatservehim(suchas

thePressSecretary).BeforeTwitterbecamepopularandDonaldJ.Trumptookoffice,the

WhiteHousePressCorpswasthepresident’slinktothepublic(Kumar,2008).The

informationcouldbedeliveredbythePresidenthimselforviasurrogatessuchasthe

PresidentialPressSecretary.ThereisasourceoftensionbetweenthePressSecretaryand

thePressCorpasgettingtheinformationtheyseekversustheinformationthattheWhite

Housewantsthemtohaveisattheheartoftheirjob.Kumar(2008)saysthatoriginalstories

andexclusivesdonotcomefromtheWhiteHousebutotheroutsidesources.Another

reasonwhytheWhiteHousebeatisconsideredthehardestisbecauseofthebreadthof

topicsonehastocover.AsthePresidentistheChiefExecutive,hehasauthorityindecisions

madebyallgovernmentdepartments.Kumar(2008,p.677)quotesTerryHunt,senior

WhiteHouseCorrespondentfortheAssociatedPress,insaying"youhavetobeamilewide

andaninchdeep,becausetherearesomanythingsyouhavetocover.Onedayyou're

20

dealingwiththeMiddleEast…ThisweekreportersaredealingwithLatinAmerica…and

thenthereisalwaysimmigration,economicsandtaxes."

AlthoughitmayappearontheoutsidethattheWhiteHousehastheupperhandon

controllingtheflowofinformationandthenewsagendabyselectingtheinformationthey

releasetojournalists,Kumar(2008)suggeststhatthisisnotthecaseasjournalistsmust

decideforthemselveswhatisnewsworthyandwhatissimply‘publicity’.Thiscouldbewhy

thebehaviourofSeanSpicertowardjournalistssooftenbecametheheadlineopposedto

thepoliciesorpoliticaleventsthathewassupposedtobediscussing.Whatisuniqueabout

theWhiteHousepresscorpsisthewaythemediaorganisationsworktogetherduetothe

demandofcoveringthePresidentwhereverhegoes(aroundtheUnitedStates,or

internationallyonstatevisits).IfthePresidentisgoingtoalocationwitharestrictionon

numbers,asmallselectionofthepresscorpscalledthe‘presspool'willtravelwiththe

Presidentandreportbacktotheothermembersonthenewsworthymomentsduringthe

event.ThePressPoolisdividedintofourcategoriesoforganisations:printmedia,wire

services,electronicmediaandphotojournalists.PoolsarealsocommonifthePresidentis

meetingwithaforeigndignitaryintheOvalOffice,theRooseveltortheCabinetroom,asall

threeoftheseroomscanonlyaccommodateafewdozenpeople(Kumar,2008).Wire

servicereportersfromtheAssociatedPress,ReutersandBloomberg,areallpresentinall

pools,asarewireservicephotographersfromtheAssociatedPress,ReutersandAgence

FrancePresse.

ItshouldbenotedthattherearefivepiecesofcriterionforjoiningtheWhiteHousePress

Corpasa‘hardpass’member(Kumar,2008):

1. ThereportermustworkforamediaorganisationwithaWashingtonbureau.

2. Thepersonmusthavealetterfromthebureauchiefdetailingwhytheyneedtobe

stationedattheWhiteHouse.

3. ThereportermustliveintheWashingtonarea.

4. ThereportermusthaveacredentialfromtheCongressionalPressGallery.

5. ThereportermustbewillingtogounderaSecretServiceBackgroundCheck.

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2.5Political/JournalistSourceRelations

Downes(1998)believesthattherelationshipbetweenthepressandpoliticians,suchasthe

President,canbedescribedasco-dependentorsymbiotic.AsSanders(2009)pointsout

journalisticstoriesarestructuredaroundclaimstofactsandtruthgiventojournalistsby

sources.Thepresssecretarymustbethesourceoffactsandtheliaisonbetweenthe

journalistsandthepresident.Withoutthepresssecretary,politicalnewsintheUnited

Stateswouldonlybegossipandrumour(Sanders,2009).

AccordingtoDavis(2003),publicrelationsor‘spin-doctors'havebecomeanimportantpart

ofthereportingprocessduetothesignificantcutbacksofjournalists'newsgathering

resources.Thisargumentismadeacrosspublicrelationsliterature(Shallot&Johnson,2006;

Macnamara,2014).Aconcerncriticshaveisthatresource-richentitiessuchasgovernments

andmultinationalcorporationsnowhavemorecontrolandinfluenceoverthenews

producers.AlthoughDavis'(2003)bookchapter"PublicRelationsandNewsSources"in

News,PublicRelationsandPowerfocusesonBritishPublicRelationsandtheriseofthe

industry,thenotionsthatDavis(2003)discussescanbeappliedtoallpromotionalsocieties

suchastheUnitedStatesofAmerica.AccordingtoDavis(2003),theriseofpublicrelations

intheUnitedKingdomrelatestotheriseofpoliticalpartiesandelectoralcommunications.

From1797-2001Davis(2003)citesthattheemploymentofInformationOfficersin

WhitehalldepartmentshaddoubledwiththehighestbeingintheHomeOfficewhichsawa

196percentincreaseinInformationOfficersemployed.Davis(2003)statesthatsincethis

risetherehasbeenamediafascinationwithspin-doctoringinWestminster,aswellasother

centralgovernmentinstitutionssuchastheWhiteHouse.Aroundthisera,therewasalsoa

riseinpublicrelationspractitionersinothersectorsofsociety.Forgovernments,public

institutionsandbusinessthereisastrongneedtoidentifyimportantpublics/consumer-

citizenstosellpolicies,productsandcompeteforresources.Therefore,thereisadifficulty

inidentifyingwhatpublicrelationsworkisandwhatis‘pure'journalismduetothe

journalists'dependenciesoninformationsubsidiessuchaspressreleases(Davis,2003,

p.31).Davis(2003)citesacademicssuchasHall(1978),whosuggestthatjournalistsare

attractedtousinginstitutionssuchasthegovernmentassourcestowritetheirstoriesas

usuallygovernmentsaresituatedatthetopofthehierarchyofcredibility.

22

However,onewouldarguethatthisisnotthecasewiththeTrumpadministration.Since

Spicer’sfirstpressbriefinghewasatoddswiththemediaasheclaimedtheDonaldJ.

Trump’spresidentialinaugurationhad‘thelargestcrowdtoeverwitnessaninauguration,

period(TheWhiteHouse,2017).Journaliststhatupholdnewsvaluesandfourthestate

idealswillcontestandattempttodiscreditpoliticalcommunicationsthattheybelieveare

nottrueanddamagingtodemocracy.

Thereisatensionbetweenpoliticians(aswellastheirstaff)andjournalistsinsettingthe

newsagenda.Akeyexampleof‘spin-doctors’performingnewsmanipulationismere

minutesaftertheWorldTradeCentrewasattackedinNewYorkonSeptember11,2001,

PressOfficerJoMooreemailedhercolleaguesinformingthem‘it’snowaverygooddayto

getoutanythingwewanttobury’(DailyTelegraph,10October2001,ascitedinFranklin,

2003).WhenMoore'semailwasleakedtothepress,itreceivednegativeattentionand

outragefrompoliticians,journalistsandthepublic.However,Franklin(2003)pointsoutthat

thisexerciseinnewsmanipulationwasnotnewin2001,andemphasisesthepackagingof

politics.Franklin(2003)arguesthatthepackagingofpoliticsrestsonjournalistsandtheir

politicalsourcerelations,andistypifiedbycollaborationratherthanconflict.Thisisdespite

the‘watchdog'idealsofjournalism,asbothjournalistsandpolitician/presssecretarieshave

intereststhatareaidedbytheotherparty.Politiciansrequiremediatoconveytheirpolitical

messagetothepublic,ormorestrategicallyto‘testthewaters'aroundthepublicopinion

oncontroversialpolicypossibilities,ifthepublichasanadversereaction,thepolicycanbe

dismissedasa‘merepressrumour'(Franklin,2003).Inturn,journalistsmustusepoliticians

assourcestowritecrediblepoliticaljournalism(Franklin,2003).Conflict,however,isstill

presentinpolitical/journalistsourcerelationsduetothedivergentperceptionsofthe

purposeforpoliticalcommunication.AccordingtoFranklin(2003),journalistsperceive

politicalcommunicationastheirdutytoinformthepublicofpoliticaleventsandpolicies.

However,politiciansseepoliticalcommunicationasameanstopersuadethepublicthat

theirpoliciesarewhatisbestforthecountry.Thuspoliticalcommunicationsarea

negotiationbetweenpolitician/presssecretariesandjournalists.

23

Asetofrulesguidestherelationshipbetweenapoliticalsourceandajournalist.Thereis

alsoanopportunityforconflictbetweenthetwopartiesifoneoftheserulesarebroken

(Franklin,2003).Situations,whererulesmaybebroken,includejournalistspublishingan

‘off-the-record'conversationorpoliticians/theirpresssecretaries‘leaking’informationfor

storiestorivaljournalists,refusesaninterviewordeniesastatementtheypreviouslymade

toajournalist.McNair(2002)suggeststhatthereasonwhypoliticalcommunicatorssuchas

presssecretariesandjournalistsmustfosteraworkingrelationshipisbecause‘politicsisthe

staplefoodforajournalist’swork.’Downes(1998)notesthatPressSecretariesoften

describetheirrelationshipwiththepressas‘confrontational’and‘antagonistic’.Inafocus

group,Downes(1998)saidthatthepresssecretariesbelievedthatthemediasawthemas

flacks,barriersandspindoctors.

2.6TheNotionofSpin

Sanders(2009,p.29)citestheOxfordEnglishDictionaryindefiningspinas“abiasorslanton

information,intendedtocreateafavourableimpressionwhenpresentedtothepublic;an

interpretationorviewpoint.”Inelaboration,Sanders(2009,p.30)adds“SpinDoctoringis

theantithesisoflettingthefactsspeakforthemselves.Itaimstomanageandshape

impressionsandperceptionsinawaymostfavourabletothecommunicator’scause.

Theterm‘spindoctor’emergedinthe1980sandspinisseenasashorthandfora

manipulative,sinister,andthreateningformofpoliticalpublicrelationswhichgoesfar

beyondtheoldermorerespectableworkofthepressofficerorpublicist(McNair,2002).Itis

spinthatKumar(2008)claimsmakestheWhiteHousebeatoneofthemostchallengingfor

journalistsasthepresssecretarymayoftenonlyreleaseinformationtothepresscorpsthat

isfavourabletotheadministrationandrefusetodiscloseinformationthatcouldleadto

scandal.Sanders(2009)arguesthatspinhasexistedsincepeoplehavebeeninterestedin

exercisingsocialinfluence.ThepresssecretariesinDownes(1998)studydidnotseespinas

abadorunethicalpractice.Theirviewofspinwaspresentingtheirpoliticianinthemost

favourablelight.Bytheendofthetwentiethcentury,spinwasequivalenttomessage

managementratherthanpolicysubstanceinpoliticalcommunication.Aperfectexampleof

this,accordingtoSanders(2009)wasBillClinton's1992PresidentialCampaignand

24

subsequentlythemessagingstyleofhisadministration.Clinton'spressteamcarefully

analysedthedailypollstoseewhatmessagesneededtobecommunicated.

Journalistsoftenbelievethatnewsmanagementdevelopedintoaprofessionalartinthe

latterpartofthetwentiethcentury,itisduringthisperiodthatMcNair(2002)claimsthat

publicrelationsbecameavisible(originalemphasis)elementintheprocessofpolitical

communication.Todefineanexacttimeofbirthiscontentious.Inreality,McNair(2002)

arguesthatthecommunicativepracticesthatareassociatedwithspinhaveexistedbefore

WorldWarII,citingthatpoliticalnewsmanagementwasanessentialfactorinthe‘red

scares'ofthe1920s.Furthermore,McNair(2002)statesthatpoliticalpublicrelationsand

‘spin'hasorganicallygrownalongsidetheevolutionofliberaldemocracy,haspublicopinion

playsinbothnotions.Inextendingthisargument,McNair(2002)notesthattheriseofspin

isareflectionontheexpandedinformationmarket,andtheincreasedneedforbreaking

newsstories,alongwithjournalistsneedtopresentuniqueanglesintheirstorytostay

profitablethuscanbedamaginginpublicityterms.Spinseekstoshutdownallmeanings

whicharenotpreferabletotheclient.

Thedemonisationofspinhasbeenbirthedfromthecompetitivejournalismenvironment,

asjournalistsnotonlyhavetocompetewitheachotherbutalsowithpoliticalpublic

relationsprofessionals(McNair,2002).Publicrelationsasacommunicationsdisciplineis

nowembeddedintotheinfrastructureofamass-mediateddemocracy.McNair(2002)

presentstheargumentthatlikecomputers,cablesandothercommunicativefunctions,

publicrelationsisnotanegativeinitself.Incontemporarysociety,citizenslivean

information-denseenvironment,andpublicrelationshelpjournalistsfindinformationfor

citizensfromofficialsources.Ideally,publicrelationsprofessionalswillfollowthecodeof

ethicsthataresetforthbypublicrelationsindustrybodiessuchasPublicRelationsSociety

ofAmerica(PRSA)orPublicRelationsInstituteofNewZealand(PRINZ).

2.7NewsValues

25

GaltungandRugeconductedtheirseminalstudyofnewsvaluesandhierarchyin1965.As

Langer(2003)noted,theirstudyfoundthatstoriessurroundingeliteindividuals,

corporationsandcountriesweremorelikelytobecomenewsstories.Itcanbearguedthat

SeanSpicercanbeclassedasaneliteindividualashistitleofPressSecretarytothe

PresidentoftheUnitedStates,hewasthespokespersonandsurrogateforthePresidentof

theUnitedStates,DonaldTrump.Trumpwasaninternationallywell-knownbusinessman

andrealitytelevisionshowTheApprenticehost.ByLanger’s(2003)classification,Trump

transitionedfromapowerlesselitetoapowerfulelite.Thiscouldhaveaffectedthemanner

inwhichSpicer’sactionsatthepressbriefingswerereportedratherthanthepolicy

discussedatthebriefing.IntotalGaltungandRuge’s(1965)studyfound12newsvalues

(fourofwhichadheretoaWesternculturalcontext).

Theeightnewsvaluescategoriestheycreatedwereasfollows:

1. Frequency-Thetimespanforaneventtounfoldandacquiremeaning.Themore

comparablethefrequencyoftheeventistothefrequencyofthenewsmedium,the

morelikelyitwillberecordedinthenewsmedia.

2. Threshold-Thereisathresholdthataneventmustpassbeforeitgetsrecordedin

thenews,forexample,themoreviolentthemurder,thebiggertheheadlines.

3. Unambiguity-Aneventwithclearinterpretationandisfreefromambiguitiesinits

meaningispreferredtostoriesthatarehighlyambiguous.

4. Ethnocentrism-Theeventmusthaveculturalproximitytothemediaconsumers

ownculture.Mediaaudiencesaremorelikelytopayattentiontothefamiliaror

culturallysimilar,andtheculturallydistantwillbepassedbymoreefficientlyandnot

benoticed.Itshouldbenotedthataculturallyremotecountrymaybeboughtinto

thenewsiftheyareinconflictwiththemediaorganisation'sculturalgroup.

5. Predictability-Apersonpredictsthatsomethingmighthappen,thiscreatesamental

matrixforeasyreceptionandregistration.Inthiscontext‘news’ismorelike‘olds’.

6. Unexpected-themoreunexpectedaneventiswithinmeaningfulculture,themore

likelyitistofeatureinthenewsagenda.

7. Continuity-Ifaneventhaspreviouslybeenclassedas‘news',itwillcontinueto

featureas‘news'.

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8. Composition-Whatothernewsstorieshavebeenselectedcanaffectifaneventis

featuredasnewsornot.

TherearefourfurthernewsvalueswhichGaltungandRuge(1965,p.68)saysolelyapplies

toaWesterncontext.

1. Ifaneventoccursinanelitenation,itismorelikelytobecomeanewsstory.

2. Themoreelitepeopleconcernedintheevent,themorelikelyitistobecomeanews

story.

3. Iftheeventcanelicitastrongsenseofidentificationamongstnewsconsumers,itis

morelikelytofeatureinthenews.

4. Themorenegativeaneventsconsequencesare,themorelikelyitwillappearasa

newsitem.

BennettandManheim(2001)notethatastherearemanynarrativesaboutpoliticalevents

thatnewsstoriesoftenreportthemoststraightforwardandmostdramaticthemesofa

politicalevent.AccordingtoHartley(1982),eventsarenotnewsmerelybecausethey

happen,theymustalsofitintothecontextoftheothernewsstories.Theseeventsneedto

beknownandcrediblesourcesthatarerepresentative,suchastheWhiteHousepress

secretary(Hartley,1982).Underwood(2001)highlightsthatscandalandsensationalcopy

haveinfiltratedthetraditionalmediaoutletsandontheinternet(asopposedtojustexisting

ongossip/entertainmentoutletssuchasPerezHilton.com).Underwood(2001,p.100)

suggeststhatthepublicsphereidealswhereintelligentdialogueaboutpubliclifecanbe

sustainedarebeingforgottenaslargemediaconglomeratestreatthenewsasa‘product'to

publiciseandmarkettheirotherbusinessinterests.Hesuggeststhatthisisthereasonwhy

lifestylearticlesabouthealth,dietingandpersonalfinancearepresentedinnewspapersas

marketresearchsuggeststhataudienceswanttobeinformedofmattersthat‘touchthem

personally’,ratherthanabstract,societalissuessuchasstoriesabout,localcounciland

nationalpoliticsaswellasstoriesaboutthecourts.Sanders(2009)goesasfarastoclaim

thatentertainmentvaluesnowoftensupersedeinformationalvalues.

Langer(2003)notesthathistoricallytheterm‘tabloid’wasinreferencetothesizeofa

newspaper.Atabloidishalfthesizeofabroadsheetallowingforbetterportabilityso

27

commuterscouldreadthenewsontheirjourneytoworkorontheirlunchbreak.Langer

(2003,p.135)alsoremarksthatthewordtabloidiscurrentlyusedinaderogatoryfashionto

refertonewsthatcanbeclassifiedas‘sensationalised’,‘extravagant’,‘over-dramatised’and

focusedalmostentirelytakingahumaninterestangleandfocusonpersonality.Therefore,

tabloidnewsisperceivedasnotbeing‘realjournalism’.Therepresentationofindividualsin

thetabloidnewsstorymustbescrutinisedalongwiththeinstitutionalpracticesand

assumptionsthatcreatemeaninginthestory.Langer(2003)citestelevisionnewscritics

suchasDiamond(1975),Esslin(1982),Bennett(1988)aswellasPostmanandPowers

(1992)whoproposethattelevisionnewshasdiscardedthevaluesofprofessionaljournalism

inordertoindulgeinthepresentationofgratuitousspectacles.Langer(2003)arguesthat

televisionnews’orientationandstrategyproduceswhatisoftenseenasirrelevantnew,

suggestingthatoftenimportantstoriesarepassedoverinfavourofstoriesthatpertain

moreexcitingvisualsorvisualhighlights.

Controversyisincreasinglybecomingavitalnewsvalue,violentcrime,andcelebritynews

hasbecomeastandardfeatureoftelevisionandothertraditionalmedianews.Langer

(2003,p.137)referstothisasan"unwarrantedpreoccupationwithdrama".Underwood

(2001)suggeststhattraditionalgovernmentcoverageandareportingstylethatcoverswhat

wassaidatmeetingshavebeenreplacedwithstoriesthatarequicktounderstandand

excitingfortheaveragenewsconsumer.Incontrast,DelliCarpiniandWilliams(2001)

believethatpoliticalcommunicationresearchersdownplaytheimportancethatpopular

cultureentertainmentmediahasonpublicopinion.Theyarguethatpoliticsislargelya

mediatedexperience,politicalassumptionsandbeliefshaveafoundationonculturalvalues,

andpoliticalattitudesandactionsareinterpretedthroughthelensesofcultural

assumptionsandsharedculturalsources.Thewallbetweenentertainmentmediaand

politicalnewshaserodedasaresultofthechangesinmediacommunicationtechnology

andtheeconomyinthemassmedia(DelliCarpini&Williams,2001).Thechangedmedia

environmentnowcallsintoquestiontheauthorityofjournalists,publicofficialsandother

politicalgatekeepers,whoareincreasinglychallengedbyotherproducersofpoliticaland

socialmeaning.DelliCarpiniandWilliams(2001)suggestthattheClinton-LewinskyScandal

thatcametolightin1998isakeyexampleofthiserosionbetweenpoliticaland

entertainmentnews.DelliCarpiniandWilliams(2001)notethatin1998whenwatching

28

morningtelevisionorlisteningtotheradio,allchannelsandstationsclassedasnewsor

entertainmentwerediscussingtheClinton-LewinskyScandal.Thedownsizingofmedia

institutionsforeconomicgainhasmeantthatitisincreasinglydifficultforjournalismto

performitspublicgoodfunctionwiththesamedegreeofcareasitcouldinthepast

century,asrevenuebecomesthemaingoal,thewallbetweenwhatisnewsandwhatis

entertainmenterodesfurther.DelliCarpiniandWilliams(2001,p.178)closetheirargument

bysuggestingthatnationalUnitedStatespoliticshad"beenreducedtoasometimes

amusing,sometimesmelodramatic,butseldomrelevantspectatorsport."

Hartley(1982)notesthatnewsvaluesisnotsimplyalistofcriteria,newsvaluesarenot

naturalnoraretheyneutral.Hartley(1982)arguesthatnewsvaluesareanideologicalcode,

suggestingthatnewsvaluesarefundamentallysexist.Hartley(1982,p.80)quotesjournalist

AnnaCooteinsaying“these[newsvalues]havebeendeveloped,ofcoursebywhite,

middle-classmen,generationupongenerationofthem,formingopinions,imposingthem,

learningthem,passingthemonasHolyWrit.”

Inthenewshierarchybeatsthatareconsideredthemostprestigiousareasfollows:

1. Theeconomy

2. Industry

3. Politics

4. ForeignAffairs

Thesebeatsareconsidered‘hardnews',whicharecommonlydeemedtobebasedupon

facts,‘softnews'incontrast,arebasedupondescription,individualexperience,andnuance.

Thesetypesofstoriesarecommonlyreferredtoas‘humanintereststories'(Hartley,1982,

p.81).Hartley(1982)alsosuggeststhatitdoesnotmatterifajournalistisfemaleormale,

theyareunabletoescapetheinstitutionalisedforceofnewsvalues,evenifthejournalist

conteststheideology.Inotherwords,newsvaluesassistinthemaintenanceofthestatus

quo.Notonlydonewsvaluesdictatenewsselection,theyalsodictatenewsconstruction.

Thisisevidentinnewsvaluesfavouringstoriesaboutnotablepeople,forexampleifasports

starandashopownerwereinacaraccident,thenewsstorywouldfocusonthesportsstar

morethantheshopowner.AccordingtoHartley(1982)newsfollowsamodelofconsensus,

thisrequiresanotionofunity:onepeople,onenation,onesociety.Thisisanideological

notionthatisoftencharacterisedbyphrasessuchas‘oureconomy'or‘ourpoliceforce'.

29

Despitethisthereisstillanassumptionofhierarchyofthesphereofsociety.Elitepeople

includeChiefExecutiveOfficersandWorldLeadersandstoriesandeventsfromtheirlives

willbeprioritiseovertotheeventsandstoriesfrompeopleinprofessionssuchasprimary

schoolteachersandtaxidrivers.Peopleinsocietiesdonotsolelycomefromonecultural

background,butthenewsiscentredaroundthedominantculture'sworldview.Dominant

ideologyconstructspeopleassubjects,ratherthanfeelingindividuals(Hartley,1982).Inthe

UnitedStates,thenewsispresentedfromacapitalistic,whiteAmericanperspective.

Hartley(1982,p.83)alsoelaboratesonthefactthattheseassumptionsarenot‘personal

opinion'.Hecallstheminstead‘routinementalorientations'(Hartley,1982,p.83),this

meansthatindividualsinsocietyhaveashorthandsystemtomakesenseoftheworld

aroundthem.Anissuewiththisisthattheconsensualmodelrequiressocietytobe

‘everyone',thereforedissidentscanbebrandedinthenewsasmadormalicious.Itis

apparentthatwhatcanbeclassedasadissidentisreliantontemporalstructures.Hartley

(1982)citesamodelfromHalletal.(1987),thisplacestheLGBTQI*communityandsex

educatorsinthesphereofdissidents,in2018theyshouldbeincludedasapartofcivil

society.Hartley(1982)notesthatifindividualshavenothadcontactwithacertainpeople

group,thenewsmediaisfromwhereindividualsgathertheirassumptions.Ifanindividual

doeshaveexperiencewiththediscussedpeoplegroup,thediscourseofthemediaandthe

individual'spersonalexperiencewillmeldtogethertocreatetheindividual'sassumptions

regardingthepeoplegroup.

2.8TheMediatedPoliticalPublicSphere

Themediatedpublicsphereistheconceptofthepublicsphereandthenotionof

democraticdiscussionregardingsocialandpoliticalissuesplayingoutthroughmedia.Such

mediathatfacilitatethemediatedpublicsphereincludetelevision,talkbackradio,

newspapersandtheinternet.JacksonandValentine(2014)wroteajournalarticleabout

howinternetnewssitesandtheircommentsections,aswellasTwitterreactions,enable

democraticdeliberationbyassessingtheengagementoftheusersofthissphere.Thispiece

ofliteratureiscriticaltoassessinthisthesisasarticlesfromonlinenewssitesarethe

30

sampledataforthisresearch.Habermas(1989)seesthepublicsphereasadomaininsocial

lifeinwhichpublicopinioncanbeformedoutofrationalpublicdebate.Jacksonand

Valentine(2014)notethatwhenHabermas(1989)conceivedthenotionofthepublic

sphere,heacknowledgedthatthesocialconfigurationofthedaypartiallydeterminedthe

natureandlimitsofpublicspace.Thus,JacksonandValentine(2014)arguethattheinternet

orcyberspaceasapublicsphereiscomparabletothe17thCenturycoffeehousesinBritain

andthesalonsofFrance,whereHabermas'publicsphereoriginated.However,theinternet

eliminatesgeographicalbarrierssoarguablyanyindividualconnectedtotheinternethas

theopportunitytoengageinpublicspheredebates.ThusanindividualinNewZealandand

anindividualinNewJerseyareabletoconverseinthemediatedpublicsphereandhavea

democraticdiscussionabouttheTrumpadministration.Moreover,thebarriersof

temporalitycanberemoveduntilatownhallmeetingoracoffeehousediscussion;there

doesnotneedtobeatimelimitnorastartingtimeondebatesinthemediatedpublic

sphere.Justasthechangesincommunicationserviceshavedeliveredsocietywith24-hour

news,throughhand-helddevices,individualsnowhaveaccesstoa24-hourpublicsphere.

Accesstocommunicationisoneofthekeymeasuresofpowerandequalityinmodern

democracies,thespaceinwhichcitizenscommunicateaboutpolitics,governmentand

societalinstitutionsisreferredtoasthepublicsphere(Bennett&Entman,2001).Thisspace

canexistinmanydifferentphysicalforms,fromcafesandtownhallstointernetchatrooms

andmessageboardstotheexchangeofopinionsinnewspapersandmagazines,aswellas

talkbackradioandtelevisionprogramming(Bennett&Entman,2001).Theideaofthepublic

sphereisassociatedwiththeworkofJürgenHabermas(1989),anidealpublicsphereallows

forallcitizenstohaveequalaccesstocommunicationsindependentfromtheconstraintsof

governments,religiousinstitutions,andothersocialpowersinordertobuildconsensus

aroundthedecisionsofgovernment.Theinformationthatallowsfortheidealofthepublic

spheretooccurisdisseminatedthroughmassmediatechnologiessuchastelevision,radio,

newspapers,andespeciallytheinternetwhichhasallowedforthepossibilityoftheglobal

publicsphereandcouldbeviewedasapossiblereasonforwhySeanSpicerbecamea

recurringfigureintheinternationalnewsmedia.BennettandEntman(2001)however,

hypothesisethatthelargemediacorporationsarealsoresponsibleforthelesseningpolitical

engagementandthediscouragingparticipationinthepublicsphereviacommercial

31

programmingandafocusoncontentwithhighentertainmentvalue.Thisisespeciallythe

caseintheUnitedStates,whichhasarelativelyunregulatedandhighlycommercialised

mediaeconomy.

McNair(2000),outlineshowthemulti-layeredmediamarketconstructsthecontemporary

publicsphere.Thisisstructuredbysocio-economicaudiencedemographicssuchassocial

class,professionalstatusandeducationallevel.McNair(2000)suggeststhatthese

demographicsdistinguishtheseparatemedia-marketsandcanestimateaperson’s

engagementwiththepoliticalpublicsphere.McNair(2000)statesthatthereisnotaprecise

noragreeduponterminology,butthisthesiswillreferencetheterminologywhichheuses,

theyarethethreemaincategoriesofelite,mid-market,andpopular(McNair,2000,p.14,

originalemphasis).ItshouldbenotedthatinthiscontextElitedoesnotrefertothecontent

norstylebeingofaqualitativesuperiorityrathertheoutletshaveanaudiencethatmainly

includesindividualsfromanaboveaverageincome,educationlevel,orprofession,for

examplepeoplewhoholddoctorates,lawyers,financialservicesprofessionals,andmedical

professionals(McNair,2000).Thesedistinctionscanbemadeacrossbroadcastmediaand

printmediagenres.AlthoughMcNair’s(2000)workfocusesontheBritishmediamarket,his

logiccanbeappliedtotheUnitedStatesmediamarket,aswellasthemediamarketsof

otherdemocraticcountries.However,thedatagatheringsampleofmediaorganisations

includesBritishmediaoutlets.ThetwonewspapersareFinancialTimesandGuardian.The

samplealsoincludestelevisionoutlets,BBCNewsandSkyNews.Allfourmediaoutlets

accordingtoMcNair(2000)belongtotheelitepoliticalmediamarket.Themarkettheoutlet

belongstoinformsonthestyle,content,andnewsworthinessofpoliticalcontent.Elitesare

readbytheupperandmiddleclassesandarethemostinformation-denseandifjudgedby

content,themosteditoriallycommittedtothecoverageofpolitics.Eliteoutletsareseento

bemorelikelytocovermattersofpoliticalpolicy.Mid-MarketsseektoservewhatMcNair

(2000,p.16)describesas“moderatelyaffluent,sociallyandmorallyconservativepeople

concernedabout,butnotobsessedwithpolitics,mainlyinsofarasitaffectstheirpersonal

incomesandqualityoflife.McNair(2000)remarksthatmid-marketmediaoutletseditorial

leaningswillconformtothecurrentideologicalleaningsofthismiddleclassaudience.

Popularmediaoutletsservetheunskilledworkingclassandtheunderclasseitherneglect

politicsandpolicyaltogetherortheyarehighlypoliticised,biasedtowardsonecertain

32

ideology.Theseoutletsaremorelikelytofocusonpoliticalleadershipstrugglesand

politician’ssexscandalsratherthanaCityCouncildebateaboutanewschoolbusstop.

Langer(2003)arguesthataliberaldemocracymusthaveaninformedcitizenrywhocan

makewell-thoughtdecisionsbasedontheavailableinformation,especiallyinregardsto

politics.Thus,itisthedutyofthejournalisttoshedlightandmakesenseofinformationthat

canoftenbepresentedinacomplicated,untidywayandoftennotthewholestory.Indoing

this,journalistsactasthenation’s(ifnottheworld’s)watchdog,holdingthosewithpower

toaccount.

Underwood(2001,p.99)quotedveteranMinneapolisStarTribunebusinessreporterMike

Meyerssaying"Theseguys(thenewspaperexecutives)arewringingtheirhandswhenthey

aremakinga20percentreturnonequity.TheFirstAmendmentwasn'twrittenforreturn

onequity.WhenIgotintobusiness,Ineverencounteredthis."Underwood's(2001)chapter

"ReportingandthePushforMarket-OrientatedJournalism"inthebookMediatedPolitics:

CommunicationintheFutureofDemocracy(2001)highlightsthetensionthatmediaoutlets

faceinwhethertotreattheiraudiencesasconsumersorascitizens.Thetabloidisationof

newswithshortcopyandat-a-glancesummariescanbeseenasanti-intellectualand

underestimatingtheintelligenceoftheiraudiences.Asmediaorganisationsbegantoreduce

thesizeoftheirnewsroomsandshiftingtheirfocusawayfrompublicaffairsreportinginthe

lasttwodecadesofthetwentiethcentury,publicrelationsfirmsandpoliticalspinning

‘think-tanks’begantoshapethenewsmediacontenttobeinfavouroftheircommercialor

politicalinterests,stiflingopportunityforpublicdebate(Underwood,2001).

2.9PoliticalPerformance

“Politicsisacommunicativepractice,requiringembodiedsubjectswhocanperformand

engageinspeechactsinadomainthatispublic,whereotherscanwitnessandfreely

respondtothoseperformancesandspeechacts.”(Craig,2016,p.1).Craig(2016)notesthat

performanceoftenpossessesnegativeconnotationsofsuperficiality,andsuggeststhatan

attractivesmileandpersonalitybecomesmoreintegraltopoliticalsuccessthanpolicyand

33

ideas.ThusonewouldthinkthatanabrasivepersonalitysuchasSpicer'swouldcontribute

topoliticalfailure.Craig(2016)arguesthatpoliticalperformanceisintrinsictopolitical

communicationandhasalegitimatefunctioninpoliticalrhetoric.Thisisbecausepolicyand

ideasarecommunicatedthroughspeechacts.Inordertobepersuasive,apoliticalfigure

musthaveamasteryofvoice,gesture,andgeneralbodilydeportment.Politicalfigures

(whetherthatbePresidentorPressSecretary)aremediatedthroughcommunication

technologiesandjournalisticinterpretation.Theseperformancesarethendisseminatedto

mediaaudienceswhichincludeconstituentsandtheinternationalcommunity,who

experiencepoliticalfiguresthroughamediatedcontext,ratherthananinterpersonalorlive

context(Craig,2016).Thedisciplinedbodiesofthoseworkinginthepoliticalcommunication

fieldsareefficientandcomprehensivebodies,wherethereisanappropriatemeldingof

personalityandknowledge,deferenceandauthorityinordertocommunicatepersuasively.

Inthismediatedpoliticalculturedramaticvisualmomentsandsoundbitesaredominant

(Craig,2016).

Habitus,whichistheamalgamationofanindividual’spersonalityandcharacter,mannerof

speaking,styleofdress,aswellastheirupbringingandprofessionalbackgroundmustalso

bescrutinisedinordertounderstandthepurposeoftheiractionsintheirpolitical

performance(Craig,2016).Itisaperson’shabitusthatallowsthemtoberelatableto

others.Habitussuggeststhatpeoplearetheproductoftheirsocialconditions.Accordingto

Bourdieu(1990),habitusisanembodiedhistorythatbecomessecondnatureandtherefore

isforgottenashistory.Habitusisanactivepresenceofthewholepastofwhichitisa

product,whichaccordingtoBourdieu(1990,pp.55-56)generatesthe‘reasonable',

‘commonsense'behavioursthatareadjustedtoaparticularfield.Habitusseekstoexplain

howanindividual'ssocialclass,education,andraceimplicatesindividuals'opinions,bodily

deportment,andactions.Thismeansthatonecouldrelateastiffbodilydeportmentto

servinginthearmedforces.Bourdieu(1990,p.56)sumsupthissentimentbestwiththe

followingquote:

Ineachoneofus,indifferingdegrees,iscontainedthepersonwewereyesterday,

andindeed,inthenatureofthingsitiseventruethatourpastpersonae(original

emphasis)predominateinus,sincethepresentisnecessarilyinsignificantwhen

comparedwiththelongperiodofthepastbecauseofwhichwehaveemergedinthe

34

formtoday.Itisjustthatwedon’tdirectlyfeeltheinfluenceofthesepastselves

preciselybecausetheyarerootedwithinus.

LikeCraig(2016),Sanders(2009)discussespoliticalperformance,orasshecalledit

symbolicpolitics.Symbolicpoliticsencompassesthepeopleinpoliticsandthescandals.In

mediademocracies,politicsiscastinadramaticform.Politicalmediastoriesarepopulated

withheroesandvillains.Itcanbeclaimedthat“thepackagingofpoliticsusurpsitscontent”

(Sanders,2009,p.41).Sanders(2009)exploresinherbookthebasicconceptssuchas

symbol,aswellaspersonandimageandhowtheseconceptsrelatetothepracticeand

understandingofpolitics.

Sanders(2009,p.41)citesBoethiusindefiningpersonas‘anindividualsubstanceofrational

nature'andcontraststhiswithGoffman'sbeliefthatapersondefinesthemselvesthrough

theiractionsinavarietyofsituations.Thus,apersonisasetof‘masks'likeactorswould

wearinAncientGreektheatre.Itcanbesaidthathumanbeingsregularlyperformroles.

Image,therefore,isunderstoodtomeanthefigurativerepresentationofsomethingor

someone,aversionofone'sselfthatisdisplayedtothepublicwhenperformingarole,such

asPresidentorPressSecretary.Therelationshipbetweentherealandthepresentedselfis

oftenunclear.Aspoliticsisamediatedandstagedphenomenon,imageandpersonplaysa

partinaffectingpublicopinion.Inanefforttorepresentoneself,apersonwillusewords,

actionsandgesturestocommandrespectintheirposition,suchasabusinessmanwearinga

suitduringworkhours,orafuneralattendeewearingblacktosymbolisethattheyare

mourningwiththefamily.Bythislogic,Spicercouldhavebeensaidtoappearasanews

storybecausehisactionsasPressSecretarywereoutsideoftheexpectedactionsapress

secretarywouldperform.Oftenthedramaofpoliticalspectaclesisprioritisedover

policymakingaspoliticsbecomesaproductofmediaconsumption.

Sanders(2009)furtheraddsthatpoliticalperformancecanbeexploredthroughKenneth

Burke’stheoryofdramaturgicalcommunication.AccordingtoSanders(2009),Burke

believedthatlifewasaplayandtherhetoricoflanguageiswhatdrivethesymbolismand

actionoftheplay.Burke’spentadcanbeusedtoanalysepoliticalactionsthroughthe

followingsetofquestions.

35

Act:Whatistheactionthathasbeentaken?

Agent:Whohasperformedthisaction?

Agency:Howorwithwhatdidtheydoit?

Scene:Whereinthephysicalsensehasthisactiontakenplace?Also,whatisthe

culturalandsocialcontexts?

Purpose:Whydidtheydoitandwhatwastheirintention?(Sanders,2009,p.46).

SeanSpicerinsistingreporterAprilRyanstopshakingherheadcouldbeevaluatedthrough

thismodel.

2.10Conclusion

Thisliteraturereviewhassynthesisedandcontrastedseminalacademicworksandcritical

theoriesthatrelatetothetopicofthisthesis.Firstly,thischapterexaminedthespecificityof

thepressbriefing,andhowquestionsandfollow-upquestionsmadethepressbriefinga

dialogicalcommunicativeencounter(Schubert,2012).Thischapterestablishedthatpress

briefingthemselvesaretraditionallynotnewsworthy,theydohoweverprovidethe'raw

ingredients'(McCurry,2009).Highlightingwhythetopicofthisthesisdeservescloseand

criticalstudy.ThischapteralsointroducestheconceptsoftheroleoftheWhiteHousepress

secretary,theWhiteHousepresscorps,political/journalistsourcerelations,spin,news

values,themediatedpublicsphere,andpoliticalperformance.

Thisthesisseekstodrawtogetherpoliticalperformance,political/sourcerelations,and

newsvaluestoanalysethereportageofSeanSpicer'sperformanceduringtheWhiteHouse

pressbriefing.Alleightoftheseconceptsfusetogethertocreateaframeworkof

understandingandanalysisforfuturechaptersofthisthesis.Withoutunderstandingand

acknowledgingthepastresearchthatrelatestothistopic,itisnotpossibletoaccurately

answertheresearchquestionssetforthinthepreviouschapter.

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3. Methodology

Thischapteroutlinesthetheoreticalframeworkandresearchdesignofthisthesis.Through

theresearchingfortheliteraturereviewchapterofthisthesis,apatternofmethodsused

wasrecurrent.ContentAnalysiswasusedtoanalysediariesandnewspaperarticlesby

scholarssuchasMucciaroniandMartinelli(2007).Krippendorff(2004)notesthatcontent

analysishasbeenusedtoexaminenewspapersandjournalistictextssince1893.Journalism

DiscourseAnalysiswillalsobeutilisedforthisthesis,astheWhiteHousepresscorpsand

presssecretarySpicerengagedinmultipleconflictsthroughouthistenure.Journalism

DiscourseAnalysisisanabridgedversionofCriticalDiscourseAnalysis.CriticalDiscourse

Analysisisaqualitativemethodthatexamineswhyindividualsandorganisationssubscribe

totheirversionoftruth(Graham,2005;Stoddart2007).Thischapterwillalsoexplainthe

researchdesignforthisstudy,detailingwhatwillbeanalysed,howitwillanalyseandwhyit

willbeanalysed.

3.1 ContentAnalysis

TheWebster’s Dictionary of theEnglishLanguagedefinescontentanalysisas“analysisof

themanifestationandlatentcontentofabodyofcommunicatedmaterials(asabookor

film)throughclassification,tabulation,andevaluationofitskeysymbolsandthemesin

ordertoascertainitsmeaningaboutprobableeffect”(ascitedinKrippendorff,2004,p.

xvii).Thismethodisaresearchtechniquethatallowsaresearchertomakereplicableand

validconclusionsfromtextstothecontextoftheiruse(Krippendorff,2004).Asascientific

tool,thepurposeofacontentanalysisistobeobjectiveandcanbedivorcedfromthe

researcher’spersonalauthority.Itisthereplicabilityofresultsthatshowsthatcontent

analysisisareliableresearchtool,accordingtoKrippendorff(2004).Itmustbenotedthat

theterm‘text’inthiscontextisnotonlypertainingtowrittenmaterialsbutanyartefact

thatcanbescrutinised,suchasvideooraudiorecordings.‘Text’thusreferstothereading

ofatext,howitisusedinasocialcontextanditsanalysisinametaphoricsense

(Krippendorff,2004).

Threedifferentstartingpointscandrivecontentanalyses:

37

1. Text-driven:Thesecontentanalysesaremotivatedbytheavailabilityoftextsthat

stimulatetheresearcher'sinterestinthem.Thegenreoftextscommonlyusedin

text-drivencontentanalysesincludesacollectionofpersonalletters,acollectionof

tapedinterviews,adiaryofanoteworthyperson,electioncampaignspeechesand

newsaccountsofaparticularcrime.Theresearchquestionsemergeasthetextsare

beinganalysed,hencetext-drivenanalysesarecommonlyreferredtoas‘fishing

expeditions’(Krippendorff,2004).

2. Problem-driven:thesecontentanalysesaremotivatedbyepistemicquestionsabout

currentlyinaccessiblephenomena,eventsorprocessesthattheresearcherbelieve

thatthetextsmaybeabletoanswer.Krippendorff(2004)explainsthatthisiswhat

drivesmass-mediaresearcherswhoareintendingtosubstantiatetheirclaimson

mediaeffectsoncivicsocietyinpoliticalcoverageorlawyerswishingtorefute

plagiarismclaims.Thecontentanalystmustconverttheirproblemintoaseriesof

researchquestions,whichtheyintendtoanswerthroughanexplorationoftexts.

3. Method-driven:thesecontentanalyseshavebeenmotivatedbytheresearcher’s

desiretoapplythemethodtoareasofinterestthathavebeenexploredbyother

means.

Thecontentanalysisthatwillbeusedforthisthesiswillbeaproblemdriven,asitis

motivatedoutoftheconflictthatoccurredbetweentheWhiteHousePresscorpsandthe

WhiteHousePresssecretarySeanSpicer.Thistypeofcontentanalysisisregularlyusedto

inferthepoliticalleaningsofnewspapereditors(Krippendorff,2004).

Incontentanalyses,theunitsofthestudyneednotbemotivatedphysicallynorstatistically.

Krippendorff(2004)notesthatapoliticalspeechservesasanexampleofexplainingthis.A

laypersonmaylistentothespeechandrespondtoitasawholeexperience;apolitical

analystwoulddividethespeechintoseparateparts,addressingdifferentsocialorpolitical

issues,analysinghowapoliticianpresentstheproblemandwhethertheyprovideasolution

todefinethespeechasanattack,anacclaimoradefence.Alternatively,alinguistwould

breakthespeechintoseparatesentencestoanalyse.Acontentanalystdoesnotjustcollect

onespeech,butmanyspeechesdeliveredduringthesamepoliticalcampaignandidentify

differentkindsofunits,comparethemtooneanotherandrelatethemtootherdata.Units

emergefromaprocessofreading,andthustheanalystmustbeacompetentreader.Units,

38

therefore,areoftenreferredtoasafunctionofempiricaltenacity.Incontentanalysis,units

canbecategorisedintothreedistinctions,samplingunits,recording/codingunitsand

contextunits.Theseunits,althoughdistinct,worktogethertoensurethattheanalysisisnot

biased.

Asitwouldbeimpossibleinthetimeconstraintsofwritingathesistoanalyseeveryarticle

thatmentionsSeanSpicer,acontentanalysismustbelimitedtoamanageablebodyof

texts.However,effortsmustbemadetominimiseasamplingbias.Samplingtheory,

therefore,isatheoryofrepresentation,tocombatasamplingbias,themediaorganisations

includedinthesamplewillbesituatedatvariouspointsacrossthepoliticalspectrum.

3.2DiscourseAnalysis

DiscourseAnalysis(Jørgensen&Phillips,2002)isatermthatiscommonlyused

indiscriminatelyandusedtodescribeanumberofdifferentapproachestoanalyseoral

communication,writtencommunication,signlanguageoranysemioticevent.Aspreviously

mentioned,DiscourseAnalysisisnotonlyusedincommunicationsstudiesbutalso

internationalrelations,anthropology,socialwork,linguistics,andbiblicalstudies.Eacharea

hasuniquesetsofassumptions,dimensionsofanalyses,andmethodologies,thusthereis

noclearconsensusonhowtoapproachandperformadiscourseanalysis(Jørgensen&

Phillips,2002).WhatthedifferentstrandsofDiscourseAnalysisshareistheviewthat

languageservesasameansofsocialconstruction(Machin&Mayr,2012).Thisthesiswillbe

utilisingFairclough’scriticaldiscourseanalysis,whichhasbeeninfluencedbyFoucauldian

DiscourseAnalysis.CriticalDiscourseAnalysisinfersthatpowerrelationsarediscursive.

TodefineCriticalDiscourseAnalysissuccinctly,itislanguageassocialpractice(Wodak&

Meyers,2001).AccordingtoMachinandMayr(2012,p.3),‘languageisinseparablefromthe

waywebuildoursocietiesandthewayweactinthem’.CriticalDiscourseAnalysisis

concernedwiththerelationsbetweentextsandpower,aswellasanegotiationof

conflictingideologies(Fairclough,2010).Thismethodinvolvesunderstandingthe

interpersonalfunctionoflanguage,whichiskeyforconstructingmeaningfrompress

briefinginteractions.CriticalDiscourseAnalysisconcernsitselfwithnewstexts,political

39

speeches,andothercommunicationsactivitiesthatcanberelevanttoaPresssecretaryand

otherpoliticalfigures,itspurposeistohighlighttheideologicalnotionsofrepresentations

ofeventsandpeople,whichmayexistbelowthesurfaceofwhatmayappearneutral.

CriticalDiscourseAnalysisseekstorevealtheideas,absencesandassumptionsthatare

foundwithintexts(Machin&Mayr,2012).

Fairclough(2010)discussesthediscourseoftheclassroomandtheconflictthatmayarise

betweenteachersandstudents.Spicerwasoftenreferredtointhemediaasakindergarten

(ornewentrant)teacherfailingtotakecontrolofhisclassroom(theWhiteHousePress

corps).ThereisapowerstrugglebetweentheadministrationandthePresscorpsduringthe

pressbriefingsoverwhatisatrueaccountofeventsthathaveoccurred.Thisshowsapower

strugglebetweentheholdinglegitimatepowerasthesurrogateofthePresidentandthe

idealsoftheFirstAmendment,thepublicsphereandthefreedomofthepress.Semiosis

(thetheoryandprocessofmeaning-making)mustbeconsideredincriticaldiscourse

analysisasithasgenuineeffectsonsocialpractices,socialinstitutionsandthesocialorder.

Semiosisisperformativeasindividualstendtospeakorwritetoevokearesponse

(Fairclough,2010).Itisessentialthatsemiosisisincorporatedintoabroadersocialcontext.

Theterm‘discourse'canbeusedinavarietyofcontexts.Discoursecanreferto‘meaning-

makingasanelementofthesocialprocess'(Fairclough,2010,p.230),and‘thelanguage

thatisassociatedwithaparticularsocialfieldorpractice'(Fairclough,2010,p.230),for

example,journalisticdiscourse,politicaldiscourseormedicaldiscourse.Thetermdiscourse

canalsoreferto‘awayofconstruingaspectsoftheworldassociatedaparticularsocial

perspective,forexamplea‘neo-liberaldiscourseonglobalisation’(Fairclough,2010,p.230).

DiscourseAnalysisisconcernedwithvarioussemioticmodalitiesincludingverbaland

writtenlanguage,visualimages,andbodylanguage.CriticalDiscourseAnalysisalso

investigatestherelationshipbetweenthesemioticandothersocialelements.CriticalSocial

Researchattemptstoaddresssocial‘wrongs’ (Fairclough,2010,p.231,originalemphasis),

suchasinjustice,inequalityandlackoffreedom,byanalysingtheirsourcesandassessing

howthewrongcanbeovercome.MachinandMayr(2012)notethatoftenthesmallest

linguisticchoicesthatacommunicatormakesiswherethepowerrelationsandthepolitical

ideologiescanbefound.ThisthesisattemptstoaddressthesocialwrongoftheTrump

40

administration’sattacksonfreedomofthepressandhowthisaffectsthedemocracyand

thepublicsphere.CriticalDiscourseAnalysisseekstoidentifyhowunequalpower

structuresareestablishedandmaintained,aswellastheideologicalprocessesofthis

occurrenceandhowitcanaffecthumanwell-being.CriticalDiscourseAnalysisoscillates

betweenfocusesonthestructuresofsocialpracticeandthestrategiesofsocialagents,

whichcanbeorganisations,governments,andpeople.Thisfocuscanincludeanalysingthe

shiftinordersofdiscourseandhowthisconstitutesasocialchangeinexistingstructures.

AccordingtoFairclough(2010),themethodofcriticaldiscourseanalysiscanbeseparated

intofourstages.

StageOne:Focusuponasocialwronginitssemioticaspect.First,onemustselecta

researchproblemthatcanbeanalysedinatransdisciplinaryway.Thedisciplinesthatwillbe

drawnuponinthisthesisarepoliticalcommunication,publicrelations,interpersonal

communication,andjournalismstudies.Thereshouldalsobeaparticularfocuson

dialecticalrelationsbetweensemioticandothermoments.Thetopicofthisthesiswas

selectedwhentherewasanoticeableshiftinthereportageoftheinformationfromWhite

Housepressbriefing.SpicerwasnolongerjustcreditedasPresidentTrump’sPress

secretarybuthadestablishedhisownidentityinthemedia.Fromthetopic,onemustthen

identifyobjectsofresearch.Theobjectsofresearchforthisthesisaretheinteractions

betweenSeanSpicerandmembersofthepresscorps,suchasAprilRyan,negativelanguage

usedtodescribeSeanSpicer.Onemustalsodrawuponrelevantbodiesoftheorytoposit

abouttheobjectsofresearch,suchasthetheoriesthathavebeendiscussedinthe

literaturereviewofthisthesis.

StageTwo:Identifyobstaclestoaddressingthesocialwrong.Thisstageinvolvespondering

howsociallifeisconstructedforthissocialwrongtooccurandhowitremainsresistantto

correction.Itisatthisstagethatonemustselect‘texts’toanalysethataddressthe

dialecticalrelationsbetweenordersofdiscourseandsocialeventsandcarryout

interdiscursiveandlinguistic/semioticanalysesoftheselectedtexts.Thelinguisticchoices

andpossiblevisualimagesoftheeventsmaybeanalysed.Interdiscursiveanalysiscompares

howgenres,discoursesandstylesareexpressedtogetherandhowthediscoursesplayout

insocialpractices.Thus,thesocialwrongisinherenttothesocialorder.

41

StageThree:Consideringwhythesocialorder‘needs’thissocialwrong.Ifasocialorder

allowsforasocialwrong,onemustconsiderandstatewhythesocialwrongneedstobe

changed.Thisconnectsthequestioningofideologyasdiscourseisideologicalbecauseits

contributiontosustainingcertainrelationsofpoweranddomination.

StageFour:Identifypossiblestrategiestomovepasttheseobstacles.Thisstagemovesthe

analysesfromanegativecritiquetoapositivecritique.Analysisofthesocialstructuremust

occurinanattempttodiscoverasemiotic‘pointofentry’intoresearchonhowthe

obstaclescanbetested,challengedandovercome.Onemusttakeintoaccounthow

individualsinsocietyreacttodominantdiscourseandhowitaffectstheirwell-being.

3.3ResearchDesign

Krippendorff(2004)statesthatallcontentanalysesmustbeguidedbyasetofresearch

questions,aspreviouslymentionedtheresearchquestionsofthisthesisare:



2) Howdothemediaorganisations’ideologicalbiaseseffectthereportageofSean

Spicer’spoliticalperformance?



TherearethreekeyeventsfromSeanSpicer’stenureofthePresssecretarythatwillbe

analysedinthisthesis.ThethreecasestudiesareSpicer’sfirstaddresstotheWhiteHouse

PresscorpsregardingthecrowdsizeofPresidentTrump’sinauguration,PressBriefing#30,

whenSeanSpicertoldPresscorpsmemberAprilRyanto‘stopshakingherhead’andfinally

PressBriefing#36,whenSeanSpicerclaimedthat‘notevenHitler’wasasbadasBasheral-

AssadthePresidentofSyriabecauseHitlerdidnot‘dropchemicalweaponsonhisown

people’.Newsstoriesofthesethreeeventswillbetakenfromthirtymediaoutletstocreate

amaximumsampleofninetynewsstories.ThetranscriptsofthepressbriefingsandSean

42

Spicer’sfirststatementwillalsobeanalysedincomparisontothenewsstoriesconcerning

them.Transcriptsarenotallowedtobeeditedastheyaretobeanaccuraterecordofthe

proceedings(Kumar,2008).

Inordertobeselectedforthisstudy,themediaoutlet’smusthaveamemberoftheWhite

Housepresscorpsemployedintheirorganisation.Mediaorganisationsthatmakeupthe

WhiteHousepresscorpsarefromdifferentgenreofmedia,forexample,print,broadcast

television,cabletelevision,onlineandradio.Therearemoremediaorganisations

representedintheWhiteHousepresscorps,howevertheorganisationshavethatbeen

selectedforthisstudyareallreputablenewsoutletsandrepresentmultipleideologies

acrossthepoliticalspectrum.Thisstudywillanalysetheonlinecontentproducedbythe

mediaorganisation.ThemediaorganisationsthathavebeenselectedfromtheWhiteHouse

Presscorpsforanalysisare:

Table 1: News Media Organisations in the sample

1.TheNewYorkTimes 2.FoxNews 3.TheWallStreetJournal

4.CNN 5.TheAssociatedPress(AP) 6.Reuters

7.CBSNews 8.ABCNews 9.TheWashingtonPost

10.NBCNews 11.NationalPublicRadio 12.TheChicagoTribune

13.Politico 14.AmericanUrbanRadio

Networks

15.USAToday

16.TheHill 17.MSNBC 18.AlJazeera(English)*

19.NewYorkPost 20.BloombergNews 21.TheNewYorkDaily

News

22.TimeMagazine 23.ChristianScience

Monitor

24.Yahoo!

25.TheGuardian* 26.Buzzfeed 27.TheFinancialTimes*

28.TheBostonGlobe 29.BBCNews* 30.SkyNews*

The*symbolnexttocertainoutletsindicatethattheirmediaorganisationisbasedoutsideoftheUnitedStatesof

America.

43

ItisexpectedthatsomeoutletsmayhavechosentonotcoverallofSeanSpicer’sactionsin

thepressbriefingsandmayhavechosentoreportonthepolicydiscussedinthebriefing

instead.Ifanoutlethasnotpublishedanarticleaboutacasestudy,theoutletwillbe

excludedinthecasestudy’scalculations.

Thefollowingcontentanalysiswillfocusonthreecasestudiesthatwereheadlinestoriesin

thenewsmedia:

A. SeanSpicer’sfirstbriefingasPresidentTrump’spresssecretarywhenheincorrectly

statedthecrowdsizeofthePresident’sinauguration.

B. Pressbriefing#30:SeanSpicertellingWhiteHousepresscorpsmember,AprilD.

RyantostopshakingherheadduringaPressBriefing.

C. Pressbriefing#36:SeanSpicerclaimingSyrianPresidentBasharal-Assadwasworse

thanAdolfHitler,LeaderoftheGermanNaziParty.

ThesethreeeventshavebeenselectedastheywerethemostcontroversialduringSean

Spicer’sbrieftenureaspresssecretary,thisbenefitstheresearchdesignfortworeasons.

Firstly,astheydrewcontroversy,theywerewidelyreportedonsothatthethirtymedia

organisationswererepresentedinthesample.Secondly,theseinstancesaretypicaland

reflectiveoftheTrumpadministration’srelationshipwiththenewsmedia.

Inthenewsarticlesrelatingtothesestories,fourindicatorswillbecodedforinthefirst

threeparagraphsofthearticle.Thesefourindicatorsare:

1. IsSeanSpicerthefirstsubjectidentifiedinthearticle?

2. AreSeanSpicer’sactionsinthepressbriefingfirstdescribedasbeingaggressiveor

accusatory?Therearetwotypeofaggressivebehaviour,legitimateaggressive

behaviourandillegitimateaggressivebehaviour.Legitimateaggressivebehaviours

includecondemningforeignleadersandgovernments,thistypeofaggressive

behaviourisexpectedbyjournalistsandacademics.Illegitimateaggressive

behaviourspertaintochidingjournalistsliketheschoolmarmfromthenovelMatilda

andtakingthesejeremiadsontoapersonallevel.Itisimportanttonotethat

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throughoutSpicer’stenure,heexercisedbothlegitimateaggressivebehaviourwhen

callingouttheAssadregimeandillegitimateaggressionwhenheaccusedthepress

corpsoffalselyreportingontheinauguration’scrowdsizeandwhenhetoldApril

Ryanto‘stopshakingherhead’andaccusedherofpushinganagenda.Bothofthese

formsofaggressionareseparatedintosub-categories.Thesedistinctionshavebeen

concludedthroughtheauthor’sownanalyticalperspective.Thecodedresultstables

intheappendicesonlyshowtherelevantformofaggressiontothecasestudy.

3. IsthereobjectivereportageofSpicer’sactionsandremarksfromthepressbriefing?

4. IstheresubjectivecommentaryonwhatSpicerhassaidordoneinthepress

briefing?

Followingbinarylogic,thearticleswillbecodedusing1=indicatorpresentinfirstthree

paragraphsor0=indicatornotpresentinfirstthreeparagraphs.

Thecodingwillbesortedintothreedifferenttables.Eachtablewillrelatetoacasestudy

andthenewspaperarticlesinthesamplewillbeidentifiedasA1,A2,A3…fornewsstories

relatingtoSpicer’sinitialpressbriefing;B1,B2,B3…fornewsstoriesrelatingtopress

briefing#30;C1,C2,C3fornewsstoriesaboutpressbriefing#36.Thesecodedresultscan

befoundintheappendicesE,F,andG.

DiscourseAnalysiswillthenbeutilisedtoshowwhySpicer'sandthepresscorps’conflicts

occuroverdefiningwhattruthis.SpicerandtheTrumpadministration'sdiscourseisthat

PresidentTrumpisastrongleaderandthattheadministrationiscompetent,whereas

membersoftheWhiteHousePresscorpsbelievethatPresidentTrumpandhis

administrationarenotcompetentintheirpositions,aredamagingtheirFirstAmendment

rights.Thecriticaldiscourseanalysiswillassisttheanalysesofhowmediaorganisation’s

ideologiesaffecttheirrelationshipwithSeanSpicerandwhatnewsvaluesthemedia

organisationsattributetothecasestudiesmentionedabove.

Takingthisbackgroundknowledgeintoaccountthisthesis’analyseswillbegenerally

motivatedbythestepsofcriticaldiscourseanalysisandwillnotengageinafine-grained

analysisoflanguageuse,aspowerstructuresandhowthestructuresinformthesocial

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needsthataretheoverarchingissuesofthisresearch.Thisthesisusesagluten-free

discourseanalysisperse.

Themediaorganisationsthathavebeenselectedforthediscourseanalysisareindicatedon

thefollowingtable.

Table 2: Outlets by ideologies

Liberal Conservative Non-biased

Newspaper TheNewYorkTimes TheWallStreet

Journal

CableNewsChannel CNN FoxNews

NewsWireServices AP/Reuters

Aspreviouslymentionedintheliteraturereviewchapter,thisthesiswillinvestigatethe

relationshipbetweentheWhiteHousepresssecretary,SeanSpicerandtheWhiteHouse

presscorpsthroughthetheoreticalframeworkofnewsvaluesandthepublicsphere,

politicalperformance,spinandthefourthestate/FirstAmendment.Fairclough(2010)

believesthatcriticalsocialresearchinpoliticsshouldbeanchoredinthepublicsphere.This

thesisdealswithissuesthatoccurinthemediatedpublicsphere,wherecitizensarenotco-

presentbutconnectedtooneanotherviathemassmediaandelectroniccommunication

devices.

3.4Conclusion

Theresearchdesignofthisthesisbreakstheanalysisintothreeparts;eachsubsequent

analysischapterswillfocusonansweringeachresearchquestionrespectively.Themethods

ofContentAnalysisandJournalismDiscourseAnalysishavebeenselectedtoworkin

tandembecausethenthefindingsofthisstudywillbebothquantitativeandqualitative.

ContentAnalysiswillbeusedtohighlightthefrequencyofwhichPresssecretarySeanSpicer

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isdiscussedusinglanguagethathasnegativeandcombativeconnotations.ContentAnalysis

hasbeenselectedforthisthesisasitisafavouredmethodofmanycommunicationstudies

researchers,especiallyMucciaroneandMartinelli(2007)whoconductedaContentAnalysis

onthediaryofStephenEarly,whowasthelongest-servingpresssecretary,underPresident

FranklinDelanoRoosevelt.JournalismDiscourseAnalysiswillthenbeusedtocomparewhat

isrepresentedinthearticletowhatwaswritteninthetranscriptofthebriefingandvideo

recordingsofthebriefing,wherepossible.AnabridgedCriticalDiscourseAnalysis(whichhas

beenreferredtoasJournalismDiscourseAnalysisinthisthesis)hasbeenselectedasthis

thesisisattemptingtoofferasolutionofasocialwrongwhichisabletooccurthroughthe

poweroftheTrumpadministrationandtheircredibilityofbeingtheexecutivebranchof

governmentforanelitenation.

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4. Tablesofcontentanalysisresults Thisisashortchapterthataimstopresentthefindingsofthecontentanalysisintableform.

Then,inferencesfromthetablesofdatawillbegivenandcontextualisedinorderforthe

datatobemorethanjustnumbersonapage.Thesubsequentdiscussionsinthisthesiswill

drawontheresultsandinferencesfromthesetables,andanalysedthroughthetheories

outlinedintheliteraturereviewthatrelatetopoliticalperformance,politicalsource

relationsandnewsvalues.

Table 3: Intial Press Briefing Results

1. Spicer First Quoted

2A. Illegitimate Aggressive Behaviour

2B. Legitimate Aggressive Behaviour

3. Objective Reportage

4. Subjective Comment

23/28 25/28 0/28 16/28 23/28 82% 89% 0% 57% 82%

Table 4: Press Briefing #30 (April Ryan) Results

Table 5: Press Briefing #36 (Assad/Hitler) Results






11/21 20/21 0/21 13/21 13/21 52% 95% 0% 62% 62%






28/29 0/29 26/29 18/29 22/29 97% 0% 95% 62% 76%

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Table 6: Total Sample Results

4.1Inferencesfromresults.

Fromthedatatakenfromthecontentanalysis,itisclearthatthearticlespublishedabout

Spicercontainedmoresubjectivecommentintheheadlineandfirstthreeparagraphsinthe

articlethanobjectivereportage.Itshouldbenotedthatbothobjectivereportageand

subjectivecommentdidappearsimultaneouslyinarticlesatafrequencyof32percent.This

highlightsthatSpicerwasreportedonasasubjectduringhistenureaspresssecretary

frequently,ratherthanasasourceforthenews.ThisisuncommonforanAmericanPress

secretary.Spicerwasalsofirstquotedinthearticlesatafrequencyof82percent,thisis

interestingsoearlyinhistenure,itwouldhavebeenmorelikelyamorewell-knownperson

bereferencedasthefirstsource.

WhatismostinterestingisthatthearticlespertainingtoSpicer’sconfrontationwithApril

Ryanhadthelowestfrequencyofsubjectivecomment.Onecouldbelievethatthisevent

wouldhaveledtothehighestpercentagesubjectcommentasthejournalists’couldhave

seenSpicer’sconfrontationwithRyanasanattackononeoftheircolleaguesandthe

professionandwouldfeeltheneedtodefendherhonour.Despitethisbelief,theAprilRyan

articlesalsohadthelowestfrequencyofSeanSpicerbeingthefirstquotedinthearticle.

JustunderhalfofthearticlesquoteAprilRyanfirst,andattempttoexplaintheconventions

ofthepressbriefinginthefirstthreeparagraphs,aswellasAprilRyan’scareerhistory.

Subjectivecommentaryandobjectivereportingcanappearsimultaneouslyinanarticle,

bothindicatorswerefoundin62percentofthepressbriefing#30newsstories.Subjective

commentarydoeshowever,appearinmanyarticlesafterthefirstthreeparagraphsthat

werecodedinthiscontentanalysis.






47/78 45/78 26/78 47/78 58/78 79% 57.7% 33.4% 60% 74%

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ItisimportanttonotethattherearetwotypesofaggressivebehaviourthatSeanSpicer

performedinhispressbriefingsthatisreportedon.First,isillegitimateaggression,suchas

insinuatingthatthepresscorpsarepurposefullyreportinguntruthsandtellingaveteran

journalisttostopshakingherheadinapressbriefing.Thistypeofaggressionwas

documentedmorefrequentlyinthesamplewith57.7percentofthesampleshowing

Spicer’sillegitimateaggression.Thesecondislegitimateaggression,suchascallingout

injusticesperformedbyforeigngovernments.Thefrequencyoflegitimateaggressioninthe

samplewas33.4percentandinterestingly,itonlyappearedinarticlesregardingSean

Spicer’scomparisonofAssad,PresidentofSyriatoAdolfHitlerNaziPartyLeaderandthe

architectoftheHolocaust.ThereasonwhySpicer’scalloutoftheAssadRegimebecamea

globalnewsheadlinewasbecauseoftheabsurdityofSpicer’scomparisontoAdolfHitler

andhisrepeatedassertionthattheNazisdidnotusechemicalweapons,despitethe

historicalevidencethat1.1millionpeoplediedingaschambersinAuschwitzalone.Spicer’s

claimsthattheywerenot‘Hitler’sownpeople’couldbeconstruedasdehumanising.

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5. SeanSpicer’spoliticalperformance InamediatedsocietysuchastheUnitedStates,politicalperformanceisanimportant

elementtoapoliticaloperative’ssuccess.AsCraig(2016,p.75)suggests,“Successful

communicationdoesnotderivenecessarilyfromthedemonstrationofpoliticaltruthsbut

fromthepresentationofahabitusthatfusespoliticalauthoritywithperformativestyle:

politiciansmustconveytheirknowledgeandexpertiseaswellasanappealingandengaging

personality.”Craig’s(2016)claimforhowpoliticianssuccessfullycommunicatecanbe

extendedtothesurrogatesofpoliticians,suchastheWhiteHousepresssecretary.When

theWhiteHousePresssecretaryaddressestheWhiteHousepresscorpsatthedailypress

briefing,theyareperformingtheirdutiesastherepresentativeofthePresidentofthe

UnitedStates.Craig(2016)alsonotesthatinAncientGreece,politicswasseenasapublic

performance,andtheAncientGreekswereastuteatdiscerningwhatwasemptyor

manipulativerhetoric.TheAncientGreeksalsohadafundamentalappreciationforthe

processofcommunicatingideasandpersuadingothersinadialogicalcontext.Spicer’s

politicalperformancecanbeseenasareflectionofTrump’spoliticalperformanceasa

candidateandasthePresident.BothSpicerandTrumptreatthemediaasbeingincapable

oftellingthetruth.ThischapterarguesthattheTrumpadministrationhastransformed

politicsintoamonologicalcommunicativeencounter.

Thisismadeevidentinthefindingsofthecontentanalysis,where57.7percentofthenews

articlesinthesamplecontainedareferencetoSeanSpicer'sillegitimatebehaviour.

Illegitimatebehaviourappearedintwoofthethreecasestudiesinthesample.Inthedata

forSeanSpicer'sfirstpressbriefing,89percentofthenewsarticlesreportedinthefirst

threeparagraphsthatSpicershoutedfalsehoodsandaccusedthemediaofinaccurately

reportingonPresidentTrump’sInaugurationcrowdsizeanddistributingdoctoredphotosof

thecrowdincomparisontotheinaugurationofFormerPresidentBarackObama.The

secondcasestudy,whenSpicerinstructedAprilRyan,thememberoftheWhiteHousePress

corpsrepresentingtheAmericanUrbanRadioNetworks,to“Stopshakingherhead,again”,

95percentofthenewsmediaoutletsreportedinthefirstthreeparagraphsthatSpicer

performedillegitimateaggressiontowardsRyan.

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OnlythecasestudyofSeanSpicercomparingtheairstrikesinSyriaperformedunderthe

orderofSyrianPresidentBasharal-Assad,tothewarcrimesthatoccurredundercontrolof

AdolfHitler,leaderofNaziGermanyexhibitslegitimateaggression.Itisunderthescopeofa

presssecretarytocommentontheactionsofaforeigngovernment.However,theabsurdity

ofSpicer’sclaimsiswhatmakesthestorynewsworthyandneedsanalysis.Ninety-Fiveper

centofmediaoutletsreportedlegitimateaggressivebehaviourinthiscasestudy.

ThischapterwillanalyseSeanSpicer’spoliticalperformancethroughthetheoriesofhabitus

anddisciplinedbodies,aswellasSpicer’sbastardisationoftheuseofthepolitical

communicativedeviceofspin.ThechapterwillthenanalysehowSeanSpicer’spolitical

performanceaffectsthereportageofpressbriefings,andhowinterpretativejournalism

containingsubjectivecommentaryandanalysisisfavouredtoreportontheSpicerpress

briefingsinsteadoftraditional,objectivereporting.Intotal,74percentofthenewsarticles

inthesamplecontainedsubjectivecomment,andoftenfactualcorrectionsonSeanSpicer’s

claims.Itshouldbenotedthatsubjectivecommentaryandobjectivereportagecanoccurin

anarticlesimultaneously,with60percentofthenewsarticlescontainingobjective

reportageinthefirstthreeparagraphsofthearticle.

5.1TheoriesofPoliticalPerformance

5.1.1(Un)DisciplinedBodies

Inmediatedpoliticalcommunication,journalists’andpoliticalactors’bodiesandhowthey

haveperformedembodiedcommunicationisoftennotgivensignificantconsideration

(Craig,2016).Embodiedcommunicationinvolvesnotonlybodilydeportmentbutalso

havingamasteryoverone’svoiceandgestures(Craig,2016).Spicer’sembodied

communicativeactivitiescanbeanalysedakintohowadramastudentcananalysean

actor’sperformanceinaplay.Whileitisnotoutoftheordinaryfornewsmediatoquote

presssecretariesinregardstopolicyarticlesandthePresident’sactivities,itisnotthenorm

fornewsarticlestocommentonaPresssecretary’stoneofvoice,gestures,andbody

languageduringapressbriefing,itisalsouncommontoreportontheirinterpersonal

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interactionswithjournaliststhatoccurduringthebriefing,andsupplyawrittendescription

ofhowthepresssecretaryisbehaving.

Thereisaninterestingpatternthatreoccursinthenewsarticles,thatrevealsthemedia

organisations’discourse.ThenewarticlesrepeatedlycommentonSpicer’spolitical

performanceandhisreactionstothejournalistsinthepressbriefing.Forexample,speech

presentationisaheavilyutiliseddiscoursetooltoanalysethereportageofSeanSpicer.

WhileABCNewsneutrallyreferredtotheincidentwhenSeanSpicertoldAprilRyanto‘stop

shakingherhead’asan‘exchange’,andNBCNewsandTheNewYorkPostwentslightly

furthertorefertothemomentas‘aheatedexchange.’Manymediaoutletsinthesample

useddescriptivewordstoinformthereaderofSpicer’sagencyandaggressioninhispolitical

performance.TheAssociatedPressreferstoAprilRyaninanarticleasareport“whowas

scoldedbyWhiteHousePresssecretarySeanSpicertostopshakingherheadinresponseto

oneofhisanswersatapressbriefing.”Thechoicetousethewordscoldedcanbeseenas

discoursedrivendecisiontoreinforcethediscoursethatthepressisunderattackfromthe

Trumpadministration.TheMerriam-WebsterDictionarydefines‘scolded’as‘tocensure

severelyorangrily’.ThisspeechpresentationinformsthereaderofthearticlethatSpicer’s

behaviourwasaggressiveandunrestrainedandoutsidetherealmofexpectedbehaviours

thataPresssecretarywouldexhibitinapressbriefing.Thespeechpresentationalso

informsonthediscourseofpowerdynamics.Byusingtheword‘scolded’TheAssociated

PressissuggestingthatSpicerbelievestoholdpoweroverAprilRyanandtheother

membersoftheWhiteHousePresscorps.SeanSpicerisinthePressBriefingRoomactingas

therepresentativetoPresidentTrump,hispowerislegitimisedbythisassociation,and

thereforewhatSeanSpicersaystothereportersiswhatPresidentTrumpisspeakingtohis

constituentsandtheglobalaudiencethroughtheintercessorsoftheprint,digital,and

broadcastmedia.TheAssociatedPressisnottheonlymediaorganisationtousespeech

presentationtoconveythispowerrelation.NationalPublicRadioreportedthat“Spicer

lectured(ownemphasis)veteranreporterAprilRyan.”TheNewYorkTimesclaimedthat

Spicer“hadcutoffherquestiontochastiseherforwhathedeemedaninappropriateshake

ofthehead”.Thisstatementissituatedintheleadparagraphofthearticleentitled“For

AprilRyan,ClasheswiththeWhiteHouseBringsaNewKindofProminence”.Choosingto

informthereaderthatSpicerinterruptedRyantochastiseheremphasisesthatSpicerwas

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notperforminginawaythatisexpectedfromthePresssecretary.SpicerdeniedRyanthe

righttobothfinishherquestionandforhavingapersonalopinion.Moreover,Spiceralso

refusedthedialogicalnatureofthepressbriefingbycriticisingRyanforshakingherhead.

Akeypartofwhatmakesthepressbriefingadialogicalcommunicativeencounteristhe

follow-upquestion(Schubert,2012).Itcanbeexpectedthatjournalistswillraisetheirhands

andshoutoutfollow-upquestionsover-topofoneanother.Ifapresscorpsmemberhas

exceededtheirrighttoaskfollow-upquestionsandseekclarification,anothermemberof

thePresscorpsmaychoosetotakeonthelineofquestioning(Schubert,2012).Thisisan

excellentillustrationtothemetaphorofwolfpackandpreythatisofferedbyPartington

(2003).TheWhiteHousepresscorpsisthewolfpackthathuntstogethertoseekoutthe

informationitneedstosurvive;thepresssecretaryisthesolepreythatprovidesthe

information.Thismetaphorwillbediscussedin-depthinthefollowingchapter.Inthe

encounteroftheWhiteHousepressbriefingjournalistsareexpectedtodisciplinetheir

bodiesaspertheexpectationsofthecommunicativegenre.Itisnotexpectedthatinapress

briefingajournalistwouldovertlyaccusethePresssecretaryoflyingduringthepress

briefing.SpicercouldhaveconstruedAprilRyanshakingherheadbackandforthasan

accusationoflyingoradisagreementinwhathewassaying,byhisresponseof‘Iappreciate

youragenda”.

Inthepressbriefing#30CaseStudy,TheNewYorkDailyNewswasthemostcriticalofSean

Spicer’spoliticalperformanceduringhisexchangedwithAprilRyan.Journalist,Leonard

GreenecontextualisestheencounterbetweenSeanSpicerandAprilRyanintothesocial

landscapeoftheUnitedStatesofAmericaandanotherrecentpoliticalcommunication

event.Thearticle’sheadline“SeanSpicerandBillO’Reillycontinuetheage-oldAmerican

Traditionofdisrespectingblackwomen.”ThearticlecomparesSeanSpicer’schastisingwith

AprilRyantoFoxNewspersonality,BillO’Reillyclaimingthat70-year-oldCongresswoman

MaxineWater’shairlookedlikeawigandwasdistractingO’Reillyfromwhatshewas

saying.TheNewYorkDailyNewsreportedthatSpicer“toreintoreporterAprilRyanfor

havingtheaudacitytochallengehisinterpretationoffactsatanewsconference.”This

informsthereaderthatSpicerwasactingtowardsRyaninawaythatwasunacceptableand

demeaning.ThefinalparagraphofthearticlecondemnsnotonlySpicer'spolitical

54

performancebutalsohisapparentlackofawarenessthathewasmisbehaving,TheNew

YorkDailyNewsstatesthatSpicerwas"yettosaysorryfortalktoRyanlikehewasher

daddy."

5.1.2Habitus

TheseinteractionsbetweenSpicerandtheWhiteHousepresscorpscanfurtherbeanalysed

throughatheoryofsubjectivity,habitus.Habitusseekstoaccountforthestrugglebetween

structureandagency,theweightofthepastisinternalisedandembodiedinbehaviourand

characterisationstoinformonthepoliticalcommunicativeencounter.Habitussuggeststhat

individualsareaproductoftheirupbringing,valuessystems,professionalbackgroundand

socialstructureswhichmanifestsinthemannerofhowtheyspeak,presentthemselvesand

interactwithothers(Bourdieu,2002).Thesemodesofpersonalstyleandexperience

cumulativelyinformrepertoriesofpoliticalactionsandmodesofrelatingthatareintegralto

politicalsuccess(Craig,2016).

TheanalysisbelowofSeanSpicer’shabitushasbeenconstructedwiththeaidofmultiple

sources,inordertobestcapturethemulti-layeredcomplexitiesthatmakeshabitusa

fascinatingconcepttoconsiderinpoliticalcommunication.Thisanalysisreferencesmedia

profilesfromTheNewYorkTimesandABCNews,aswellashisofficialbiographyonthe

RepublicanNationalCommitteewebsite.

TheNewYorkTimes(2017)profilefocusesnotonlyonhiseducationandprofessional

background,butitalsodescribeshisphysicalappearanceas‘stocky'andnotesthat

PresidentTrumphadinstructedhimtodressin‘smartersuits'afterthefirstpressbriefing,

thatisoneofthecasestudiesforthisthesis.TheprofilealsodescribesSpicer'sbehaviour

duringthehalf-hourinterviewstatingthathe‘atesoft-serveicecreamfromacupbranded

withthepresidentialseal-wasbyturnsdefensiveandrelaxed,andstillexcitedbythe

noveltyofworkingintheWestWing,’.Fromthereportageoftheinitialpressbriefing,this

descriptionofSpicer'sbehaviourreinforceshisdefensivenature.Furthermore,by

highlightingthefacthewaseatingsoft-serveicecreamfromapresidentialsealbrandedcup

inhisofficewhilebeingintervieweditsuggeststothereaderthatSpicerisanindividualthat

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doesnotletconventionbeanobstacle,whetherinhiscapacityaspresssecretaryor

satisfyinghissweettooth.

BothABCNews(2017)andTheNewYorkTimes(2017)notethatSpicerisfromBarrington,

RhodeIslandintheUnitedStatesandgrewupinamiddle-classfamily.Spicerprideshimself

onbeingpersistentandafighter,whenhefirstbeganworkingonpoliticalcampaignsafter

university,helivedinamotorhomewithoutheatingnorhotwater.SeanSpicershouldbe

seenaswelleducated,asheattendedaprestigiousRomanCatholicBoardingSchoolona

scholarshipwhichheappliedforwithouthisparents'knowledgeandgraduatedin1989.

SpicerthenwentontograduatefromConnecticutCollegein1993andjoinedtheNavysix

yearslater.Healsoholdsamaster’sdegreeinmilitarystrategyfromtheU.S.NavalWar

CollegeinNewport,RhodeIsland.SpicerstillservesasaNavyReserve.

ItcouldbesurmisedthatSpicer’sstiffnessinhisbodilydeportmentderivesfromhisNaval

background,asarmedservicemenarerequiredtodeportthemselvesinaregimented

manner.HisNavyservicecouldalsoexplainhisinabilitytoengageindialogicalencounters

withjournalists,itislikelythatheisusedtogivingandreceivingordersthatarenottobe

negotiatedorquestioned,whereas,questioningisaninherentpartofbeingajournalist.

Beingapresssecretaryrequireswitandfluidity,inotherwordsonemustbeabletothink

ontheirfeet,keepreportersundercontrol,beengagingandgetthemtounderstandand

disseminatetheAdministration’smessage.Spicerdidnotpossessthiscommunicative

flexibilityandcompetence.

BeingcognisantofSeanSpicer’sprestigiousandhighlyaccomplishededucation,aswellas

hishistoryintheArmedServices,itbecomesevenmoremind-bogglingthatSpicerwould

attempttoclaimthatunlikeBasharal-Assad,AdolfHitlerdidnotusechemicalweaponson

hisownpeople.AspointedoutbyTheNewYorkDailyNews‘Heclearlyforgotaboutmillions

gassedindeathcamps’,furtherpointingoutlaterinthearticlethatHitlerhadbecome

synonymouswiththetermgaschambers’.DuringtheHolocaust,morethansixmillion

Jewishpeopleweremurderedusingthismethodalongwithothers,aswellasasignificant

numberofRomany,Homosexualpeople,andpoliticaldissidentsunderHitler’sinstruction.

AsWorldWarIIisconsideredapivotaleventinModernWesternHistory,TheNewYork

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DailyNewssuggeststhattoclaimHitlerdidnotusechemicalweaponsoninnocentpeopleis

todenytheHolocaust,themostdangerousformofFakeNews.Tocompoundtheinsult,

thesecommentsweremadeonthefirstdayofPassover,theHoliestofdaysintheJewish

Faith.AsapractisingCatholic,hewouldhaveknownthatthePassoverwasbeing

celebrated.ThePassoverisreferencedintheBible(sacredtextoftheCatholicChurch)four

times.Specifically,inthebookofMatthew,inchapter26,Jesusinformshisdisciplesthathe

istobecrucifiedonlydaysafterthePassover,andtheLastSupperofJesusandhisDisciples

wasthePassovermeal(Matthew26:17-19,NKJV).

Spicer’scareerhistorymakeshisnewsworthymistakesaspresssecretaryevenmore

baffling.Beforebecomingpresssecretary,SeanSpicerwastheCommunicationsDirector

andChiefStrategistoftheRepublicanNationalCommittee.Duringhistenure,Spicerrevived

theRepublicans’tarnishedbrandandbuiltanaward-winningpressandresearchteam.He

hadalsoservedasAssistantUnitedStatesTradeRepresentativeforMediaandPublicAffairs

intheGeorgeW.BushAdministration.FromMay2005to2006,Spicerwasthe

CommunicationsDirectorfortheHouseRepublicanConference.Inthisrole,heprovided

mediatrainingformembersofCongressand220presssecretaries(GOP.org,n.d.).This

makesSpicer'sfollowingofTrump'siretowardsthemediaevenmoresurprisingashisinitial

pressbriefingdiatribedidnotsuggesthehadoveradecade’sexperienceinpolitical

communications.

Spicer’sknowledgeandexperiencenottranslatinginhispoliticalperformancecouldhave

beenaffectedbySpicer’s lack of personal agency, as discussed in detail in the

literature review (Towle,1997)andthenextchapter.Thepresssecretaryservesatthe

pleasureofthePresidentandistheirmouthpiece,whenSpicerfirstwentinfrontofthe

presscorpsforhisinitialpressbriefingSpicercouldnotutilisehismediarelations

knowledgethathehadacquiredthroughhisexperiencesattheRepublicanNational

CommitteeandtheRepublicanHouseConferenceasPresidentTrumpdirectedhimtoscold

themediaafterthePresidenthadalreadycriticisedthemediaonTwitter.However,his

aggressivebehaviourwasrepeatedinpressbriefing#30andpressbriefing#36suggests

thathedidnothavetheskilltoperformthishighprofileposition.Anaccuratesimilewould

betosaythatSpicer’s performance as Presssecretarywaslikeafreshuniversitygraduate,

57

armedwiththeknowledgeofaBachelor’s degree but without thelifeexperienceto

performsuchahighprofileposition.

5.2ThereisSpin,andthenthereisSpicer

Astudyintopoliticaljournalismanddemocracycannotignoretheroleofpublicrelationsin

theproductionofpoliticaljournalism(McNair,2000).Downes(1998)definesaPress

secretaryasacommunicationmanagerthatframesissuesinamannermostsuitabletothe

politiciantheyrepresent.Acommunicationsmanagerisasynonymforapublicrelations

professional(Mersham,Theunissen&Peart,2009).InhissurveyofCongressionalPress

Secretaries,Downes(1998)foundthatthemajorityofhisrespondentsbelievedthatspin

wasframingissuesthatshowedtheirbossesmostfavourably.AccordingtoCraig(2013),the

termspinhasexistedinpoliticaldiscoursefromthe1950sandsupposedlyderivesfrom

usingpersuasivestrategiesandcreativeengagementwiththetruth,asemulatedinthe

phrase‘tospinayarn’.McNair(2000)believesthattheriseofspinisareflectiononthefact

thatinanexpandedinformationmarket,andtheneedforjournaliststocreateaunique

angleonastory,anystory(eventhepressbriefing)canbecomenewsworthyandthus

detrimentalintermsofpublicity.Craig(2013)alsobelievesthattheexplosivegrowthof

governmentalandpoliticalformsofstrategiccommunicationisduetoabroadersocialand

culturalpromotionalenvironment,moreoverasjobsinjournalismhavedecreasedas

newsroomsareconvergedspinismoreoftenabletooccurundetectedwhenitisperformed

inacovertmanner(McNair,2000).

ItcanbesaidthatSeanSpicer’sattempttospinthecrowdsizeoftheinaugurationduring

thepressbriefingwasunsuccessfulduetothepublicnatureofSpicer’sjobtitleastheWhite

HousePresssecretarytothePresidentoftheUnitedStates.Spicer’sattemptatspinningthe

inaugurationcrowdsizewasnotcovertanddeliberate,butovertandimpromptu,infrontof

anaudienceofpeoplewhomhewasaccusingtobeliars.SpicerisprooftoCraig’s(2013)

assertionthatitisharderfortheWhiteHousePresssecretarytosuccessfullyspinthanitis

forpresssecretariesinothercountriessuchastheUnitedKingdomasTheWhiteHouse

Presssecretaryisaformalpublicrole.TheCongressionalpresssecretariesinDownes’

(1997)studyclaimedthatinordertobeasuccessfulpresssecretaryonemustnotlietothe

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pressasthepresswilldiscoverthattheyhaveliedanditwillruintheircredibility.Itcanbe

arguedthatthiswarninggivenbytheanonymouscongressionalpresssecretaryshouldbe

heededmoreseriouslyinthiseraofweb2.0,asduetothecomputingabilityof

smartphones,journalistscanfactcheckwhatthepresssecretaryissaying,almostassoonas

theyhavesaidit.

ItisthisabilitytofactcheckthatmadeSpicer’sclaimsabouttheinaugurationcrowdsize,so

ridiculousandthereforenewsworthy.AsrecordedinTheNewYorkTimesarticlefromthe

sample“amongothereasilydebunkedassertions,MrSpicerfalselyclaimedthatMrTrump's

inaugurationwasthemostattendedinhistory(photographsindicateditwasnot)."TheHill

alsopointsoutthatNielsenratingsshowthenumberofpeoplewhowatchedTrump's

inaugurationontelevisionwassignificantlylessthefirstterminaugurationsofformer

presidentsObamaandReagan.TheWallStreetJournalhighlightsthatthestatisticsthat

SpicerusedtospinthatTrump’sinaugurationhad‘thelargestaudienceever’wereridership

statisticsfromWashingtonMetropolitanAreaTransitAuthorityincomparisontoPresident

BarackObama's2013inauguration(hissecondterm).Onecouldarguethatthereasonwhy

the2013Inaugurationhadasmallernumberofpeopleattendtheinaugurationwasthatit

wasPresidentObama'ssecondtermasPresident,andthereforenotashistoric.

ApresssecretaryfromhistorythatiscomparabletoSeanSpicerisPresidentRichardNixon’s

Presssecretary,RonaldLouisZiegler.LikeSpicer,Zieglerhadalackofjournalismexperience

(Towle,1997).LikeTrump,Nixonfamouslyhadlowregardforthepress.Hebelievedthat

thepressovertlyfavouredJohnF.KennedyduringNixon’sfirstPresidentialbid(Towle,

1997).ZieglerwasthePresident’spresssecretaryduringthetimeoftheWatergateScandal.

NixondidnotwishforZieglertoelaborateorinterpretfortheadministration.Thepresswas

dissatisfiedwithZiegler’sinabilitytoreleaseinformation,andasnotedbyTowle(1997,p.

308)‘HisreputationforobfuscationwassuchthattheWashingtonpresscorpscoinedaverb

“tozeigle”:theactionthepresssecretarytookwhenhegaveananswertoaquestion

withoutansweringthequestion.’MuchlikeTrumpadministrationspokespersonandformer

electioncampaignmanager,KellyanneConwayclaimingthatSpicerwasnotlyingaboutthe

Inaugurationcrowdsizebutwasratherproviding‘alternativefacts’(WallStreetJournal,

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2017).OnTwitter#alternativefacts,thenbegantotrendandenteredintotheeveryday

vernacularontheinternet.

Spicerattempteddoublespinpersethathisclaimswerenotinaccuratebycitingthatthere

arenoofficialnumbersfortheinaugurationcrowd,astheNationalParksService,which

presidesovertheNationalMallwheretheinaugurationspectatorsstand,doesnotmake

theofficialcrowdcountpublic.Asthepresssecretaryistheintercessorbetweenthe

PresidentandtheWhiteHousePresscorps,Spicer’sjobistoreiterateandclarifythe

President’sstatements(andtweets).However,itisnotlogicalforaPresidentwholostthe

popularvoteandrestsonthelaurelsoftheElectoralCollegetogarnerthelargestcrowdfor

aPresidentialInaugurationinhistory.Spicer'sattackonthemediaisreminiscentofTrump's

Twitterhabitsduringtheelectioncampaign.Trumprepeatedlyattackedthemediafor

publicallyunderestimatinghimasaseriouscandidate.ItisfairtosaythatSpicer’sattempt

atspinningthecrowdsizewasundertheinstructionofPresidentTrumpandnotonhisown

volition.Althoughinaugurationsmakeapresidentapresident,greatcrowdsatan

inaugurationdonotmakeforagreatpresident.Agreatpresidentismadebyrespondingto

criseswithaidandcompassion,caretakingastableeconomy,andtheunderstandingthat

theyserveforthebenefitoftheAmericanpeople.Agreatpresidentdoesnotserveforthe

benefitofthemselves.Agreatpresident’sleadershipemulatesthesentimentexpressedin

Psalm31:8-9,‘Speakupforthosewhocan’tspeakforthemselves,fortherightsofallwho

aredestitute.Speakupandjudgefairly;defendtherightsofthepoorandneedy.’The

WhiteHousepresscorpshastoensurethatthePresidentisheldtoaccountsothatthe

presidentcanbethegreatpresidentthattheUnitedStatesdeserves.

5.3 HowSpicer’spoliticalperformanceinformsonthereportage

Whenreportingonpoliticalcommunicativeevents,therearetwostylesofreportagewhich

amediaoutletmaychoosebetween.Inthepastdecades,politicalcommentaryhasenjoyed

aremarkableexpansioninthemedialandscape.MediatheoristBrianMcNair(2000),refers

tothisphenomenontheInterpretativemoment(originalemphasis).Theinterpretative

momentfavoursreportinganevaluationoropinionaboutanumberoffactorsincludingthe

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substance,style,andtheprocessofpoliticalaffairsoverthestraightreportageofnew

information.Market-orientatedjournalismtendstofavoursubjectivecommentaryover

objectivefact-reportingasitdifferentiatesmediaoutletsfromoneanothertobemore

attractivetoconsumers(McNair,2000).Itisimportanttonotethatsubjectivecommentary

andobjectivefactreportingcanoccursimultaneouslyinanarticle.

Anexampleofsubjectivecommentaryandobjectivefactreportageusedtoreportonthe

samestoryisbestshowcasedthroughthearticlesfromTheNewYorkDailyNewsandThe

NewYorkTimesconcerningthepressbriefing#30casestudy.Itisthroughthereportingof

theAprilRyanConfrontationthatTheNewYorkPost’sright-wingideologybecomes

apparent.Throughacontentanalysis,itisapparentthatthearticledoesnotcontain

subjectivecommentary.ItneitherdirectlycriticisesSpicernorRyan.Thearticle’slead

announcesthatAprilRyanwasthefirstpersontogettoaskaquestion,aftershewas‘told

bypresidentialspokesmanSeanSpicerto“stopshakingyourhead”duringaheated

exchange.’Byreferringtotheinteractionasa‘heatedexchange’themomentissanitised

anddoesnotsuggestthatonepersonisatfaultoveranother.Thearticleisonlyseven

paragraphslongasdoesnotseektoeditorialiseuponSpicer’sactions,insteaditmerely

statesthat“SpiceraccusedRyanofpressinganagenda.”ThiscausesSpicer’spolitical

performanceandjeremiadtowardsRyantoseemjustified.

Aspreviouslymentioned,TheNewYorkDailyNews,however,goestogreatlengthsto

portraySeanSpicer'spoliticalperformanceandbehaviourtowardsAprilRyanasunjustified.

Accordingtothecontentanalysis,TheNewYorkDailyNewsarticledisplaysnoobjective

commentaryandcriticisesSpicer’sactionsbycontextualisingthemintotheUnitedStates’

rampantsystemicracismproblem.SeanSpicer’spoliticalperformancecausedTheNewYork

DailyNewstoanalysethepowerrelationsthatmanifestinthisinteractionthroughthe

discoursesofraceandpower.ReporterAprilRyanisanAfricanAmericansinglemother,and

SeanSpicerisaCaucasianAmericanmarriedfather.AprilRyanistheWhiteHouse

CorrespondentforAmericanUrbanRadioNetworks,acollectionofradiostationsthatexist

toservicetheAfricanAmericanmarketspecifically.TheNewYorkDailyNewsutilises

metaphorstoexplainhowSpicerexertshispoweroverRyan.Inparagraphsix,TheNewYork

DailyNewsdescribesSpicer’slectureatRyantobeinthemannerofif“shewereapetulant

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childarguingoverherbedtime.”TheNewYorkDailyNewsreferstothislectureas“oneof

his(Spicer’s)mostpatronisingmomentsbehindthepodium,scoldingRyanfromshakingher

headindisagreementwhilehewastryingtomakeapoint”(TheNewYorkDailyNews,

2017).Thearticlethengoesfurthertopointout,thatthiswasthesecondtimeduringthe

TrumpadministrationthatAprilRyanhadmadeheadlinesforbeingpublicallydisrespected.

AfewweeksprevioustoSpicer’slecture,RyanasksPresidentTrumpifhewasgoingtomeet

withthecongressionalAfricanAmericanandHispaniccaucuses.TheNewYorkDailyNews

interpretedthatPresidentTrumpmistookAprilRyanfor“hiredhelp”,asheasks"Doyou

wanttosetupthemeeting?Aretheyfriendsofyours?"ThisalludesbacktotheUnited

States’historyofAfricanpeopleforciblybeingbroughtintotheUnitedStatestobeshackled

asslaves.Evenafterslaverywasabolishedin1865,AfricanAmericansweretreatedas

second-classcitizensandhiredtoworkinthehomesofwhitefamiliesandraisetheir

children.AlthoughtheCivilRightsActawardedtheuniversalrightsandprivilegesforpeople

ofallracesandendingsegregationin1964,racistattitudesarestillpresenttodayandoften

manifestedincommunicativeexchangesliketheonebetweenTrumpandRyan.

5.4Conclusion

Insum,politicalcommunicationisamulti-facetedphenomenonthattakesintoaccountan

individual’shabitus,whichisthecombinationofone’svaluesystems,educationaland

professionalbackground,themannerinwhichtheypresentthemselves,bothindressandin

speech.WhatisinterestingabouthowSeanSpicer’shabitusrelatestohispolitical

performanceandhisheadline-makingmistakesisthatheoughttohaveknownthathis

behaviourwasinappropriateandcouldcauseoffence.

Inthefirstcasestudy,whenSeanSpicerlaunchedadiatribetowardstheWhiteHousePress

corpsforsupposedlymisrepresentingthecrowdsizeofPresidentTrump’sInaugurationand

usingmisleadingstatisticshimself,hisprofessionalbackgroundshouldhavegivenhima

premonitionofthebacklashthathewouldreceive.Aspreviouslymentioned,beforeSean

SpicerbecametheWhiteHousepresssecretary,hewastheDirectorofCommunications

andStrategyfortheRepublicanNationalCommittee,andhecreatedthemediarelations

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trainingprogrammeforthemembersofCongressandtheirPressSecretariesas

CommunicationDirectoroftheHouseRepublicanCommittee.

Inthesecondcasestudy,thesamepointsabouthishabitussuggestingheshouldnothave

behavedwithillegitimateaggressionalsoapplies.Heshouldhaveknowntorespondcalmly

toAprilRyan’squestionaboutwhethertheWhiteHousehadanimageproblemoverthe

allegedcollusionwiththeRussiangovernmentandPresidentTrumpallegingthatPresident

ObamawiretappedtheTrumpTowerduringtheelectioncampaignin2016.Thismoment

couldhaveavoidedthenewsagendaifhehadsimplysaidsomethingtotheeffectof“these

issueswillruntheircourse”,or"ByfocusingonourpoliciesandMakingAmericaGreat

Again".Instead,Spicerchosetopersonallyattackacorrespondentandtalkdowntoherasif

shewashisownchild,notajournalistwithyearsofexperiencereportingontheWhite

House.

Inthethirdcasestudy,itwasseenasridiculousandinsensitiveforSeanSpicertoclaimthat

AdolfHitlerdidnotusechemicalweaponsonhisownpeopleandwasthusworseasHitler,

onthefirstdayofPassover.AdolfHitlerwasthearchitectfortheHolocaustwhichsawthe

deathofsixmillionJewsingaschambers,orasSpicerreferredtothemas‘Holocaust

Centres’whichwasdeemedbymanypeopletoexpressthatSpicerwastryingto“Sanitise

theHolocaust”.SeanSpicershouldhaverealisedthathewouldoffendJewsandGentiles

alikeasAdolfHitlerisconsideredsynonymouswiththegaschamberandasadevout

Christian,thePassoverwasanimportanttimeinthestoryofJesusasitwaswhenhewas

capturedandcrucified.Moreover,assomeonethathasworkedasanArmedServiceman,

onewouldassumethatSeanSpicerwouldhaveknowledgeofwhathappenedduringoneof

thelargestwarsofthepreviouscentury.

AlloftheseincidentsmadeheadlinesnotjustintheUnitedStates,butincountriessuchas

NewZealandbecauseSeanSpicerlackedthesubtletythatspinrequires.Aspreviously

mentioned,Craig(2013)pointsoutthatspinismosteffectivewhenitisunseen,andthe

publicisunawarethattheyarebeingmanipulated.TheroleoftheWhiteHousePress

secretaryisahighlypublicisedformalrole,asPressBriefingscanoftenberecordedbothin

videoandaudioandbroadcastedontelevisionandtheradio.Spicer'saggressionwhenit

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cametohisattemptatspindidnothaveafoundationoftruthandlackedadegreeofcharm

tocarryoffthespinsuccessfully.

ThisaggressionandunusualbehaviourscausedanunusualchangeinreportingonthePress

Briefings.InsteadofreportingonthepolicycontentofthePressBriefingmanymedia

outletssuchasTheNewYorkTimes,TheWashingtonPost,TheHill,andNBCNewsreported

onSeanSpicer’sdiatribesandridiculousclaimsandtheirveracity.Thisleadtothesample

containingmoresubjectivecommentarythanobjectivereporting.Inmarket-orientated

journalism,subjectivecommentaryincolumnsandeditorialsareoftenfavouredasthey

allowforthepublicationorbroadcastoutlettomarkettheircolumnistsasuniqueselling

points.ThisdoeshoweverfurtherthreatenwhatMcNair(2000)referstoasapunditocracy,

andsupposedlycausescitizenstostopthinkingforthemselves.

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6. PoliticalSourceRelations:SpicerandtheWhiteHousePresscorps

ThefollowingchapterwillanalysetherelationshipbetweenPresssecretarySeanSpicerand

theWhiteHousepresscorps,andhowtherelationshipismanifestedinthereportage

throughthirdpartysourcequotes.SeanSpiceractsasthepoliticalsourcefortheWhite

HousePresscorps,asapoliticaloperativeandsurrogatetothePresident.Asstatedin

ChapterTwo,therelationshipbetweenapoliticalsourceisbothco-dependentand

symbiotic(Downes,1998).Withoutthepresssecretary,Americanpoliticaljournalismwould

bebasedonrumourandgossip(Sanders,2009).TheWhiteHousepresscorpswasalso

definedinChapterTwoasagroupofjournaliststhatareassignedtocovertheWhiteHouse,

inrespecttobothpolicydecisionsandeventssuchaspressconferencesorbriefings.These

journalistsworkfornewspapers,magazines,wireservices,radiostations,televisionstations

andcablenewsnetworksintheUnitedStatesandotherinternationalterritories(Sanders,

2009).FirstthischapterwillanalysehowSpicer’srelationshipwiththePresscorpsbecame

socontentiousthroughthecasestudypressbriefings,asthisenablesunderstandingofhow

SeanSpicerbecamethenewshimself.Followingthis,thechapterwillthenevaluateifthe

coverageofSeanSpicerdistractedmediaconsumersfromcriticalpoliticaldevelopments

andpolicydecisionsthatwouldimpacttheirlives.Thisevaluationwillbecompletedby

analysingthepressbriefingtranscriptsoftheinitialpressbriefing,pressbriefing#30(April

Ryanconfrontation),andpressbriefing#36(Assad/Hitlercomparison).Asthetranscriptisa

completeuneditedaccountofthepressbriefings,theyactasexcellentsourcematerialto

contextualisetheiratesoundbitesthatbecametheinternationalnewsheadlines.Further

buildingonthis,thischapterwillanalysehowtheideologyofthenewspapersandthe

fracturedrelationshipwithSpicerisexpressedthroughsourcequotes,eithercondemning

SeanSpicerforhiscommentsandactionsduringthepressbriefingsordefendinghisactions

andcomments.ThischapterwillanalysethesourcequotesfromnewsstoriesbyTheNew

YorkTimes,FoxNews,TheWallStreetJournal,CNN,TheAssociatedPress,Reuters.Allsixof

thesemediaorganisationsareconsideredprestigiousmediaoutletsthathaveaheavily

influenceonthemediatedpublicsphereandpropagatedifferentideologiesthroughoutthe

spectrum.ThenewspaperTheNewYorkTimesandCableNewsChannelCNNboth

propagatetheliberalideology.ThenewspaperTheWallStreetJournalandCableNews

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ChannelFoxNewsbothpropagatetheconservativeideology.BothTheAssociatedPressand

Reutersarenewswireagenciesandthereforetheyaretaskedwithpublishingnon-biased

newscontentthatothermediaorganisationscanpurchase.Fromthis,thechapterwill

explorehowthereportingfromTheWhitePresscorpsaffectstheAmericanMediated

PublicSphere.Asdiscussedinpreviouschapters,manycitizensonlyengagedinpolitics

throughamediatedcontext,whetherthroughtraditionalmediaorsocialmedia.Thisoften

causespersonalitytotakeprecedenceoverpolicyandthereforeisnotanarenaofrational

politicalargument.

6.1TheRelationshipbetweenSeanSpicerandtheWhiteHousePresscorps?

PresidentTrumpdeclaredatthebeginningofhisPresidencythathewasin“arunningwar

withthemedia”(NewYorkTimes,2017).Toexpandonthatmetaphor,ifTrumpisinawar

withthemedia,thenSpicerishisGeneralleadingtheattack.Spicerbeganhisrelationship

withthePresscorpstruetothismetaphor,withacondescendingrantabouthowreporters

hadmisrepresentedthePresidencywith‘irresponsibleandreckless’reportingbyclaiming

thatthePresidenthadabustofcivilrightsactivistMartinLutherKingJr.removedfromthe

WhiteHouse(FoxNews,2017).SpicerthenenactedridershipdatafromtheWashington

MetroSystemtoclaimthatTrump’sinaugurationhadthelargestaudiencewitnessingthe

proceedingsbothinpersonandaroundtheworld.

ItisnotonlySpicer'scombativenaturethatmadetheinitialpressbriefingaheadlineinthe

newsmedia(with89percentofthesamplearticlesrecordingSpicer’sillegitimate

behaviour)butalsohishypocrisywhenitcametopresentingthefacts.Aftercriticisingthe

mediafordangerouslyandrecklesslypresentinganargumentwithouthavingallthefacts,

Spicerthendidtheexactactionsofwhatheaccusedthepressofdoing.Thisundermines

Spicer’scredibilitywiththepresscorps.Eighty-twopercentofthiscasestudy’ssample

articlescontainedsubjectivecomments,someofthemalludingtoSpice’shypocrisy.

AccordingtoTowle(1997),itisnotcivilitythatmakesaPresssecretarysuccessful,but

whetherthePresssecretaryisviewedascredibleandknowledgeabletohavetherespectof

thepressandthePresident.Reportersaremorewillingtotakethewordsofarespected

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Presssecretaryatfacevalue.Inpractice,TheNewYorkTimesquotedBenSmith,theEditor

inChiefofBuzzfeed,andLynnSweet,apoliticalreporterforTheChicagoSun-Times,both

journalismprofessionalsstatethatcivilityisnotanessentialattributetoapresssecretary,

butinsteadhonestyis.BenSmithisquotedinTheNewYorkTimes(2017)saying“Ithink

they’llfindinmomentsofrealcrisis,ratherthanpoliticaltheatre,thattheyneedtowin

backthecredibilitytheyarespendingnow.”

DuringPressBriefing#30Spicer’slinguisticchoicesrevealthetenserelationshipbetween

himselfandthePresscorps.FromthetranscriptofthePressBriefing,Presscorpsmember

AprilRyanstates“Sean,youdon’tseemhappy.”Thisstatementcomesafterquestions

askedbyPresscorpsmembersthatrevealtheideologyclashbetweentheTrump

administrationandthePresscorps.Anexampleofsuchquestionsshowninthetranscript

was“Okay.Interpretsomethingelseforme:DoesthePresidentstillbelievethatclimate

changeisahoax?”Theopeningofthisquestion“Okay.Interpretsomethingelseforme”isa

directchallengetoSpicerinresponsetoSpiceraccusingthejournalist“you’reaskingme

howtointerpretthatinanyotherwaythanliterallyreadingplainEnglish.”Thetranscript

showsthatthereisastruggleforpowerbetweenSpicerandthejournalist.Aspreviously

mentioned,inthediscourseofthepressbriefing,Spicerideallywouldhavealevelcontrolof

theproceedingsbyselectingwhichjournalistcanaskhimaquestionandheshouldhavethe

respectofthePresscorpsasthesurrogatetothePresident.However,oncequestiontime

begins,Spicermaybeaskedquestionsbyjournaliststhathewasnotexpectingtobeonthe

agenda(Craig,2016).ThiswascertainlythecaseduringPressBriefing#30.Spicerwas

refutingclaimsmadebyTheWashingtonPost,thattheTrumpadministrationwas

attemptingtoblockFormerAttorneyGeneralSallyYatesfromtestifyingintheMullerprobe

andthattheAdministration’sstatementsonthematterclearlyoutlinedthattheywerenot,

infact,tryingtoblockYatesfromtestifyingandcouldnotbeinterpretedanyotherway.

SpicerdeclaredthatTheWashingtonPoststorywas“100percentfalse”(TheWhiteHouse,

2017b).WhentheunidentifiedmemberofthePresscorpsseguedintothequestionabout

thePresident'sbeliefsonclimatechange,Spicerwascaughtoffguardandstatedthatthe

Presidentbelievedthatclimatechangeinitiativesandjobcreationwerenotbinarychoices.

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AccordingtoCraig(2016,pp.97-98),thetopicofthepressbriefingcanoftenheightenthe

dramaandcantriggermomentsofconflictbetweenthePresssecretaryandthePresscorps.

ThisthesisassertsthatitwasthetopicofwhetherPresidentTrump‘still’believedthat

climatechangewas‘ahoax’wasthetopicthatheightensthedramaofthePressBriefing.

Theword‘still’impliesanimplicitbiasthatthejournalistholdsagainstTrumpandhis

administration.DonaldTrumphasrepeatedlytweetedthathedoesnotbelievethatclimate

change(alsoknownasglobalwarming),onespecifictweetthathighlightsthisbeliefreads:

“NBCNewscalleditthegreatfreeze-coldestweatherinyears.Isourcountrystillspending

moneyontheGLOBALWARMINGHOAX!”(Trump,D.J.[@realDonaldTrump],2014,original

emphasis).Thejournalist,therefore,believesthattheclimatechangeisagenuineproblem

burdeningtheplanetandperhapsisimplyingthatTrumpisnotfittobethePresidentifhe

isignoringcriticalenvironmentalissues.Itisclearthatthemaintopicofconflictwas

whethertheAdministrationhadanimageproblem.ThistopicresultedinAprilRyanshaking

herheadindisbeliefandSeanSpicercommandingRyantoceaseshakingherhead.

Essentially,whatSeanSpicerwasdoinginthissituationwasdenyingAprilRyanherpersonal

agency.TheNewYorkDailyNewsreferredtoSpicerasan‘equalopportunityoffender’.This

meansthatthejournalistbelievesthatSeanSpicerwouldinsultandinappropriatelyinstruct

anymemberoftheWhiteHousePresscorps,despitethecolouroftheirskin,theirgender

identity,ortheirreligion.

Spicer’scontentiousandillegitimatebehaviourduringthispressbriefinghasthehighest

percentageofrecordedillegitimateaggressivebehaviour.Ninety-fivepercentofthesample

articles(20outof21casestudyarticles)reportthatSpicerexhibitedillegitimateaggressive

behaviourtowardsAprilRyaninthefirstthreeparagraphs,howeverthepressbriefing

transcriptsshowRyanwasnottheonlyvictimofSpicer’saggression,otherjournalistssuch

astheoneaskingquestionsaboutclimatechangealsoreceivedaggressiveanswersfrom

Spicer.Thejournalistdiscourseanalysisofsourcequoteswhichisexplainedbelowanalyses

theentiretyofthearticles,notjustthefirstthreeparagraphs.Itisevidentthatalthough

only62percentofthesamplearticlesinthiscasestudycontainedsubjectivecommentin

thefirstthreeparagraphs,criticismsofSpicer’sbehaviourarestillpresentandfeaturemore

stronglyinthelaterparagraphsofthearticles.Thisisbecausethefirstfewparagraphsof

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thearticlesarecontextualisingthepressbriefingandthenatureofthepress

secretary/presscorpsrelationshiptothelaypersonmediaconsumer.

ItisfairforRyantosuggestthattheAdministrationwasexperiencinganimageproblem.

Aftertwomonthsinoffice,theadministrationwasunderinvestigationbymultiple

governmentagenciesfordifferentreasons,suchascolludingwithRussianofficials.

PresidentTrumpalsoaccusedtheObamaAdministrationof‘wiretapping’TrumpTower

duringthe2016ElectionCampaign.Spicermaintainedthattherewasnoconnection

betweenRussiaandTrump.SpiceralsoincorrectlyassertedthattheAdministrationdoes

nothaveanimageproblembecauseitisthemedia’sagendatopushfalsestories.The

reasonwhySpicerwasincorrectinsayingthisisanorganisation’simage(whethera

corporationoragovernmentadministration),isreliantontheopinionsofindividuals

outsideoftheorganisation,andtheseopinionsareusuallyformedbywhatindividuals

consumeinthemedia(Mersham,Theunissen&Peart,2009).Therefore,itisjustifiedthat

Ryanmightshakeherheadindisbelief.Asmentionedinthepreviouschapter,Spicerhas

heldthepositionofCommunicationsDirectoratboththeRepublicanNationalCommittee

andtheRepublicanHouseConference(GOP.org,n.d.).

ItisalsointerestingtonotethatdespiteSeanSpicerresigningfromtheTrump

administrationinJuly2017,inMarch2018hewillstillpublicallycriticisingmembersofthe

presscorps.Forexample,onHannity,aFoxNewsprogramme,SpicerreferredtoCNN

CorrespondentJimAcostaas“carnivalbarkerinthepressroom”aswellas“cluelessand

classless”.Furthermore,SpicerdramaticallyshoutedonHannity,thatAcosta’spress

briefingquestionswerenothingbut‘dramaticshouting’soitisjustifiedforhisreplacement

PresssecretarySarahHuckabeeSanderstonotcallonhimtoaskaquestionforthree

consecutivepressbriefings.Animportantfactortoconsiderwhenanalysingtherelationship

betweentheWhiteHousepresssecretarytothepresscorps,iswhatisthesitting

president’sopiniononthemedia.PresidentTrumpconsidershimselftobeina‘running

war’withthemedia.Therefore,itisnotlogicaltothinkthattheWhiteHousepresscorps’

relationshiptothePresssecretarywoulddramaticallyimproveasanewpersonstepped

intotherole.BeforeSandersreplacedSpiceraspresssecretary,shewashisdeputyand

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tookpressbriefingswhenSpicerwasonNavalReserveDuties.Thusherrelationshipwith

thepresscorpswasalreadyformed.

6.2PolicyversusProcess:Aretheseinterrogativeexchangesadistraction?

Itmustbeacknowledgedthatcoverageofthepoliticalprocessdoeshavemeritinthe

mediatedpoliticalpublicsphere.Itisnottheaimofthisthesistoclaimthatithasnomerit

andisnotworthbeingreported.McNair(2000)arguesthatpolicyandprocessarenot

separatediscoursesbutinsteadworktogethertoconstructawholepicture.Reportageof

processcanaidcitizensindetectingtheinfluencethatpoliticiansandtheirpresssecretaries

mayexertovertheirattitudesandbehaviour(McNair,2000).Thisisimportantascivic

educationissorelylackinginschoolcurricula.Citizensmustbeawareofhowmessagesare

spunandhownewsismanufactured,howeverfromtheinitialdatagatheringforthisthesis,

itwasclearthatprocessreportingandreportingonthecommunicationeventsoftheWhite

Housepressbriefingsupersededinarticlesregardingpolicydecisions.TheElectoralCollege

sawtheelectionofPresidentTrump;presssecretaryisnotavotedoffice.However,press

secretariesmustbeheldaccountableforhowtheyrepresentthePresidentandhowthey

behaveaspublicservants,astheirsalaryisfundedviataxes.However,itistheirjobto

deliverthenews,inthemosteffectivewaythatbenefitstheadministration.SeanSpicer

neverthelessbecamethenewsheadlineonmanyoccasions.AstudyconductedbyThePew

ResearchCenter(2017)foundthatduringthefirstonehundreddaysoftheTrump

administration,mediaoutletsthatpropagateideologiesfromthroughoutthepolitical

spectrumframedtheircoveragearoundcharacterandleadershipasopposedtopolicy.The

resultsofthecontentanalysisbackupThePewResearchCentre’s(2017)claims.Spiceris

firstquotedin82percentofthesamplearticlesandthereforeisthemainfocusofthe

article.Heisnotasourceofinformationlikehewouldbeifthesearticleswereabout

politicalpolicydecisions.Inthecontentanalysis,74percentofthetotalsamplecontains

subjectivecommentaryinthefirstthreeparagraphs,thesesubjectivecommentsmainly

regardopinionsonSpicer’sroleinthepoliticalprocessopposedtoSpicer’scommentson

policymatters.

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Aspreviouslymentioned,thetopstorythatcameoutofPressBriefing#30,wasSeanSpicer

instructingAprilRyanto‘Stopshakingherhead’.However,healsoinformedtheWhite

HousePresscorpsonpolicytopicssuchasthePresidentsigninganExecutiveOrderon

energyindependenceattheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,aswellasmoreinformation

aboutreinstatingtheDakotaAccessPipeline,whichPresidentObamahadpreviouslyshut

down.ThereportingofSeanSpicerinstructingAprilRyantostopshakingherheadprovides

evidenceforthecritiquethatthereportingofeverysmall,precise,detailofwhathappensin

politicsisdistractingfrompolicydecisions(McNair,2000).TheDakotaAccessPipelineisnot

justanimportantenvironmentalissuebutanindigenousrightsissue.NativeAmericanSioux

TribefromtheStandingRockReservationarguedthattheDakotaAccessPipelinewould

contaminatetheirdrinkingwateranddesecratetheirsacredburialsites.PresidentObama

suspendedtheproductionontheDakotaAccessPipelineastheSiouxTribeprotestedfor

monthsandreceivedinternationalsupport.ManyFacebookusersfromaroundtheglobe

‘checked-in'atStandingRockReservationtoshowsolidarityandinNewZealand,agroupof

MaoriperformedaHakainfrontoftheUSembassytoshowthattheysupportedtheSioux

Tribeintheirprotest.OnecouldsuggestthatSpicer’soutburstwastodistractfromthe

Administration’sdisregardforNativeSovereignty,aswellasanattempttodiscreditthe

notionthattheTrumpElectionCampaignandRussianOfficialscolludedtoensurethat

HillaryClintondidnotbecomethePresidentoftheUnitedStates.

InPressBriefing#36,SpicerclaimingthatBasharal-Assadwasmoremorallycorruptedthan

‘someoneasdespicableasHitler’becametheleadingstoryofmanynewsoutletsandwas

featuredin97percent(29outof30)ofthesamplearticles.OthertopicsthatSpicerand

PresscorpsdiscussedincludedrepealingtheAffordableCareAct,foreignrelationswith

ChinaandNorthKorea,andifUnitedAirlinesweretobeinvestigatedbytheWhiteHouse.

Allofthesetopicshadbeendiscussedheavilyinthethen-currentnewsagenda.BySpicer

claiming“wedidn'tusechemicalweaponsinWorldWarII",thusinadvertentlydenyingthe

Holocaust,themediaoutletsinthesampleallignorethefactthatSpicerreferredtoNorth

Korea,Syria,andIranas'failedstates'.SpiceralsoclaimsthatitisthegoaloftheUnited

StatestodestabilisetheconflictthatwashappeninginSyria,nottorepatriateSyriansinto

AmericanSocietybecausethatisnotapermanentsolutiontoendingtheconflict.Thiswasa

hot-buttonissueduringthecurrentnewscycleglobally,notjustintheUnitedStates,as

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citizenswerepressuringtheirrepresentativestoincreasethenumberofrefugeesthatcame

intothecountry,andtheTrumpadministrationwasattemptingtobanpeoplewith

passportsfromMiddleEasterncountries,suchasSyriafromtravelingintotheUnitedStates.

Fromthetranscript,itisapparentthatSpicer'sprimarygoalwastocriticiseRussiafor

aligningthemselveswithSyria.AsthequestionthatwasaskedbythePresscorpsmember

was

“ThealliancebetweenRussiaandSyriaisastrongone;itgoesbackdecades.

PresidentPutinhassuppliedpersonnelandhe'ssuppliedmilitaryequipmenttothe

Assadgovernment.Whatmakesyouthinkthatatthispointheisgoingtopullback

inhissupportforPresidentAssadandfortheSyriangovernmentrightnow?"

Spicerbeganhisanswerwiththeinfamoussoundbite,“wedidn’tusechemicalweaponsin

WorldWarII.YouhadsomeoneasdespicableasHitlerwhodidn’tevensinktousing

chemicalweapons.Soyouhaveto,ifyou’reRussia,askyourselfisthisacountrythatyou

andaregimethatyouwanttoalignyourselfwith?”

Byleadingwiththisfalsestatement,Spicer’srealanswerandjustificationare

overshadowed.“You(Russia)havepreviouslysignedontointernationalagreements

rightfullyacknowledgingthattheuseofchemicalsweaponsshouldbeoutofboundsby

everycountry.TonotstanduptoAssadbuttoyourownword,shouldbetroubling.”

PerhapsifSpicerhadnotpreviouslymadesomanyerroneousclaims,themediawouldhave

reportedabouttheinternationalrelationselementsofthepressbriefing,ratherthanhis

comparisonbetweenAssadandHitler,asthatwasonlyadiminutivepartofhisresponse

butwasthemostabsurd.Thiswillbeanalysedindepthintheproceedingchapter.

ItisimportanttonotethatthisisnotthefirsttimetheAmericanGovernmentandthe

MediahavecomparedaWorldLeadertoHitlerinanefforttogainpublicconsensus.In

ManufacturingConsent,HermanandChomsky(2002,p.265)pointoutthatthediscourse

aroundPolPotandthegenocideinCambodiahad‘forgednewpatternsofGenocide

comparabletoHitlerandStalin.’However,oncetheVietnameseremovedPolPotandthe

KhmerRougefrompower,thediscoursearoundPolPotchangedfromevildictatortoa

characterofsympathy.TheVietnamesewerethenumberonepoliticalenemyoftheUnited

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States,therefore,theAdministrationwasattemptingtoscorepoliticalpointsathometo

keepthepopulationinsupportoftheirwareffort.ByfocusingontheprocessofSpicer’s

wordsandhisattempttojustifyhismisstep,importantpolicydecisionswereoverlooked

andnotdiscussedinthepublicsphere.

6.3Ideologyexpressedthroughsourcequotesselection

Thirdpartysourcesprovidecommentsandopinionsthathelptoshapethetoneand

ideologicalexpressionofanewsstory.Thefollowingisananalysisofwhatquotesthatcould

beindefenceofSpicer,orcondemningSpicermeaninthecontextofthewholearticlein

ordertopropagatethemediaorganisation’sideology.

6.3.1Theinitialpressbriefing

TheNewYorkTimesfirstthirdpartysourcequoteisfromthepresidentoftheWhiteHouse

Correspondents’Association,JeffMason.MasonisquotedtellingCNN(anotherliberal

mediaorganisation)thatSpicer’sactionsduringtheinitialpressbriefingwere“stunningand

shocking”.ElaboratinginaphoneinterviewwithTheNewYorkTimes,Masonstated“People

weresurprised.Iwassurprised.It’snotwhatIwasexpectingforthefirststatementbythe

presssecretaryinthepressroom.”ThisshowstothereaderthatSpicer’sbehaviouris

outsideofwhatisexpectedforapresssecretary.Masonisacrediblesource,ashis

leadershippositionintheWhiteHouseCorrespondentsAssociationwouldsuggestthathe

hasbeenamemberofthePresscorpsforaconsiderablelengthoftime.Thearticlethen

movesontodiscussKellyanneConway’sappearanceonNBC’sMeetthePress.Conway

worksalongsideSpicerintheTrumpadministrationasa“CounselortothePresident”.On

MeetthePressConwayassertedthatSpicer“merelypresentedalternativefacts”Thehost

ofMeetthePress,ChuckToddrebuttedherinsaying“Look,alternativefactsarenotfacts.

They’refalsehoods.”Thisreinforcestheideaofarticle,thatifSpicercontinueshisbehaviour

ofthisinitialpressbriefingitwillbedamagingtodemocracy.ConwaythenthreatensTodd

bystating“Ifwearegoingtokeepreferringtoourpresssecretaryinthosetypesofterms,I

thinkthatwearegoingtohavetorethinkourrelationship.”ByincludingthiscommentThe

NewYorkTimesreinforcesthatthiscontentiousrelationshipextendsfurtherthanSpicerto

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theentireTrumpadministration.TheNewYorkTimes,thenquotesBuzzfeed’sEditorin

chief,BenSmithclaimingthattheTrumpadministrationwould“findpracticalreasonstobe

honest…theyneedtowinbackthecreditabilitythattheyarespendingnow.”This

statementsuggeststhatSpicerisactingagainsthisownself-interest,andwillneedto

changehisbehavioursoon.TheNewYorkTimesalsoreferstoformerpresssecretaryAri

Fleischer,whoexpressesempathytowardsSpicer.FleischerwasthePresssecretaryfor

PresidentGeorgeW.Bush(The43rdPresident),SpicerhadalsoworkedintheBush43

administrationalongsidehim.FleischernotesthatSpicer’sbehaviourwasabreakfrom

traditionandthat“Everyonecomplainsaboutthepress,butmostpeoplebitetheir

tongues.”FleischerfurtherexplainsSpicer’sjobasPresssecretarybytellingTheNewYork

Times“Sean’sfirstclientisthePresidentoftheUnitedStatesandthosearoundthe

president;hissecondclientisthepresscorps,andhehastoserveboth,alwaysguidedby

truth.”ThishighlightswhereSpicer’sprioritieslie,howeverFleischerisalsoacknowledging

theneedforSpicertotelltherealtruthnotfalsehoodsnor‘alternativefacts’.

FoxNewsdidnotpublishanythirdpartysourcequotes.TheonlyquotesintheFoxNews

articlesarequotesfromSpicertakenfromthepressbriefingtranscript.Thisrevealsthe

ideologyofFoxNewsasright-wing,asthereisnomentioninthearticleofjournalistsand

othernotablepublicfigures,suchasotherpoliticaloperativesbeingshockedorrepulsedby

Spicerinthe‘fierybriefing’.NowhereinthearticledoesFoxNewsusethephrases

“alternativefacts”nor‘falsehoods’,thearticlealsodoesnotattempttocorrectandcritique

Spicer’sassertionsregardingcrowdsize.

TheWallStreetJournalquotesSpicer’scolleaguesintheTrumpadministration,academic

expertsandformerpresssecretaryAriFleischerasthirdpartysources.Spicer’scolleagues

thatwerequotedareCounselortothePresidentKellyanneConwayandChiefofStaff

ReincePriebus,whoattempttodefendSpicerandexplainhisactionsinthecontextofthe

Trumpadministrationasawhole.TheWallStreetJournalquotesConwayonMeetthePress

claiming“Idon’tthinkyoucanprovethosenumbersonewayoranother.Thereisnowayto

quantifyingcrowdnumbers.”ThisisConway’sexplanationforwhyitwasacceptablefor

Spicertoshare‘alternativefacts’withthepresscorps.ReincePriebusisquotedtellingFox

NewsSundaythat“Thereisanobsessionbythemediatodelegitimisethispresidentandwe

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arenotgoingtositaroundandletthathappen.Wearegoingtofightbacktoothandnail

everydayandtwiceonSunday.”Thisquotetellsthereaderthatthepresscorpsdeserved

Spicer’sjeremiad,andthattheAdministrationisonlydoingtothemedia,whatthemediais

doingtothem.TheacademicsthatarequotedinTheWallStreetJournalareMarthaJoynt

Kumar,DirectoroftheWhiteHouseTransitionProjectandaprofessoratTowsonUniversity

andMatthewBaum,professorofcommunicationsatHarvardUniversity.Itshouldalsobe

notedtheKumar’sacademicworkwasusedasafoundationforthisthesis.Kumarwarns

TheWallStreetJournalthatifTrumpandtheadministrationneedtocommunicateinatone

thatshowstheyare‘governingallpeople’andthatTrumphadto‘broadenhisreachto

peoplewhodidn’tvoteforhim.”Baumalsowarnsthat“Allthesoundandfuryofthepast

48hourshasbeenabouttone,relationshipsandstyle-completelyswampingsubstance.”

Thischapterarguesthatthemedia’scloseattentiontotone,relationshipsandstyle

completelysuffocatesthechanceforrobustpoliticalpolicyanalysisinthemedia.Ari

Fleischer,formerpresssecretaryisonceagainquoted,pointingoutthatmanymediaoutlets

criticisedTrumpandotherAdministrationofficialsasracistsandotherunflatteringimages

andthatpartofSpicer’sjeremiaddidfocusoninaccuratereportingthatTrumphad

removedabustofcivilrightsleaderMartinLutherKingIIforhisoffice.Fleischerdefended

theTrumpadministrationinsaying“Ifyou’retheWhiteHouse,youlookatthatandyoudo

getjustifiablyangry.Theissueofthebustisnotunserious.”Byconcludingthearticlewith

thisquoteTheWallStreetJournalissuggestingtothereaderthatthemediaisatfaultfor

this“dustup”notSpicerandtheTrumpadministration.

CNNchosejournalistsfrommediaoutletsthatpropagatethesameleft-wingideologyasthe

majorityoftheirthirdpartysourcequotes,allquotesexpressedanoutragedshock.Glenn

ThrushfromTheNewYorkTimestweetedhisshockatSpicer’sfirstpressbriefing“Jawmeet

floor”,thepreviouslyquotedChuckToddofMeetthePresssaid“I’verunoutofadjectives”,

andKarenTumultyoftheWashingtonPostsaidthatSpicer’sdemandof“thisiswhatyou

guysshouldbewritingabout”was“chilling.”AriFleischerisonceagainquoted;thistimehe

issaying“Thisisastatementyou’retoldtomakebythePresident.Andyouknowthe

Presidentiswatching.”ThisstatementisframedtolooklikeFleischeriscondemningSpicer,

aswellasimplyingthatdespitethefactthatSpicerhasnopersonalagencywhenitcomes

toperformingaspresssecretary.Despitethis,SpicerstillletTrumpdowninhisdelivery.

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ThisstatementappearstobeexpressingthatsentimentasprecedingthisquoteCNNnotes

that“overwhelminglynegative”reactionswerenotonlyfromjournalists.Following

Fleischer’squoteisaquotefromBrianFallon,whowassaidtobecomepresssecretaryif

HillaryClintonwaselectedPresidentinsteadofDonaldTrump.Fallonsaid“SeanSpicerlacks

thegutsorintegritytorefuseorderstogooutandlie.Heisafailureinthisjobonhisfirst

fullday.”Thisharshcriticismhighlightstheleft-wingbiasthatCNNpossesses,howeverCNN

alsoquotesaconservativecommentator,perhapsasanefforttohavethereportingappear

morebalanced.ConservativecommentatorBillKristolsaid“itisembarrassing,asan

American,towatchthisbriefingbySeanSpicerfromthepodiumattheWhiteHouse.Not

theRNC.TheWhiteHouse.”Thisquotehighlightstheimportanceoftheinstitutionofthe

WhiteHouse.KristolissuggestingthatSpicer’sactionsintheinitialpressbriefingarenot

onlyembarrassingtotheWhiteHousebutalsotheentirepopulationoftheUnitedStatesof

America.

TheAssociatedPressbeginstheirthirdpartysourcequoteswithformerCBSanchorduring

theWatergateScandal,DanRather.Ratherpleads“Ihopepeoplewillstop,pullbackfor

whatweintelevisioncallawideshotandseewhatishappening.Thisisadeliberate

propagandacampaign.”Ratherisurgingpeopletolookatnewsstoriesandgovernment

statementsintheircontextoftheirenvironment,ratherthanjustfocusingonthenarrative

thatisbeingpresented.Thisisaninterestingquoteforanewswireagencytoinclude,as

previouslymentionednewswireagenciesusuallyreportunbiasedrecounts.Rather’squote

revealsanideologicalmotivebehindthelinguisticchoices,“propaganda”iswidelyviewed

asanegativeterm,andRatherissuggestingthatSpicer’sactionsareunhealthyfor

democracy.KellyanneConwayisthenextthirdpartysourcequote,Conwayisdirectly

quotedexplainingthelogic(orlackthereof)of‘alternativefacts’andthenindirectlyquotes

herofaccusingMeetthePress’ChuckToddoflaughingatherandsayingthatTodd

symbolisedhowTrumphasbeentreatedbythemedia.Thisshowsthatthenarrativeof

‘poorvictimTrump’isbeingpropagatedholisticallybytheTrumpadministration.The

AssociatedPressalsoquotesformerPresssecretaryAriFleischerandgoesfurtherto

connectthetwopresssecretariesbyhighlightingthatSpicerworkedinBush43

administrationtoo.Fleischerpointsoutthat“presssecretarieshavetowalkafinelineof

reflectingthethinkingandwishesofthepresidentwhiletryingtohelpthepeoplecovering

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himdotheirjobs.Fleischeralsosaysthatapresssecretarycannotlieas“itwillshortenyour

career.”Thisominouslysuggeststhatthisfirstbriefingwillruinhisfuturecareerprospects

andplaguehistenureattheWhiteHouse.

Reutersdoesnotquoteanyindividualsasathirdpartysource.However,Reutersdoesquote

WashingtonMetrosubwaysystemwhosaidthat“193,000usershadenteredthesubway

systemby11a.m.onFriday,comparedwith513,000atthattimeduringObama’s2009(first

term)inauguration.”ThiscorrectsSpicerwithoutbiaswhointhepressbriefingsaidthat

“420,000usedD.C.Metropublictransityesterday,whichactuallycomparesto317,000that

useditforPresidentObama’slast(secondterm)inauguration.”(TheWhiteHouse,2017).It

shouldbenotedthatitisunjusttocompareasecondterminaugurationtoafirstterm

inauguration.It’slikecomparingavowrenewalceremonytoachurchweddingofyoung

lovers.

6.3.2Pressbriefing#30(AprilRyanConfrontation)

TheNewYorkTimesfirstthirdpartysourceisalistenerofAprilRyan’sradiostation,who

accordingtoTheNewYorkTimescallsRyansounding‘pained’toexpressthatshewas

“appalledatthewaySeanSpicerwithtreatingyou(Ryan)withsuchdisrespect.”TheNew

YorkTimesthenquotesRyan’sresponse:“Ihavepeoplecomingatmeinallsortsofways.I

thankyousomuch.”ThisexchangepaintsRyanasasympatheticfigure,anunderdog

journalistwhoistryingtogetherstorybeforedeadline.Thereadershouldbecompelledto

rootforRyaninherclasheswiththeWhiteHouse.ThearticlealsoreferencesPresident

TrumpaskinghertoarrangeameetingbetweenhimandtheCongressionalBlackCaucus,

‘aretheyfriendsofyours?”Trumpaskedherunawareofracialnuancesposingsucha

questiontoablackjournalistmaybe.ThisreinforcestothereaderthatRyanistheperson

tochampioninthisnewsstory.ThesecondthirdpartysourceisJonathanCapehartfrom

TheWashingtonPoststating“Sheisaforceandyoureallyhavetobeaforcewhenyouare

anAfrican-Americanwomaninoneoftheclubbiestroomsinthecountry…You’vegottobe

toughespeciallytobeinthatroomfor20years.”ThisstatementexpressesRyan’sexpertise

asajournalistthroughherexperienceandsuggeststhatdespitesocietalbarrierstryingto

holdherback,Ryanstandsupforwhatshebelievesin.Thearticlealsoinformsthereader

thatRyanisasinglemotheroftwodaughters.ThefinalthirdpartysourceisJerryLopes,the

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presidentofprogramoperationsatRyan’snetworkwhosaid“thetruthofthematterisif

shedoesn’taskurban-relatedquestions,theymaynevergetasked.”Lopesalsopointsout

thatthemajorityoftheWhiteHousePresscorpsismadeupofwhitemen.

FoxNewsonceagaindoesnotpublishanythirdpartysources.Thearticleonlyreferencesan

unnamedreporterasking“DoesthePresidentstillbelieveclimatechangeisahoax?”inan

efforttoexplainwhySpicerwouldhavebeenagitatedwhenhelashedoutatRyan,

instructinghernottoshakeherhead.

TheWallStreetJournaldidnotpublishanarticleonthisnewsstory.Thiswillbediscussed

furtherinchapterseven.

CNN’sstorydoesnotstateanythirdpartysources,insteaditisanarticleaboutRyan

expressingherthoughtsabouttheincidentofSpicerattemptingtodisciplineherlikea

naughtychild,ontheCNNprogrammeNewDay.Thisarticleisatextthataccompanieda

videoofAprilRyanexpressingherviews.

TheAssociatedPressdoesnothaveanythirdpartysourcequotesasthefocusofthisnews

storyisthatRyanhadbeenhiredasaCNNpoliticalcontributoraftertheincidentwith

Spicer.Thearticleisonlyfourparagraphs.

Reutersalsodidnotpublishaboutthisstory.Thiswillalsobediscussedfurtherinchapter

sevenintandemwithomissionmadebyTheWallStreetJournal.

6.3.3Pressbriefing#36(Assad/Hitlercomparison)

TheNewYorkTimesusestwoorganisationsasthirdpartysourcesasanattempttoexplain

howSpicer’scomparisonofAssadtoHitlerwasnotonlyinappropriateandinsensitive,but

incorrect.TheUnitedStatesHolocaustMemorialMuseumisquotedinthearticlestating

“160,000to180,000JewskilledbytheNaziswerefromGermany”therebyprovingthat

Hitlerdidinfactkill“hisownpeople”despiteSpicer’sassertionduringthepressbriefing.

TheSyrianNetworkforHumanRightsisalsoquotedsayingthattheAssadgovernment

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droppedmorethan12,000barrelbombsintheircivilwarefforts.Leadinghistorianofthe

Holocaust,ProfessorDeborahLipstadtwasquotedinsaying“Historically,it’sjustwrong…

MrSpicershouldnotbemakingcomparisons.It’satbest,notthoughtout,andattheworst

itislatentanti-Semitism.”Thisisaquoteofcondemnation,provingthatitwaswrongof

Spicertomakesuchacomparison.Noonlyfactuallywrong,butmorallywrong.Democratic

HouseMinorityLeaderNancyPelosiisalsoindirectlyquotedincallingforPresidentTrump

tofireSpicerfromhispostaspresssecretary.ThisreinforcesTheNewYorkTimes

ideologicalagendathatSpicerisinthewronginthissituationandhisapologywasnot

sincerenortimelyenough.

FoxNewshasthreethirdpartysourcequotes.ThefirstisfromHouseMinorityLeaderNancy

PelosiaccusingSpicerof“downplayingtheHolocaust”andcalledhisSpicertobefiredas

“EitherheisspeakingforthePresident,orthePresidentshouldhaveknownbettertohire

him.”ThisisatotalcondemnationofnotonlySpicerbutalsoPresidentTrumpforchoosing

Spicertobehisspokesperson.AreadermayviewthisquoteasPelosiattemptingto

underminethePresident’sintelligenceandauthority.ThequotefromRepublican

RepresentativeLeeZeldin(whoFoxNewsnotesisJewish)islessabrasive.Zeldinissueda

statementquotedinthearticlesaying“youcanmakethecomparisonalittledifferentlyand

itwouldbeaccurate,butit’simportanttoclearupthatHitlerdidinfactusechemical

warfaretomurderinnocentpeople.”Thisquoteisframedasacritiqueakintowhata

supervisormightgivetoastudentonathesischapter,notasacriticismofasenior

administrationofficialwhosesalaryispaidbytaxpayerclaimingthatHitlerwasnotasvile

becausehehad‘Holocaustcentres’.TheideologyofFoxNewsasRepublicansympatheticis

veryapparentinthisquoteasthearticleisframedasanapologyandsuggeststhatSpicer

wasmakingagraveandignorantmistake.DefenseSecretaryJimMattisisthenquotedon

theissuesaying“EveninWorldWarII,chemicalweaponswerenotusedonbattlefields.

SinceWorldWarI,therehasbeenaninternationalconventiononthis.Tostandidlyby,

whenthatconventionisviolated,thatiswhatwehadtotakeactionon,urgently,inour

ownvitalinterest.”MattisisacolleagueofSpicer’s,thiscommentisaclarificationwhich

furthersuggeststothereaderthatSpicer’scommentswereamisguidedattempttoexpress

thesesentiments.

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TheWallStreetJournal’sfirstthirdpartysourcequoteisfromanunnamedseniorTrump

administrationofficialwhoclaimedthatSpicer’scomments“createdabitofastir”andthat

itwasdecidedinternallyforSpicertoissuea“full-throatedapology”.Ideologically,this

expressestothereaderthattheTrumpadministrationonthewholeisnotananti-Semitic,

Holocaustdenyinginstitution.HouseMinorityLeaderNancyPelosiisonceagainquoted

callingforPresidentTrumptofireSpicerand“immediatelydisavow”hisstatements.Pelosi

isalsoquotedfurtherthatthetimingofthesecommentswereinappropriate,astheywere

madeonthefirstdayofPassover.StevenGoldstein,thenexecutivedirectoroftheAnne

FrankCentreofMutualRespect,alsocalledforSpicertobefiredandclaimed“Spicer’s

statementisthemostevilsluruponagroupofpeoplewehaveeverheardfromaWhite

Housepresssecretary.”ThisisanotherharshcondemnationofSpicer.AnneFrankwasa

famousJewishdiaristwhodiedoftyphusintheBergen-Belsencamp,twoweeksbeforethe

liberation.

CNNfirstquotesDefenseSecretaryJamesMattisasathirdpartysourcewithhisclarification

atthePentagonofSpicer’scomments,justasFoxNewshad,alsostatingthattherehas

beensanctionsagainstchemicalwarfaresincetheGreatWar.Whatismostinteresting

abouttheCNNstoryisthattheyquotedformerfirstdaughterChelseaClinton(whoisalso

thedaughterofTrump’selectionopponentHillaryClinton)whogracefullytweeted“Ihope

@[email protected]’safewblocksaway.”Clinton’s

husbandisalsoJewish,andthisshowsthatClintonhadvariouspersonalmotivationsto

makeapublicstatementaboutSpicer’sactions,andasCNNisaprogressivemedia

organisationitisfairtosuggestthatClinton’scommenthasaplaceinthearticle.Steven

GoldsteinisonceagainquotedbyCNN.However,unlikeTheWallStreetJournal,CNNnotes

thatGoldsteinbelievesnoneofSpicer’smultipleattemptsatapologisingmeritforgiveness,

asittookSpicertoolongto“sortofgetitright”.Thisisaharshcriticism,andexposesthe

left-winganti-TrumpideologythatCNNpossesses.ThearticleendswithPelosistatement

callingforSpicertobefired.

TheAssociatedPressquotesbothDefenseSecretaryJames(Jim)Mattisinhisclarification

justasFoxNewsandCNNdidandRepresentativeNancyPelosiinhercondemnationasdid

FoxNews,TheWallStreetJournal,andCNN.TheAssociatedPressalsoquotesDemocratic

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SenatorBenCardintweet“Someoneget@PressSecarefresherhistorycourseonHitlerstat

(hashtag)#Icantbelievehereallysaidthat.”Thistweetcanbeseenasasardoniccriticismof

Spicer’scommentsandsuggeststhatHitler’suseofthegaschamberisinfactcommon

knowledge.Thenonceagain,RepublicanLeeZeldinandStevenGoldsteinarequoted.

However,Goldstein’squoteisattributedto“TheNewYork-basedAnneFrankCentreof

MutualRespect.AthirdpartysourcethatisfeaturedinTheAssociatedPressbutnotinthe

otherfivearticlesincludedinthisjournalisticdiscourseanalysis,isfromMattBrooks,

executivedirectoroftheRepublicanJewishCoalition.Brookessaidinastatement“usingthe

issueoftheHolocaustorHitlerisproblematiconmanylevels…He’sbentoverbackwardsto

makeclearthoseviewsarenothis,notwhathewastryingtosay.Weacceptthatandmove

on.”BrookesrepresentsaRepublicanorganisation,asSpiceristhepresssecretaryfora

RepublicanpresidentandtheformerDirectorofCommunicationsandStrategyatthe

RepublicanNationalCommittee,itcouldbesuggestedthatthepoliticalinterestofthe

RepublicanJewishCoalitiontoforgiveSpicer.Thisquotealsoreinforcestothereaderthat

Spicermadeastupidmistakeasopposedtobeingpurposefullyanti-Semitic.

Reutersonlyhasonethirdpartysourcequote.StevenGoldstein,theexecutivedirectorof

theAnneFrankCenterforMutualRespectisquotedinthelastparagraphcallingforSpicer

tobefired.“SeanSpicernowlackstheintegritytoserveasWhiteHousepresssecretary,

andPresidentTrumpmustfirehimatonce.”Thisquoteisinthelastparagraphinthe

Reutersarticle,thisquoteprovidesthearticlewithastrongmemorablefinishthatwillstay

inthereader’smindandtherefore,heavilyinfluencesthetoneofthearticleasa

condemnationofSpicer,insteadofanunbiasedaccountofwhatSpicerhadsaid.However,

onecouldargueitisimpossibletoreportoneventsthatinvoketheHolocaustinan

unbiasedfashionbecauseoftheheinouscrimescommittedagainstmillionsofpeople

simplybecauseoftheirreligion,familyhistory,culture,orsexuality.Itistheresponsibility

ofthefreepresstoholdpoliticalpowerstoaccounttoensurethattheeventsofthe

Holocaustsarenotrepeated.

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6.4HowdoesTheWhiteHousePresscorpsaffecttheAmericanPublicSphere? ItcanbesaidthatTheWhiteHousePresscorpsisthehumancoreoftheAmerican

MediatedPublicSphere.McNair(2000),claimsthatinBritainlobbycorrespondents,who

reportonthedailyactivitiesofpoliticians,insiderpartypolitics,andgovernment

apparatusesarethehuman-coreofthepoliticalpublicsphere.Asthelobbycorrespondents

andtheWhiteHousePresscorpscompletesimilarjournalisticfunctions,itisfairtoapply

McNair’sassertiontotheWhiteHousePresscorps.Bothgroupsofjournalistsarekey

definersofpoliticalreality(McNair,2000).Therefore,onewouldassumethatpress

secretarybestpracticewouldbetoconductacordialrelationshipwiththepress.

AccordingtoHermanandChomsky(2002),itisthepurposeofthemassmediatoservice

thepopulacebycommunicatingmessagesandsymbolsthatentertainandinform,aswellas

indoctrinateindividualswithvalues,beliefs,andcodesofbehaviourthatallowthe

individualstofunctionwithintheinstitutionalstructuresofworldsocietyactively.Herman

andChomsky(2002)alsoclaimthatforthemassmediatoservethisfunction,theymust

engageinsystematicpropaganda.ItisimportanttonotethatintheUnitedStates,the

mediaisnotcontrolledbyaStateMonopoly.Therefore,thepropagandathatisespousedby

themediaislesslikelytobepoliticalpropaganda,andratheritismorelikelytobe

corporatepropaganda.Despitethisdistinction,themediastillservesthedominantelite.

ThePropagandaModelemphasisestheelite’sdominationofthemediaandthe

marginalisationofdissentsandoperatesthroughthefivefilters:Ownership,Advertising,

Information-sourcingfortheMassMedia,FlakandMediaCriticisms,andAnti-Communism

asacontrolmechanism(Herman&Chomsky,2002).Inthiscontext,onecouldsurmisethat

thefiltersofownershipandadvertisingcouldbeineffectwhenreportingontheTrump

administration.AsDonaldTrumphasbeenawell-knownhotelier,businessman,andreality

televisionhostacynicmaythinkthatcertainmediaoutletsareattemptingtoembarrassthe

administrationintheircoverageduetoabadbusinessrelationshipwiththeTrump

OrganizationbeforehebecamethePresident.Itisinterestingthatmediaorganisations

ownedbyComcast(NBCNewsandMSNBC),whoproducedandbroadcastedTrump’sreality

televisionshow,TheApprenticeweresomewhatsympatheticintheirportrayalofSpicer.

Othersomewhatsympatheticoutletswereallownedby21stCenturyFoxorNews

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Corporation.Bothofthesecompaniesduringthetimeofdatacollectionwereownedby

RupertMurdoch.AccordingtotheauthorofFireandFury,anexposéontheTrump

administration,MichaelWolff(2017),MurdochwasgoodfriendswithPresidentTrump’s

DaughterandSon-in-law,IvankaTrumpandJaredKushner.Thecouplealsoservedastwoof

Trump’stopadvisers.

Themediamarketismulti-layeredandsuppliesnewstomarketsofvaryingintellectual

levelsandideologies.McNair(2000)categorisesthedifferenceswiththreedesignations:

elite,mid-market,andpopular.ElitepublicationssuchasWallStreetJournal,The

WashingtonPost,andTheNewYorkTimescontainmorepoliticalnewsstoriesandareoften

usedassourcesforothermediaoutlets’newsstories.Theamountofinfluenceonthe

AmericanpublicspherecouldalsobecategorisedbytheseatingarrangementsintheJames

S.BradyPressBriefingRoom.Aspreviouslymentioned,inthefrontrowofthepressbriefing

roomssitssevenmediaoutletsthatarguablyarethemostinfluentialontheAmerican

mediatedpublicsphere.TheoutletsincludethenewswireservicesReutersandThe

AssociatedPress;theseservicestendtoreportfromanon-biasedstandpointasothermedia

outletsusedtheirreportingaseitherabasisfortheirownreportingorusethetextverbatim

andaccredittheserviceintheby-line.Objectivereportingmeansthatthetextscanbe

purchasedandusedbyoutletsthatpropagatedifferentideologies,thereforemaximising

theirprofits.Thethreemajorleadingbroadcasttelevisionnetworks,ABCNews,CBSNews,

andNBCNewsalsohaveprideofplaceinthefrontrow.GerbnerandGross(1976)attest

thatforthemajorityofthetwentiethcentury,broadcasttelevisionwasthechiefsourcefor

cultivatingpublicopinion,aschurcheswerefortheprecedingcenturies.Broadcast

televisionwasseenas‘thefirstscreen'andwastheprimarysourcethatthepublicreceived

theirnewsinformation.Presently,mediaconsumersliketocollecttheirnewsinformation

fromtheinternetviasmartphones,tabletsordesktopcomputers.Therefore,most,ifnotall

mediaoutletsalsohaveanonlinepresencewheretheyposttheircontent.Thefinaltwo

outletsare24HourCableNewsChannels.CNN,whichholdsaleftorliberalbiasandDonald

Trumpnicknames“ClintonNewsNetwork”(Trump,D.J.[@realDonaldTrump],6June2016)

andFoxNewswhichholdsaright-wingorconservativebiasandhashadthenickname“Faux

News”.ItisinterestingtonotethatFoxNewswaslaunchedin1996,asanideological

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counterparttoCNN,asthen-proprietorRupertMurdochbelievedthattoomanymedia

outletspossessedanovertleft-wingbias(McKnight,2010).

These24-hournewschannelsoperateunderthesameconventionsasnetworktelevision

news.However,programmehostsareallowedtoeditorialiseandoffertheiropinionson

policymattersandthepoliticalprocess.Theseopinionscanaffectthepublicspheregreatly,

asmembersofthepublicthathavealowlevelofmedialiteracymayperceivethese

editorialisedcommentsandopinionstobefacts.Thiscouldresultinmembersofthepublic

beinglesslikelytoengageindissentingoralternativediscoursestowhatisbeingpresented

bytheirpreferredcablenewsoutlet.Therefore,ifmediaconsumersareonlyconsuming

theirnewsfromCNN,thentheywillhaveanopinionofSeanSpicerthatheisan

embarrassmenttotheTrumpadministration,aswellasincompetentandunfittobea

Presidentialspokesperson.Whereas,ifamediaconsumerweretoonlyengageinFoxNews,

theywouldbelievethatSpicerasapresssecretarywasassertiveincorrectingthepressand

apologeticwhenhemakesamistake.

Moreover,itisimportanttonotethatall21stCenturyFoxandNewsCorporationmedia

outletsfollowthesameeditorialpolicysetoutbyRupertMurdoch.Thismeansthat

Murdochdecideshisopiniononanissueandthenallmediaoutletsaroundtheglobe

propagatetheseopinionsasfacts.Themostobviousexampleofglobaleditorialpolicyisthe

switchfromNewsCorporationmediaoutletsdenyingclimatechangewithwell-knownFox

NewsHostSeanHannityofHannityreferringtoglobalwarmingas"phoneysciencefromthe

left".InMay2007,Murdochannouncedthatthecompanycouldnolongerclaimthat

climatechangewasamythandthatitwasagenuinethreattotheworld.Interestingly,he

alsoclaimedtobecommittedtothegoalofNewsCorporationbecomingcarbonneutralby

2010(McKnight,2010).In,2011Murdochannouncedinacorporatememothatthis

initiativehadbeenasuccess(Grim,2011).

Thesearetwostrikinglydifferentportrayalsofapoliticaloperative.Citizenscanonlygetan

accuraterepresentationofSpicerbyreadingpressbriefingtranscripts,orwatchingthe

recordingswherepossibleorconsumingawidevarietyofmediathatpropagatearangeof

varyingideologies.Whatismostinterestingisthecontrastbetweenthesourcequotesused

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inFoxNewsandTheWallStreetJournal,thisisduetobothmediaorganisationsbeing

ownedbyRupertMurdoch.FoxNewsdidnothaveanythirdpartysourcequotesinthe

storiesregardingtheinitialpressbriefingandpressbriefing#30,thatcondonenorcondemn

Spicer’sbehaviour.Bystickingtotraditionalreportingoftheevents,FoxNewsisrevealing

theirpoliticalideologyandtheiralliancetotheTrumpadministrationbyonlyreportingthe

informationthattheyreceivedfromthepressbriefings.Theconventionsofstraight

reportageareusedasatactictodownplayoravoidtalkingabouttheextraordinary

commentsandactionsthatSpicerperformedinthepressbriefings.Inthearticlepertaining

topressbriefing#36,thearticlecontainsthreethirdpartysourcequotes.Twoofthe

sourcesarefromrepublicansources,includingSecretaryMattiswhoattemptedtoclarify

Spicer’smincedwordswhencomparingal-AssadtoHitler.IncontrastTheWallStreet

Journalquotesacademicexperts,Spicer’scolleaguesintheTrumpadministration,

communityleadersandformerpresssecretaryAriFleischer.Unliketheliberaloutlets,The

WallStreetJournalchosenottocitetheopinionsofjournalists.TheWallStreetJournalonly

publishedstoriesregardingtheinitialpressbriefingandpressbriefing#36.Inthestory

regardingtheinitialpressbriefingthethirdpartysourcequotestendtosuggestthatthe

mediawasdeservingofSpicer’sjeremiad.Thethirdpartysourcequotesfromthearticle

aboutpressbriefing#36suggestthatSpicer’scomparisonwasmisguidedandthought

through,howeveritdoescitePelosi’sandGoldstein’scallstoPresidentTrumptofireSpicer.

6.5Conclusion

Thischapterhasanalysedhowtheeventsatthecasestudypressbriefingsresultedina

fractured,contentiousrelationshipbetweenPresssecretarySeanSpicerandtheWhite

Housepresscorps.Althoughnewsmediastoriesaboutthepoliticalprocesshaveavalued

placeinpoliticaljournalism,anoverrepresentationofpoliticalprocessarticlesdwarfingthe

numberofarticlespublishedthatconcernedpolicymattersisdamagingtothepublic

sphere.AccordingtoastudyconductedbyThePewResearchCenter(2017),whenreporting

ontheTrumpadministration,journalistsfavouredreportingoncharacterandleadership(a

partofprocessreporting)asopposedtoreportingonpolicydecisions.

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Politicalsourcerelationsareapartofthepoliticalprocess,withoutpoliticalsourcerelations

andthePresssecretarypoliticaljournalismwouldbenothingthatgossipandmerefantasy

(Sanders,2009).SpicerandtheTrumpadministration,however,wouldarguethattheeven

withthePresssecretarypoliticaljournalismisstillnothingbutgossipandmerefantasy.

MembersoftheWhiteHousePresscorpsbelievethatitistheirjobtoreportwithveracity,

butthetwopartiesareatanimpassebecausetheyhavetwodifferentversionsoftruth(or

asKellyanneConwayphraseit‘alternativefacts’).Towle(1997),assertsthatacordial

workingrelationshipwiththePressisakeycomponentinbeingclassedasasuccessfulPress

secretary.AsdiscussedinthischaptertherelationshipbetweenSeanSpicerandtheWhite

HousePresscorpscanbeclassedasoneoftheworstinthehistoryoftheposition,because

ofhisunnecessaryaggressionbeinghighlydocumentedinthenewsmedia,globally.This

chapteralsoarguesthatifSpicermaintainedamorecordialrelationshipwiththePress

corps,thenewsstorieswouldhavefocusedmoreaboutpolicyannouncementsratherthan

SpicerdemandingthatAprilRyan“stopshakingherhead”oraboutclaimingthatAssadwas

worsethanHitlerduringPassover.

Thepoliticalsourcerelationsaremanifestedinthereportagethroughthirdpartysource

quotes.Anoverwhelmingnumberofjournalistsfromothermediaoutletsthatsharethe

sameideologyarequotedinthesamplearticles.Forexample,TheNewYorkTimesoften

quotedjournaliststhatworkedforCNNandTheWashingtonPost.Allthreemediaoutlets

propagatealiberalideology.

Byfavouringpersonality-orlackthereofasthesubjectofanewsstoryoverpolicy,the

mediatedpublicspherenolongeristhearenaforrationalpoliticalargument.Forexample,

CNNrepeatedlyinsinuatedthatSpicerwasanembarrassmenttotheTrumpadministration,

andignorantinsteadoffocusingoncontentsofthepressbriefings.Thisisdamagingtothe

AmericanMediatedPublicSphereasmediaconsumerstendtofavourreceivingtheirnews

informationfromthesourcesthatpropagatethesameideology(ThePewResearchCenter,

2017).Inthecaseoftheright-wingideology,RupertMurdochowned21stCenturyFoxand

NewsCorporationduringSeanSpicer’stenureasPresssecretary,thereforewithhislarge

concentrationofownershipandglobaleditorialpolicyitislikelythatanindividualwould

onlyconsumemediafromMurdochownedmediaoutletsacrossmediatypes.Thisis

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especiallydangeroustothepublicsphereasthismeansthatonepersonisdecidingthe

globalpublicdiscoursethatisacceptedastruthbymanymediaconsumers.

Insum,negativepoliticalsourcerelationscanbedamagingtothepoliticalmediatedpublic

sphere.IftherelationshipbetweenthePresssecretaryandthePresscorpsandtheirowners

isnegative,thiscanimpacteditorialisingandsubjectivecommentaryincasessuchasSean

SpicerdemandingAprilRyantostopshakingherhead.

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7.PoliticalJournalismandNewsValuesvis-á-visSpicer’srelationshiptotheWhiteHousePresscorps.

Politicaljournalism,justasnews,ingeneral,isnotmerelyasummaryof‘whathas

happened';themediaatlargeisnotaperfectmirrorofreality.Instead,themediaislikea

fun-houseofmirrorsprojectingawarpedreality,emphasisingcertainpartsandminimising

others.Itisimportanttonotethatnews,politicalorotherwiseisaproductandfashioned

fromasetofhistorical,cultural,economic,andinstitutionalnormsandregulations

(Sanders,2009).Thefabricofpoliticalnewsiswovenfromopinion,speculation,leaks,

recounts,andnewssubsidies,asjournalistsandpoliticiansstruggletocontrolhowpublic

perceptionisshaped.

Thefollowingchapteraimstocontextualisepoliticaljournalismasapracticeandasan

epistemology,whichisgroundedinthebeliefsof‘thepublic’srighttoknow’and‘the

media’spositioninsocietytoholdtheelitetoaccount’.Thischapterwillexplainhow

journalistsperformtheirdifferentfunctionsofchroniclers,newsreporters,critics,

commentatorsandpundits,aswellasinterrogators.Thechapterwillthenexplainhowthe

selectionofnewsstoriesisdecidedthroughtheconceptofnewsvalues.Thisexplanation

willevaluatebothGaltungandRuge’s(1965)newsvalues,andtheHarcupandO’Neill’s

(2016)updatednewsvalues,whichemphasisehowsocialmediahasaffectednews

selection.Thechapterwillthenapplythesenewsvaluesacrossthethreecasestudystories

oftheinitialpressbriefing,pressbriefing#30whenheconfrontedAprilRyan,andPress

Briefing#36whenhecomparedAssadtoHitler.Fromthesampleofmediaoutlets,TheNew

YorkTimes,TheWallStreetJournal,FoxNews,CNN,Reuters,andTheAssociatedPresshave

beenchosentobeanalysedasthesemediaoutletsarerepresentativesofnewspaper,cable

televisionnetworks,andnewswireagencies.TheNewYorkTimesandCNNareliberalmedia

organisations,FoxNewsandTheWallStreetJournalareconservativemediaorganisations,

andasTheAssociatedPressandReutersarenewswireservices,theydonotpropagatea

particularideologyandareseenasnon-biasedbyinstitutionssuchasThePewResearch

Center(2017).Thesesixmediaorganisationsareallconsideredprestigiousandinfluentialto

thepublicsphere.

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7.1ConventionsofPoliticalJournalism

Politicaljournalismisattheepicentreofthepoliticalcommunicationsprocess.Thepolitical

communicationsprocessisarelationalframeworkbetweenpolitician,journalist,media

owners,andpresssecretaries/politicalpublicrelationspractitioners(Kuhn&Neveu,2002).

Duetotheideaof‘thepublic'srighttoknow',politicaljournalismboaststhetitleof‘the

mostsacredpartofjournalism'andenjoysanoblestatuswithinthejournalisticfield

(Neveu,2002).Politicaljournalism,however,isnotwithoutitschallenges.Political

journalistsareoftencastasvictimscaughtbetweentheweightofpublicopinionandthe

powerfulinfluenceofpowerfulpoliticalactors.Journalistsarealsothreatenedbytheir

shrinkingprofessionalandintellectualautonomy,asnewsroomconvergenceand

technologicalcreatesfurthertimeconstraintsonstorydeadlines(Kuhn&Neveu,2002).Due

tothesetimeconstraints,newssubsidiesbecomealargepercentageofnews.Onecanclass

pressbriefingsasanewssubsidy(Neveu,2002).However,politicaljournalistsarenot

passivecogsinthecommunicationsmachine,thearticlesinthecontentanalysissample

thatridiculeSeanSpicer’spoliticalperformanceandpoorsourcerelationsmanagementas

discussedinthepreviouschaptersprovethis.Sixtypercentofthetotalsamplearticlesin

thecontentanalysiscontainsubjectivecommentary,thatmostoftenwashighlightingwhen

theTrumpadministrationwasstrayingfromconvention,while57.7percentofsample

articlesdirectlycitedwhenSpicerexhibitedillegitimateaggressivebehaviour.Another

constraintonpoliticaljournalismisthetransmissionandintelligibilityofthebeat.Civicsand

theprocessesofgovernmentarenotconsideredgeneralknowledge,andjournalistsare

oftentaskedwithsimplifyingpolicymatters.Otherspecialistbeatssucheconomicsand

sciencefacesimilarissues(Neveu,2002).Thiscouldbeareasonforthesofteningofpolitical

communicationandthepreferenceforreportingthepoliticalprocess,focusingon

personalities,dramaandconflict(Sanders,2009)overpolicyasmentionedinprevious

chapters.Thisisalsoexpressedinthecontentanalysisas79percentoftotalsamplearticles

hadSpicerasthefirstquotedormentionedperson,mostlybyhisnameratherthanthetitle

WhiteHousepresssecretary.ThisisunusualastheWhiteHousepresssecretaryissupposed

tobethesource,notthestory.Neveu(2002,pp.23-24)believesthatareasonforthe

softeningofpoliticalcommunicationisbecause“thedirectexperienceofpoliticalactivities

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ismoretransientthanpermanentexperiencessuchasbeingasportsfanoraconsumer."In

theUnitedStates,Presidentialelectionsonlyoccuronceeveryfouryears,andmostcitizens

donotengageinpoliticalactivitiesoutsideofthistime.

Sanders(2009)specifiesthatpoliticaljournalismisbothapracticeandanepistemology.As

apractice,politicaljournalismisbroadlyconsideredtobeanorganised,autonomous,and

accrediteddiscourseaboutpoliticsincludingnews,commentandopinion.Reportingpolitics

isahistoricallyandculturallysituatedpracticethatisbornoutofthesurroundingsocial

conditions(Sanders,2009).Asseeninthecontentanalysissample,subjectivecommentary

hasbecomeaheavilyfeaturedcomponentofpoliticaljournalismoutputs.Thesepolitics

journalismoutputscanbeindependent,biased,partisan,policyorpersonalityorientated.

Aspreviouslymentioned,withoutaccreditedsourcessuchastheWhiteHousePress

secretary,politicalreportingwouldbenothingbutpoliticalrumour(Sanders,2009),but

withoutautonomyfrompoliticalpower,politicaljournalismwouldmerelybepropaganda.

Politicaljournalismasanepistemologyforthegreaterpartisbasedupontherelianceof

authoritativesources.Storiesarestructuredaroundclaimstotruthandfactsprovidedby

sourcesnamedorotherwise.ItisbecauseofthisreliancethatthetensionbetweenSean

SpicerandtheWhiteHousepresscorpsoverwhatistruthandwhatisnot,becameaheavy

featureinpoliticaljournalismitself.Politicaljournalismmapspower,andapresssecretary

thatdoesnothavethefaithoftheirpresscorpsissomewhatpowerlessandtherefore

worthyofbeingreportedaboutintheinternationalnewsmediaasamethodtoholdthe

presssecretaryaccountablefortheiractionsandcomments.

Politicaljournalistsperformmanyfunctionsinpoliticaljournalism.Politicaljournalistsactas

chroniclers,newsreporters,critics,punditsandcommentators,aswellasinterrogators

(Sanders,2009).Achronicleristaskedwithafaithfulrecountofpoliticalevents,aprime

exampleofthisistheBritishPressGalleryreporters,whowouldreportontheproceedsof

parliament.InAmericanPoliticalJournalism,ajournalistwouldactasachroniclerifthey

weretorecountameetingbetweenforeignleaderswithoutcomment,orbroadcastsonthe

channelC-SPAN(Sanders,2009).Politicaljournalistsactasnewsreporterswhentheycover

eventssuchaspressbriefingsandnewsreleases.Investigativejournalistsarealsoknownto

moveawayfromtheofficialsourceagendaandtendtoagitatethoseincharge.Those

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actionsespeciallyangeredSeanSpicer,asheseemedtoviewhimselfastheonlycorrect

source,insomecasesevencontradictingPresidentDonaldTrump.Neveu(2002,p.31)

statesthat“thepoliticaljournalistisbothaninsider,whoknowsthecodesandsecretsof

thetribe,andacriticwhosepointofhonouristodecipherfortheaudiencethesecretsof

theirpoliticalcompetitorcolleagues.”Politicalcriticismdoesnotonlyexistintherealmof

politicaljournalism,butalsoincomedy.ActressMelissaMcCarthywonanEmmyforher

impressionofSeanSpicerduringpressbriefingsonthepopularcomedysketchshow

SaturdayNightLive.Punditsareconsideredexpertsinanareaofspecialism.WhiteHouse

Correspondents,canalsoactaspoliticalcommentatorsandpunditsforothermedia

organisations.Asmentionedpreviouslyandbelow,AprilD.Ryan,thecorrespondentforthe

AmericanUrbanRadioNetworks,alsoworksasapoliticalcommentatorandpunditonCNN.

Journalists,suchasRyanhaveachievedtheirauthoritativevoicethroughtheirlong

experiencewithpoliticsandthereforehaveperceivedinsiderknowledge.Asaninterrogator

theprimarytoolintheirjournalismtool-kitistheirroleasa‘finder-out',journalistsmust

investigateclaimsandstatementsmadebythegovernment.Journalistsasinterrogatorsare

exemplifyingtheideaof‘journalistsspeakingforthepeople’(Sanders,2009).

7.2NewsValuesintheTwenty-FirstCentury

7.2.1WhataretheupdatedNewsValues?

NewsValuesareastudyofnewsworthinessandatoolutilisedbybothjournalistsandpublic

relationsprofessionalsalike,toconstructthemediatedworldpresentedtonewsaudiences.

JohanGaltungandMariRuge(1965,pp.66-67)codifiedthesenewsvaluesintheseminal

studynamed"TheStructureofForeignNews".Thesenewsvaluesarelistedintheliterature

reviewchapter.

Itisimportanttonotethatnewsvaluesareonlyapartialexplanationofjournalistic

intentionsandarealistofsubjectivejudgements.Moreover,newsvaluesthemselvesarea

partofaconstructedideology,asechoedinHermanandChomsky(1988;2002)propaganda

model.Itisimportanttoconsidertheeconomicfactorsinnewsselection,pressurefrom

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proprietorsandadvertisersmayresultincertainstorieshavingthepreferenceinthenews

hierarchyornotbeingpublishedatall,togoagainsttheirwisheswouldbeconsidered

‘bitingthehandthatfeedsyou’.(Shallot&Johnson,2006,p.157).Anothereconomicfactor

istimeconstraints,asnewsroomscontinuouslyexperiencecutbacksinstaffingaswellas

increasingdemandforcontent,newssubsidiesincreasinglyshapethenewscontent(Shallot

andJohnson,2016),pressbriefingscouldbeconsideredagenreofnewssubsidies.

Withthedevelopmentofsocialmedia,thebusinessmodelofjournalismhasalsochanged.

AccordingtoPhillips(2015),socialnetworkingplatformFacebookdrivesmoretrafficto

mediaoutletwebsites.Thetraditionalmodelofaudiencesbeing‘passiveconsumers’has

beenturnedonitshead,asFacebookuserscandisseminatemediaarticlesviaFacebook

Statusesorprivatemessages(Harcup&O’Neill,2016).AccordingtoHarcupandO’Neill

(2016),storiesthataremorelikelytobesharedonFacebooktendtocontainanelementof

humour.Thiscouldbeanexplanationforwhy74percentoftotalsamplearticlescontained

subjectivecommentandtobehumorousistobesubjective.Thischangeinbusinessmodel

hasintroducedthenewnewsvalue“shareability”.Storiesthathave“shareability”aremore

likelytobedisseminatedthroughsocialmediausers’networks(HarcupandO’Neill,2016).

ThefulllistofHarcupandO’Neill’s(2016)NewsValuesareasfollows:

• Exclusivity:Storiesgeneratedby,oravailablefirstto,thenewsorganisationasa

resultofinterviews,letters,investigations,surveys,polls,andsoon.

• Badnews:Storieswithparticularlynegativeovertonessuchasdeath,injury,defeat

andloss(ofajob,forexample).

• Conflict:Storiesconcerningconflictsuchascontroversies,arguments,splits,strikes,

fights,insurrectionsandwarfare.

• Surprise:Storiesthathaveanelementofsurprise,contrastand/ortheunusualabout

them.

• Audio-visuals:Storiesthathavearrestingphotographs,video,audioand/orwhich

canbeillustratedwithinfographics.

• Shareability:Storiesthatarethoughtlikelytogeneratesharingandcommentsvia

Facebook,Twitterandotherformsofsocialmedia.

• Entertainment:Softstoriesconcerningsex,show-business,sport,lighterhuman

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interest,animals,orofferingopportunitiesforhumoroustreatment,wittyheadlines

orlists.

• Drama:Storiesconcerninganunfoldingdramasuchasescapes,accidents,searches,

sieges,rescues,battlesorcourtcases.

• Follow-up:Storiesaboutsubjectsalreadyinthenews.

• Thepowerelite:Storiesconcerningpowerfulindividuals,organisations,institutions

orcorporations.

• Relevance:Storiesaboutgroupsornationsperceivedtobeinfluentialwith,or

culturallyorhistoricallyfamiliarto,theaudience.

• Magnitude:Storiesperceivedassufficientlysignificantinthelargenumbersof

peopleinvolvedorinpotentialimpact,orinvolvingadegreeofextremebehaviour

orextremeoccurrence.

• Celebrity:Storiesconcerningpeoplewhoarealreadyfamous.

• Goodnews:Storieswithparticularlypositiveovertonessuchasrecoveries,

breakthroughs,cures,winsandcelebrations.

• Newsorganisation’sagenda:Storiesthatsetorfitthenewsorganisation’sown

agenda,whetherideological,commercialoraspartofaspecificcampaign.

Belowisananalysisofthenewsvaluesthatcausedthecasestudypressbriefingstobecome

headlinesintheinfluentialnewsoutlets:TheNewYorkTimes,FoxNews,TheAssociated

Press,Reuters,CNN,andTheWallStreetJournal.Theseoutletshavebeenpickedbecause

theyrepresentbothsidesoftheideologicalspectrum,andhailfromdifferentoriginalmedia

modes.TheNewYorkTimesandTheWallStreetJournal,arebothnewspapers.FoxNews

andCNNarebothrolling24-hourcablenewschannels.TheAssociatedPressandReutersare

distinguishedwireservicesthatcanservemediaoutletsasabaseforstorycontent,hence

theirtendencytofocusonobjectivereportingratherthansubjectivecommentary.

Comparablytothecontentanalysis,thisanalysiswillfocusonthethreeparagraphsofthe

newsstories.However,thefirstsourcequoteofthearticlewillalsobeincluded.

Itshouldbenotedthatthepowerfuleliteisthenewsvaluethatappearsinallofthenews

articlesinthesample.ThisisbecauseSeanSpiceristhetopspokesperson(apositionof

power)fortheWhiteHouse(apowerfulinstitution).Toavoidrepetition,thisreasonforthis

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newsvaluewillnotbeincludedintheproceedinganalysis.Thearticlesfrequentlyreference

Spiceras"WhiteHousepresssecretarySeanSpicer"or"topspokespersonSpicer".

7.2.2InitialPressBriefingNewsValues

TheleadparagraphofTheNewYorkTimesarticlereadsas:“ForwaryWashington

journalists,itseemedonlyamatteroftimebeforeDonaldJ.Trump’spresidencywouldlead

toahigh-tensionstandoffbetweenhisadministrationandthenewsmedia.ButonDay1?”

Thenewsvaluesthatcanbeselectedfromtheleadareconflict,thepowerfuleliteand

surprise.Conflictisevidentinthelanguagechoiceof“high-tensionstandoff”whichpaintsa

mentalpictureofaHollywoodWesternshowdownbetweenanoutlawandasheriffcocking

theirguns.Thefirstquotedsourceinthearticle,thepresidentoftheWhiteHouse

Correspondents’Association,JeffMasonclaimedthatSpicer’sactionswere“absolutely

surprisingandstunning.Peopleweresurprised.Iwassurprised.It’snotwhatIwas

expectingforthefirststatementbythepresssecretaryinthepressroom.”Aspreviously

statedinchaptersfourandfive,Spicerdidnotconformtotheexpectationofapresidential

presssecretary.Thisissurprisingasmentionedinchapterfour;Spicerwrotethetraining

manualonhowtobeaneffectiveRepublicancongressionalpresssecretary.Tosimply

explainhowsurprisingSpicer’sbehaviourwasduringthefirstpressbriefing,itcanbe

comparedtoafirstdate.Onafirstdate,apersonwouldnotexpecttheirdatetolaunchinto

a‘fieryjeremiad'claimingthattheotherpersonhasbeenlyinganddefamingthem.Ifa

personweretoexperiencethat,itwouldbeexpectedthattheywouldsharethatexperience

withtheirsocialnetworkaroundthem,bothinpersonandpossiblyonline.Therefore,it

wouldbeexpectedthatSpicer'ssurprisingbehaviourmadeforanewsheadline.The

powerfuleliteisanobviousnewsvalueasDonaldJ.Trumphadjustbeeninauguratedasthe

PresidentoftheUnitedStatesofAmerica.Furthermore,onecouldsuggestthatthisstory

hasthenewsvaluesof‘newsorganisation’sagenda’.TheNewYorkTimesopenlyendorsed

DonaldJ.Trump’selectionrivalHillaryRodhamClintoninthe2016generalelection.Itcould

besuggestedthatbyhighlightingSeanSpicer’sunexpectedlypoorbehaviour,theywere

attemptingtoridiculeNow-PresidentDonaldJ.Trump.

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TheleadparagraphoftheFoxNewsarticlereadsas:“WhiteHousepresssecretarySean

SpicerangrilyaccusedthemediaSaturdayof“falsereportingontheinaugurationasapart

ofwhathecalleda‘shameful’attempttominimizeenthusiasmforPresidentTrump,

beginninghistenureastheadministration’stopspokesmanonacombativenote.”Once

againthenewsvaluesofthepowerfulelite,conflictandnewsorganisation’sagenda.The

newsvalueofsurprise,however,doesnotappeartobeselectedforthisstory.Thiscanbe

attributedtothenewsorganisation'sagenda.FoxNews,wasaRupertMurdochowned

outlet,itwastaskedwithfollowingtheGlobalEditorialPolicyandpresentingconservative

(Republican)politicalfiguresinapositivelight.ThisisevidentasSpicerwasthefirstsource

quotedinthearticle,statingthatthenewsorganisationshadbeen‘irresponsibleand

reckless’.

TheleadparagraphofTheWallStreetJournalarticlereadsas:“Defendingaseriesoffalse

statementsbytheofficialWhiteHousespokesman,aseniorTrumpadministrationadviser

onSundaytheofficialhasbeeninvoking“alternativefacts’ratherthanuntruths.”Thenews

valuesthatareapparentinthisarticlearefollow-up,shareability,thepowerfulelite,and

conflict.ThisarticleisaboutKellyanneConwaydefendingSpicer’scommentsthedayafter

theinitialpressbriefing.Thisstoryalsohasshareabilityaswell,duetothefollow-up

elementandabsurdityofthephrase“alternativefacts”.Onceagain,thisstoryisaboutthe

powerfuleliteasbothConwayandSpicerisapartoftheTrumpadministration.Theconflict

isdemonstratedbothinreferencingtheeventsoftheinitialpressbriefingbystatingthat

Spicer“accusedthem(themedia)ofmisstatingthecrowdsizeattheinauguration.”Aswell

asquotingConwayinherdiscussiononNBC’s“MeetthePress”,“you’resayingit’sa

falsehoodandSeanSpicer,ourpresssecretary,gavealternativefactstothat,”shesaid

addingthatitwasimpossibletocountthecrowdsize.“Idon’tthinkyoucanprovethose

numbersonewayoranother.There’snowaytoquantifythosecrowdnumbers.”Thisshows

thatmoreconflictwascreatedoffoftheinitialconflictoftheinitialpressbriefing.

TheleadparagraphoftheCNNarticlereadsas:“That’swhatyouguysshouldbewritingand

covering,”newWhiteHousepresssecretarySeanSpicerangrilylecturedreporterson

Saturdayduringhisfirstremarksfromthepodiumofthepressbriefingroom.”Thenews

valuesthatappearfromtheleadareonceagain,thepowerfuleliteandconflict.Onceagain,

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thepowerelitenewsvaluefortheaforementionedreason,aswellasplacingwhereSpicer

madehisremarks"fromthepodiumofthepressbriefingroom".Thechoicetocontextualise

thephysicalspacewheretheremarksweremadedrawsuponthediscourseofpower

relationswhichsuggeststhatSpicerhasthepowerorauthorityoverthepresscorpsina

similarcontexttothediscourseoftheclassroom.Spicerstandsatthefrontofthejournalists

likeateacherwouldinfrontofaclass,andthejournalists,likeschoolchildren,mayonly

speakoraskquestionswhencalledupon(Fairclough,2006).Inthefollowingparagraph

whichquotesSpicersaying“thiswasthelargestaudiencetoeverwitnessaninauguration,

period,”,thenewsvalueofNewsOrganisation’sagendabecomesapparentinthesubjective

commentof“Spicersaid,contradictingallavailabledata.”ThissuggeststhatCNNisagainst

theTrumpadministrationandwishestounderminetheireffortstopresentPresident

Trump’sinaugurationasanundoubtedsuccess.Inthenextparagraph,theyprovide

evidencetotheirclaimthatSpicerwastellinguntruthsasitreferencestheaerialphotosand

theNielsenratingsoftheObamainauguration.Theheadlinealsorevealsthenews

organisation’sagendainstating“WhiteHousepresssecretaryattacksmediaforaccurately

reportinginaugurationcrowds.”

TheleadparagraphTheAssociatedPressarticlereadsas:‘DonaldTrump’s“runningwar”on

themediaiscontinuingintohispresidency,withstatementsovertheweekendcallinginto

questiontheextenttowhichinformationfromtheWhiteHousecanbetrusted.’Thenews

valuesthatcanbeidentifiedintheleadarecelebrity,andonceagain,conflictandthe

powerfulelite.Celebrityisthefirstnewsvaluethatisdrawnupon,byreferencingthe

celebrityofDonaldTrump.Aspreviouslymentioned,Trumpwasfamousduetohisbusiness

acumenandhostingarealitytelevisionshowbeforebecomingapresidentialcandidate.

Thenewsvalueofconflictisreferencedbythelinguisticchoiceof‘runningwar’thishas

dramaticconnotationsofalongwindedbattlebetweenTrumpandthemedia.Thisphrase

wasalsousedinthearticle’sheadlineandfollowedupwiththesubjectivestatementthatit

isunderminingtrust.WhatisinterestingaboutTheAssociatedPress’articleisthatdespite

beingawireservice,usuallyknownforobjectivity,referencestheopinionveteranjournalist

DanRather.Rather,statesthatitwasthefirsttimehecouldrecallfalsematerialbeing

deliveredinthiswayandthatSpicerwasengagingina‘deliberatepropagandacampaign'.

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TheleadparagraphoftheReutersarticlereadsas:‘TheWhiteHouseonSaturdayaccused

themediaofframingphotographstounderstatethecrowdthatattendedDonaldTrump's

inauguration,anewjabinalong-runningfightbetweenthenewpresidentandthenews

organisationswhocoverhim."Thenewsvaluesthatappeartohavemadethisstorya

headlineforReutersareonceagain,thepowerfuleliteandconflict.Thenewsvalueofthe

powerfuleliteiselicitedthroughthereferringtoSpicermakinghisstatementas“TheWhite

House”,asthesestatementsweremadeduringthefirstfulldayoftheTrump

administration,itisunderstandablethatSpicerwouldbereferredtoas‘TheWhiteHouse’

ashewasnotyetahouseholdnameofridicule,andthefodderforMelissaMcCarthy’s

SaturdayNightLiveimpression.Theleadalsoelicitsthenewsvalueofthepowerfuleliteby

referringtoDonaldJ.Trumpas‘thenewpresident'.Conflictisthesecondnewsvaluethat

canbefoundinthisarticle’slead.Conflictisimpliedintheleadthroughthelinguistic

choicesof“accusedthemedia”,and“anewjab”.Conflictisfurtherimpliedinthesecond

paragraphviathephrases"fierystatement"and"lashedout",thesearepoeticlinguistic

choices,whichdemonstratetheextremitiesofSpicer'sbehaviour,becauseofthisonecould

suggestthatthenewsvalueofmagnitudeisalsoenacted(Harcup&O'Neill,2016).Another

newsvaluethatisalsofoundinthesecondparagraphissurprise,thejournalistshighlightin

thatSpicer’sstatementswere“unusual”asSpicerclaimedthatsharingaerialphotosthat

showgapsintheinaugurationwas“shamefulandwrong”asitwasanattemptto“lessen

theenthusiasm”.

7.2.3PressBriefing#30NewsValues

TheleadparagraphofTheNewYorkTimesarticlereadsas:“BythetimeAprilD.Ryanleft

theWhiteHousebriefingroomonTuesday,shewasalreadymakingheadlines:onlive

television,PresidentTrump’spresssecretary,SeanM.Spicerhadcutoffherquestionsto

chastiseherforwhathedeemedaninappropriateshakeofherhead.”Thenewsvaluesthat

areapparentintheleadarepowerfulelite,conflictandsurprise.Thenewsvaluesofconflict

becomeapparentinthelinguisticchoicesofthephrase“cutoffherquestiontochastise

her”.Thisshowshowthetwohostileactionswereperformedtogetherinanattempttoput

Ryaninherplaceusinginformaldiscourseandpersonaldiscourse.Thefinalnewsvaluethat

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ispresentintheleadissurprise,surpriseisexpressedinthephrase“forwhathedeemedan

inappropriateshakeofherhead.”Thisisasurprise,asalthoughitisusualforapress

secretarytorebukeaninappropriatequestion,ortalkingoutofturn.Itisunusualforapress

secretarytoreprimandajournalistforanon-verbalaction.IfRyanhaddisagreedwith

Spicer’sstatementsoutloud,Spicer’srebukingmighthavebeenjustified.Surpriseisalso

presentinthethirdparagraph;TheNewYorkTimesquotesalistenerwhomtheydescribeas

“apained-soundingwomannamedPam”insaying“IwasappalledatthewaySeanSpicer

wastreatingyouwithsuchdisrespect.”Thelanguagechoicetodescribeheras‘pained-

sounds’indicatestheenormityofSpicer’sactionsagainstRyan.Throughthediscourseof

powerrelations,thechoicetoincludethisquoteassistsinthepresentationofAprilRyan

beingthevictimofthisincident,notanequalopponent.


SpicersaidonTuesdaytheWhiteHousedidnotseektoblockformeractingAttorney

GeneralSallyYates’testimonyanddeniedthattheWhiteHousehaspressuredtheHouse

IntelligenceCommitteetocancelherscheduledtestimonyduringtheinvestigationintoties

betweenRussianagentsandTrumpcampaignofficials.”Itshouldbenotedthattheheadline

forthisarticleis“Stopshakingyourhead”:WhiteHousepresssecretaryscoldsreporter.”

Therefore,theleadofthearticleanditsheadlinedonotmatch.Thisarguablycouldbea

resultoftheneworganisation’sagenda,aswellaspoorjournalism.Thearticletakesnine

paragraphsbeforeitbeginstoexplaintheeventspromisedintheheadline,onecould

suggestthatthejournalistwasactingasachronicler.However,FoxNewsdoesnothavea

reputationforthisparticularfunction.Ithasareputationforconservativepunditry.

Paragraph10readsas“ThebriefingbecameevenmorecontentiouswhenAmericanUrban

RadioNetworksWashingBureauChiefAprilD.Ryanaskedherfirstquestion:“howdoesthis

administrationtrytorevampitsimage,twoandahalfmonthsin,youhavethisYatesstory,

…you’vegotRussia,you’vegotwire-tapping.”Thisparagraphemotesthenewsvaluesof

newsorganisation'sagendaandconflict.Newsorganisation'sagendaisemotedasthis

paragraphportraysRyanastheantagonist,attemptingtopushSpicerintoengagingintoan

argumentwithher.FoxNews,wasaRupertMurdochownedmediaoutlet,andtherefore

mustobeytheglobaleditorialpolicysetforthbyMurdoch,suchasdiscussionRepublican

politicalactorsinapositiveframe.

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BothTheWallStreetJournalandReutersdidnotpublishaboutthisstory.Byexaminingthe

multilevelframeworkmodelofthesofteningofpoliticalcommunication(Otto,Glogger&

Boukes,2017),onecouldsurmisethatthesetwomediaoutletsdidnotpublishaboutthis

storyasitwouldhavebeenconsideredsoftnewswithsensationalistcontent.Otto,Glogger

andBoukes(2017,pp.140-141)definesensationalismascoveragethatmakesuseof

journalisticstrategiesandaudio/visualproductionfeatures,aimingatassumedeffectsonan

audience.Theseeffectsincludearousal,emotionandempathy.Theyalsodefinesoftnews

ascoverageofnon-politicaltopicsinthecontextofpoliticalcommunicationwithrather

personalthansocietalfocus(Ottoetal.,2017).Theothermediaoutletsthatpublished

aboutthisstorytooka‘person-centric’focus,primarilyfocusingonthereporterAprilD.

RyanasavictimandthenSeanSpicersecondly,astheaggressorinthesituation.To

succinctlymakethedistinction,hardnewsstoriesarestoriesrelatingtopolicyissues,

whereassoftnewsstoriesarenon-policyrelatedissues,whichinpreviouschaptershave

beenreferredtoas“processarticles”(McNair,2000).TheWallStreetJournalmostlikely

wouldhavechosentoomitthisstoryastheyareaMurdoch-ownedconservative

broadsheetnewspaper,andsoftnewsthatvilifiestheTrumpadministrationwouldgo

againsttheglobaleditorialpolicyandthereforeagainstthenewsvalueofthenews

organisation’sagenda(Harcup&O’Neill,2016).AsReutersisanon-biasednewswireservice,

onecouldsuggestthatthissoft-newsstorythatnegativelyportraysaTrumpadministration

officialgoesagainstthenewsorganisation’sagenda.

TheleadparagraphoftheCNNarticlereadsas:“AveteranWhiteHousecorrespondentwho

engagedinatenseexchangewithWhiteHousepresssecretarySeanSpicersaidWednesday

themediais“underattack”fromtheTrumpadministration.”Thenewsvaluesthatare

apparentinthisleadareconflict,powerfulelite,andnewsorganisation’sagenda.Thenews

valueofconflictisexpressedthroughthelinguisticchoicesdescribingRyanandSpicer’s

encounteras“atenseexchange”andquotingRyan’sclaimthatthepressis“underattack”.

Thenewsorganisation’sagendaisalsoapparent,aspreviouslymentionedinchapterfour,

givenSeanSpicerregularlyattemptedtodiscreditCNNanditscorrespondentJimAcosta.By

quotingRyaninthesecondparagraphinsaying“it’saboutdiscreditingcrediblemedia”,this

actsasRyangivingCNNanendorsementasacrediblemedia.Inthethirdparagraphfollow-

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upisalsoanewsvaluethatinfluencedthepublishingofthisarticle,asAprilRyan’s

commentsweremadethedayafterSpicerinstructedhertostopshakingherhead.

TheleadparagraphTheAssociatedPressarticlereadsas:“AprilRyanofUrbanRadio

NetworkshasbecomeofoneofthemostvisibleWhiteHousecorrespondentssince

PresidentDonaldTrumptookover,andshe’snowbeenhiredasapoliticalcontributorfor

CNN.”Thenewsvaluepresentinthisleadiscelebrity.Thenewsvalueofcelebrityis

apparentintheleadbythejournalisticchoicetolabelRyanas“oneofthemostvisible

WhiteHousecorrespondents.”ThisstatementgivesRyanthegravitastobecomeaCNN

politicalcontributor,andwhytheothermediaoutletsandtheiraudiencesshouldcare

abouthernewappointment.Thesecondparagraphshowsthenewsvaluesoffollow-upand

conflict.Thisnewsstoryisafollow-upfromtheoriginalincidentasitremindsthereader

thatRyan“wasscoldedbyWhiteHousepresssecretarySeanSpicertostopshakingher

headinresponsetooneofhisanswersatapressbriefinglastweek.”Thenewsvalueof

conflictisalsoelicitedintheprecedingquote,aswellasstatingthat“theincident”drew

widespreadattentionandcriticismonline,viasocialmediasitessuchasTwitterfrom

journalistsandcitizensalike.SurpriseappearsinthethirdparagraphasitrecountsthatApril

Ryanisnostrangertounusualrequests,previoustobecominganewsheadlinebecause

Spicerdemandedshestoppedshakingherhead,PresidentTrumphadaskedRyaninapress

conferencetoarrangeameetingbetweenhimandtheCongressionalBlackCaucus.Trump

askedherthisinthepressconferencebecauseshewasalsoAfricanAmerican.Asnotedby

TheAssociatedPress,suchataskisbeyondtheresponsibilityofjournalistsintheWhite

Housepresscorps.

7.2.4PressBriefing#36NewsValues

Beforeeacharticle’snewsvaluesisdissected,itisimportanttonotethatthisstorycontains

thenewsvalueofbadnews.AccordingtoHarcupandO’Neill(2016),thenewsvaluesofbad

newspertainstostoriesaboutpeopleexpressingderogatoryanddiscriminatoryattitudes,

theseattitudesincludesexism,racism,homophobia,anti-Semitismandableism.When

minimisingtheHolocaust,whetherintentionallyorasSpicerphrasedit‘mistakeningly’

(Gomez,2017),allofthesediscriminatoryattitudesarenuanced.AsMericaandLander

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(2017)ofCNNpointoutintheirarticle“WhileHitlerdidnotusechemicalweaponsonthe

battlefield,HitlerandtheNazisusedgaschamberstoexterminateJews,disabledpeople

andothers.”Onceagain,itmustbestatedasacommunicationsprofessional,itisimportant

torealisethattheHolocaustshouldneverbecomparedtootherevents,pastorpresent.

Furthermore,aspreviouslymentioned,thetimingofthesestatementswasculturally

relevantasSpicermadethemonthedaythatJewishpeoplewerecelebratingthePassover.

TheleadparagraphofTheNewYorkTimesarticlereadsas:“TheWhiteHousepress

secretary,SeanSpicer,setoffanintensebacklashonTuesdaywhenhesuggestedthat

PresidentBasharal-AssadofSyriawasguiltyofactsworsethanHitlerandassertedthat

Hitlerhadnotusedchemicalweapons,ignoringtheuseofgaschambersatconcentration

campsduringtheHolocaust.MrSpicerlaterapologised."Thenewsvaluesthatareapparent

arepowerfulelite,conflictandsurprise.Tofurthertheanalysisofwhythenewsvaluethe

powerfulelitewasareasonforthestory’sselectionisthatSpicerwasperformingthe

legitimatefunctionofcondemningaforeigngovernment,asmentionedinprevious

chapters.However,hisattemptathiscondemnationhadillegitimatejustificationswhichis

whythenewsvalueofsurpriseisalsoatplay.Assaidinthelead,Spicer’sassertionthat

“Hitlerdidnotusechemicalweapons,ignoringtheuseofgaschambersatconcentration

camps”.ThesurpriseinthisisthatatopTrumpadministrationOfficialwouldengagewhat

canbedescribedasHolocaustdenial.Inthesecondparagraph,thenewsvaluesoffollow-

upandrelevanceareapparent.Spicer’scommentswereseekingtocontextualisePresident

Trump’sdecisiontoorderamissilestrikeonSyria.Thenewsvalueofrelevancecomesinto

playasSyriaisregularlyonthenewsagendabecauseoftheSyrianGovernment’sbattle

withtheIslamicStateofIraqandSyria.Thethirdparagraphdrawsonthenewsvalueof

dramaasitexplainsthatthisincidentwasoneofmanythataredrawingcriticismandadds

totheperceptionthat"TheTrumpWhiteHouselackssensitivityandhasatenuousgraspof

history."


SpicerapologisedlateTuesdayafterstatinginhisdailybriefingthatAdolfHitler“didn’teven

sinktousingchemicalweapons.”Thenewsvaluesthatcanbefoundintheleadparagraph

arepowerfuleliteandfollowup.Thenewsvalueoffollow-uphasalsobeenconsideredas

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thisisastoryaboutSpicerapologisingforhisoffensiveremarksandnotaboutmakingthem.

Theframingofthisarticlealignswiththenewsorganisation’sagenda,aspreviously

mentioned,FoxNewsmustfollowtheMurdochglobaleditorialpolicyofreportingtobeon

sidewithconservativepoliticalactors.Inthesecondparagraph,thenewsvalueofsurpriseis

shownbytheSpicerquote“Frankly,Imistakenlyusedaninappropriateandinsensitive

referencetotheHolocausttowhichthereisfranklynocomparison.”Thissuggeststhateven

Spicerwassurprisedandregretfulathisshockinglyregretfulremarks.

TheleadparagraphofTheWallStreetJournalarticlereadsas:"TheWhiteHouse'stop

spokesmanissuedarareapologyonTuesdayaftersayingthatSyrianPresidentBasharal-

AssadcommittedatrocitiesworsethanNazileaderAdolfHitler,becausethemanwhose

genocidalregimeinstigatedaworldwarandkilledmillionsofpeopledidn'tusechemical

weapons.".Thenewsvalueofsurpriseappearsontwooccasions.ThefirstiswhenTheWall

StreetJournalcommentthatitis“rare”forSpicertoissueanapology,thissuggeststhat

Spicer’sapologyitselfwassurprising,aswellashisoffensiveremarkbeingsurprising.Thisis

shownthroughtheuseofirony“becauseamanwhosegenocidalregimeinstigatedaworld

warandkilledmillionsofpeopledidn’tusechemicalweapons.”Thisuseofironyhighlights

Hitler’scrimesagainsthumanityandsuggeststothereaderthattoattemptsucha

comparisonisagravemisjudgement.Thenewsvalueoffollow-upismadeapparentinthe

secondparagraphwhichstatesthattheapologywasSpicer's"fourthstatementonTuesday

aboutHitlerandMrAssad."Whichalsofurtherhighlightstheabsurdityofthesituation.

TheleadparagraphoftheCNNarticlereadsas:“WhiteHousepresssecretarySeanSpicer

apologisedTuesdayaftersayingAdolfHitler“didn’tevensinktousingchemicalweapons"

duringWorldWarIItoshameRussia'salliancewithSyrianPresidentBasharal-Assadandhis

useofchemicalweapons."Inthislead,thenewsvaluesofthepowerfulelite,followupand

conflictcanbeidentified.Thenewsvalueoffollow-upisidentifiedthrough“Spicer

apologisedonTuesdayaftersayingAdolfHitler“didn’tevensinktousechemicalweapons.”

Conflictisshownthestatement“inanefforttoshameRussia’salliancewithSyrian

PresidentBasharal-Assadandhisuseofchemicalweapons.”Thishighlightstheconflict

betweentheRussianandUnitedStatesGovernments,overRussia’salliancewithSyria.An

interestingfindingfromthecontentanalysisaboutthisarticleisthatthereisnosubjective

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commenttobefoundinthefirstthreeparagraphsofthisarticle.AsCNNisaleft-wing

mediaorganisationandtheTrumpadministrationisaright-winggovernment,onewould

havethoughtthatnewsorganisation’sagendawouldhavebeenaleadingnewsvaluesto

publishingthisstory,howeverforthisarticlethatwasnotthecase.Thereasonforthiscould

bethatSeanSpicerissuedhisapologyforthesecommentsinanexclusiveinterviewonCNN

withWolfBiltzer.

TheleadparagraphTheAssociatedPressarticlereadsas:“WhiteHousepresssecretarySean

SpicerapologisedonTuesdayformakingan‘inappropriateandinsensitive’comparisonto

theHolocaustinearliercommentsaboutSyrianPresidentBasharAssad’suseofchemical

weapons-remarksthatdrewinstantrebukefromJewishgroupsandcritics.”Thenews

valuesthatcanbefoundinthisleadarepowerfulelite,follow-up,surprise,andconflict.The

newsvalueoffollow-upwaskeytothisstoriesselection,asthisstoryisframedasSpicer

apologisingforhis‘insensitive’remarksonCNNinhisexclusiveinterviewwithWolfBiltzer.

ThenewsvalueofsurprisecanbenotedinquotingSpicerforsayingthathiscomments

were“inappropriateandinsensitive”,thissuggeststhatevenSpicerhimselfwassurprised

byhisowncomments.Thenewsvalueofconflictcanbefoundinthephrase“-remarksthat

drewinstantrebukefromJewishgroupsandcritics.”Itisimportanttohighlighttheterm

‘instantrebuke’asitshowedthatSpicer’sclaimsverynotonlylackinginveracitybut

extremelycontroversialandemotedanintenseemotionalresponse.

TheleadparagraphoftheReutersarticlereadsas:“WhiteHousespokesmanSeanSpicer

triggeredanuproaronTuesdaybysayingAdolfHitlerdidnotusechemicalweapons.He

apologisedafterhiscommentsdrewimmediatecriticismonsocialmediaandelsewherefor

overlookingthefactthatmillionsofJewswerekilledinNazigaschambers.”Thenews

valuesthatareapparentinthisleadarepowerfuleliteandconflict.Thenewsvalueof

conflictisenactedthroughthephrasing‘triggeredanuproar’.Thelanguagechoiceof

‘triggeredanuproar’suggeststothereaderthatthenegativeresponsetoSpicer’s

commentswasrapidandfar-reaching.Inthesecondparagraph,thenewsvalueoffollow-up

isalsoelicited.TheparagraphstatesthatSpicermadethecomparison“duringadiscussion

abouttheApril4chemicalweaponsattachinSyriathatkilled87people.Washingtonhas

blamedtheattackonthegovernmentofSyrianPresidentBasharal-Assad.”This

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contextualisesSpicer'scommentsastheSyrianchemicalweaponsattackhadbeeninthe

newsmediaforaroundaweek(thereweresixdaysbetweenthechemicalweaponsattack

andSpicer'scomments),asstoriesofthevictimsofthechemicalweaponsattackswerea

beingplayedoutinthenewscycle.Byreferencingthat87peoplewerekilledintheattack,

thereaderissubtlytoldthatSpicer’scomparisonisunfoundedasSpicerfailedtoaccount

forthesixmillionJewishpeoplethatweremurderedbyAdolfHitler’sNaziPartyaswellas,

manymoreRomani,HomosexualandDisabledpeople.

7.2.5Comparisonsbetweenmediaorganisations

Itisexpectedthatthearticleswouldcontainthesameifnotsimilarnewsvaluesastheyall

pertaintothesamethreeevents.Whatiscontrastingishowthenewsvaluesareutilisedto

framethearticles.Conservativemediaoutletsandnewswiresstoriesincludethenewsvalue

offollow-up.Inthearticlespertainingtotheinitialpressbriefing,TheWallStreetJournal

reportedonKellyanneConwaycoiningtheterm‘alternativefacts’inanefforttodefend

Spicer’sjeremiadtowardsthepress.Inthearticlesreportingonpressbriefing#30,The

AssociatedPress,anobjectivenewswireservicereportedonAprilRyanbeinghiredasaCNN

contributorafterherconflictwithSpicerduringpressbriefing#30.Liberalmedia

organisationsTheNewYorkTimesandCNNreportedonthecasestudyeventsasthemain

focusoftheirnewsstories.

ThemostinterestingcomparisonisthecontrastbetweenthereportingfromFoxNewsand

TheWallStreetJournalaboutpressbriefing#36.Thereisastarkcontrastbetweenthehow

thesetwostoriesareframed,althoughbothcontainthenewsvaluesofpowerfuleliteand

followup.FoxNewsframedtheirnewsstoryasfollow-upapology,focusingonSpicer’s

supposedremorseratherthanhisoffensivecomments.Onlyinthesixthparagraphsdoes

thenewsstoryintroducecriticismofSpicerwithNancyPelosi’scalltohaveSpicerfired.This

quotefromPelosiistheonlyharshcriticismofSpicerandhiscomments,andisonlytwo

paragraphsoutofafourteenparagrapharticle.TheWallStreetJournal’snewsstory,unlike

FoxNewsdidtakeopportunitytocriticiseSpicerthroughtheuseofirony,statisticsand

sourcequotes.ThenewsvaluesofsurpriseandbadnewsarepresentinTheWallStreet

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JournalStory,statingthatSpicer’sapologywasrare,aswellashighlightingthefactthat

Spicerhadpreviouslyattemptedtoapologisethreetimesbeforehemanagedtoclarifyhis

statements.TheWallStreetJournalusesstatisticsstatingthatatleast85peoplediedduring

Assad’smissileattacks,althoughtragic,numericallytheimpactwassmallerthanthe

millionsofhumanbeingsthatdiedbecausetheydidnotfulfiltheidealsoftheHitler’sNazi

regime.Thedifferentframingapproaches,althoughownedbythesameproprietor,relates

tothequalityofthemediaorganisation’sjournalism.IfMcNair’s(2002)politicalpublic

sphereframeworkwasappliedtoanAmericancontext,TheWallStreetJournal,wouldbe

classedasanelitenewspaper,whereasFoxNewswouldbeconsideredatabloidnews

channel,aspreviouslymentionedMurdochlaunchedthenewschannelin1996asaresultof

CNN’sovertliberalbias(McKnight,2010).ThusitisnotunexpectedthatFoxNewswould

attempttolessenthehurtcausedbySpicer’scommentsbyonlyreportingonthesuccessful

apology.TheWallStreetJournalistheleadingbusinessfocusednewspaperintheUnited

States(McKnight,2010),thenewspaper’stargetreadershipthereforeisaclassofpeople

thatarehighlyeducatedthatwanttheirnewstocontaincriticalanalysis,withstatisticsand

comprehensivebackgroundinformation.FoxNewsasacablenewschannel,focuseson

propagatingaconservativeideologyandcraftsapoliticalnarrativethatanyindividualwitha

basiceducationcancomprehend(McKnight,2010).

7.3Conclusion

Insumnewsisaproductthatmustadheretoeconomicimperatives,politicalnewsand

reportageisnoexception.Proprietorscanofteninfluenceideologicalslantingandthetone

ofreportage,anexampleofthisseeninthischapter’sanalysisisRupertMurdoch’sglobal

editorialpolicythateffectsNewsCorporationand21stCenturyFoxmediaoutletssuchas

TheWallStreetJournalandFoxNews.Theglobaleditorialpolicystatesthatconservative

politicalfiguressuchasDonaldTrumpandSeanSpicershouldbereportedaboutfavourably.

Itisclearfromthisjournalisticdiscourseanalysisthatthecasestudiesallmadethenews

becauseofthenewsvaluespowerfuleliteandconflict.Allthreeofthecasestudiesshow

Spiceratoddswiththepresscorpsovervariousreasons,fromwhattheyhavebeen

publishing,thequestionstheyhavebeenasking,toaccidentalanti-Semiticsentiments.

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Furthermore,theframingofthenewsstoriesrevealsalotaboutthenewsorganisation’s

agenda.Forexample,FoxNewsattemptedtoportrayAprilRyanasthevillainofpress

briefing#30,whereasTheNewYorkTimesandCNNportrayedRyanasaheroworthyofher

new-foundfameandanewpositionasapoliticalcommentatoronCNN.Theproliferationof

thesestoriescouldbearesultofthenewsvalueof‘shareability’andthesofteningof

politicalcommunication.Aspoliticscanbeconvolutedtocomprehend,dramaticstories

aboutapresssecretaryunexpectedlyshoutingandchastisingthepresscorpsisasimple

storyforareadertocomprehendandfindquotesofopinions.

SeanSpicer’stenureaspresssecretarysawtheWhiteHousepresscorpsactasnews

reporters,punditsandcommentators,chroniclers,andinterrogators.Itisclearthatthe

WhiteHousepresssecretaryseethemselvesaswatchdogsforthepublic,keenly

highlightingwhenSpicerfalsifiedinformationandridiculingKellyanneConwayfor

suggestingthatSpicerwassimplyusing‘alternativefacts’.TheWhiteHousepresscorps

believesthatthetruthisblackandwhite,SpicerandtheTrumpadministrationbelievesthat

thetruthmustbesearchedforinamyriadofshadesofgrey.

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8. Conclusion Thischapterwillsummariseandsynthesisethefindingofthisthesis,discussthesignificance

ofthisresearchaswellasacknowledgethelimitationsofthisthesisandpossibleareasof

furtherresearch.Thefirstsectionofthischaptersynthesisesthethesis’findings,makingthe

relationshipbetweenthethreeanalysischaptersexplicitandexplainhowtheyrelatetothe

interactionsbetweenpresssecretarySeanSpicerandtheWhiteHousepresscorps.The

logicofthisthesis'narrativewasfirsttoexploreandanalysewhatwasuniqueaboutSean

Spicer'spoliticalperformanceforittowarrantbeingthesubjectofheadlinesandnews

stories.Spicer’spoliticalperformancewasanalysedthroughthetheoriesofdisciplined

bodies,habitus,andspin.Thethesisthenmovedontothenextchapterwhichanalysedthe

politicalsourcerelationsbetweenSeanSpicerandtheWhiteHousepresscorps,andhow

therelationshipmanifestedinthereportagethroughthird-partysourcequotes.Thiswas

exploredthroughthenotionofpoliticalprocessreportingeffectingtheAmericanmediated

publicspherenegatively.Thethesisthenmovedontoexplainingtheconventionsofpolitical

journalismandtheupdatedsetofnewsvaluesfromHarcupandO’Neill(2016).Thiswas

performedbyidentifyingthenewsvaluesthatcouldbefoundinthefirstthreeparagraphs

ofthearticleand,thefirstsourcequoted.Thenewsstoriesthatwereselectedtobe

scrutinisedwerefromTheNewYorkTimes,FoxNews,TheWallStreetJournal,CNN,The

AssociatedPressandReuters.

Thesecondsectionofthischapterwillevaluatethesignificanceoftheresearchthatthis

thesishasproduced.Thetimingofthesisiscurrent,astheplanningforthisthesisbeganin

March2017,twomonthsafterTrumpwasinaugurated.AlthoughSeanSpicerresignedin

July2017,SeanSpicerstillfeaturesvariouspublicationsaccordingtoGoogleNewsAlerts.

NewsstoriesaboutthemostrecentpresssecretarySarahHuckabeeSandersalsohas

referencetoSeanSpicerandkeymomentsfromhistenureasWhiteHousepresssecretary.

Thethirdsectionwilldiscussthelimitationsofthisthesisandpossibleareasoffurther

research.Limitationsofthisresearcharisefromtheresearchdesignandthefocusonmedia

perceptions,Spicer’sopinionsonthemattersofthecasestudiesweremediated

themselves,andthereforemaynothavebeenpresentedinfull.

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8.1SummaryofFindings

Thisresearchendeavouredtoanswertheoverarchingquestionof““HowdidSeanSpicer

becomethenewssubjectratherthanthenewsdeliverer?”

Chaptersfive,six,andsevenofthisthesisendeavouredtoanswerthefollowingthreesub-

questionrespectively:



2) Howdothemediaorganisations’ideologicalbiasesaffectthereportageofSean

Spicer'spoliticalperformance?



Firstly,itshouldbenotedthattheresearchhasledtotheconclusionthatifSeanSpicer

werenotselectedtobeTrump'spresssecretary,whoeverassumedthepositionwouldstill

havehadthemedia'sattentionandridicule.BoththeacademicTowle(1997)andformer

presssecretaryFleisherassertthatthePresidentoftheUnitedStatesisthepresssecretary's

firstclient,thenthepresscorpsisthesecond.Therefore,itisSpicer’sjobtoservethe

interestsofthePresidentasheassiststhemembersofthePresscorpsinperformingtheir

jobs.Duringthepressbriefings,however,Spicerdidnotassistthemedia,hedegradedthem

becausetheyweredoingtheirjobs.CurrentpresssecretarySarahHuckabeeSandersisalso

featuredregularlyinthenewsmediaforhercontentiousrelationship,notingher

monotonousvoiceasastarkcontrasttoSpicer’sabrasiveshoutingfits.Thisisbecausethe

relationshipbetweenthemediaandthePresidenthasnotchanged.Nomatterwhothe

presssecretaryis,theywillfollowtheinstructionsofthePresidentindefendingthe

Administration.

ThisthesishasfoundthattheTrumpadministrationhastransformedpoliticsfroma

traditionaldialogicalcommunicativeencounter(likewhatwasperformedinAncientGreece)

toamonologicalcommunicativeencounter(Craig,2016).Thisadversaryattitudetowards

themediacanbeseenasacontinuationofTrump’sattitudetowardsthemediaasa

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candidate.Trumptreatedthemediaasbeingincapableofreportingtruth(Pickard,2016)

andpopularisingtheterm‘fakenews’intotheEnglishvernacular.Afterperforminga

contentanalysis,itwasfoundthatoverhalf(57.7percent)ofthesamplearticlesincludeda

referencetopresssecretarySpicer’sillegitimateaggressivebehaviourwhichcouldbesaid

wasapushforAmericanpoliticstobecomeamonologicalcommunicativeencounter.These

articleswereallfoundinthecasestudiesoftheinitialpressbriefingandpressingbriefing

#30whenSpicerchastisedreporter,AprilRyanbyinstructingherto‘stopshakingyour

head’multipletimes.Eighty-ninepercentofarticlesthatdiscussedtheinitialpressbriefing

mentionedSpicer’sillegitimateaggressivebehaviour.ByanalysingSpicer’sHabitusand

notinghisNavybackgroundandMaster’sdegreeinmilitarystrategy,itcouldbesaidthat

Spicerhaslearnedtobeonthedefensive,whichiswhyhelaunchedhistenureoffwithan

angrydefenceofhisbossandtheexcitementofTrump’sinaugurationasthePresident.His

habitus,however,didnotprovideavalidexplanationforhispoliticalperformanceduring

pressBriefing#30andpressBriefing#36.Ninety-fivepercentofsamplearticlesthat

discussedtheconfrontationwithAprilRyanduringpressbriefing#30mentionedSpicer’s

illegitimateaggressivebehaviour.ThisincidentcannotfullybeexplainedbySpicer'shabitus

previoustoservingintheWhiteHouseheworkedastheDirectorofCommunicationsfor

theRepublicanNationalCommitteeandbeforethatheservedinasimilarroleatthe

RepublicanHouseConference.Inthisrole,hetrainedcongressionalpresssecretariesin

mediarelations.

Throughthetheoryof‘disciplinedbodies’,onecanattempttoexplainthefascinationinthe

mediaofSpicer’spoliticalperformanceinthesecasestudies.Spicerdelivershispress

briefingswithhisbodydeportedinastiffbutovertlyaggressivemanner.Spicer’spolitical

performanceismostcolourfullyexplainedinthearticlebyTheNewYorkDailyNews,

regardingpressbriefing#30.TheNewYorkDailyNewsreportedthatSpicer“toreinto

reporterAprilRyanforhavingtheaudacitytochallengehisinterpretationoffactsatanews

conference.”Thereisasenseofironytothisstory,asSpicerlackedanabilitytocontrolhis

temperinthebriefingroomandregularlyshoutedoverjournaliststodiscredittheir

questionsandstatements.Inthisinstance,Ryanwasmerelyshakingherheadin

disagreement,asSpicerbegantopersonallyattackforherpossessinganagendaand

disregardingfacts.Ryanwasmerelynon-verballyreactingtoSpicer'saccusationswhichone

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couldsuggestisamerelyhumanthingtodo,whentheircharacterisbeingattacked.Spicer’s

defenceoftheadministrationnothavinganimageproblembecause‘youhaveRussia,we

don’t’isillogicalasanorganisation’simagedoesnotnecessarilyreflectitsreality.Evenif

theMullerinvestigationsuncoverthattherewasnoillegitimateconnectionbetweenthe

TrumpElectionCampaignandtheRussianGovernment,themeresuggestionofitis

damagingtotheTrumpadministrationandtheTrumpfamily,asitwouldbeconsidered

treasonous,andpossiblyleadtoimpeachment.ThiswouldmeanthatTrumpwouldbe

removedasPresidentofUnitedStates.Thus,Ryanwascorrectinaskinghowthe

Administrationwouldseektorepairtheirimage.

TherelationshipsbetweenindividualmediaorganisationsandSpicerweredependenton

themediaorganisations’ideologies.Thisthesisfoundthatmediaoutletswithaleft-wingor

liberalideologyweremorelikelytobecriticalofSpicer'spoliticalperformance.Examplesof

theseleft-wingorleft-centremediaoutletsincludedinthesampleareCNN,TheNewYork

Times,TheWashingtonPost,Politico,Buzzfeed,ChicagoTribune,NewYorkDailyNewsand

TheHuffingtonPost.Howideologyshapes,thecontentsofanewsarticlecanbeseenvia

thethirdpartysourcequotes.Thisthesischosetodoadiscourseanalysisonarticlesfrom

CNNandTheNewYorkTimesastheyaresuccessfulAmericanorganisationsthatfavoura

left-wingworldview.Thediscourseanalysiswasalsocompletedonright-wingor

conservativeoutletsFoxNewsandTheWallStreetJournal,aswellasnon-biasedwire

servicesTheAssociatedPressandReuters.Thediscourseanalysisfoundthatliberalmedia

outletsincludedmorequotescriticisingSpicer’sperformancethanthenon-biased

newswiresReutersandTheAssociatedPress,aswellasconservativenewsorganisations,

TheWallStreetJournalandFoxNews.CriticismsofSpicerthatappearedintheliberalmedia

outletsincludedinsistinghechangehistacticsinthebriefingroomandcallingforhimtobe

fired.Interestingly,FoxNewsdidnotpublishanythirdpartysourcequotesintheirarticles

aboutthefirstandsecondcasestudies.Inthethirdcasestudyarticle,FoxNewsquotesa

JewishRepublicanrepresentativeandDefenceSecretaryJames(Jim)Mattisinclarifying

whatSpicerwasfailingtoexpressinpressbriefing#36whencomparingBasharal-Assadto

AdolfHitler.Interestingly,Reutersonlyhadonethirdpartysourcequotecontainedinall

threearticles.OnlyStevenGoldstein,then-ExecutiveDirectoroftheAnneFrankCenterfor

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MutualRespectwasquotedinthestoryaboutpressbriefing#36callingforSpicertobe

fired.Thustheideologycanbedetectedthroughthecontentsofthirdpartysourcequotes.

Itisnotedinthethesisthatprocessandpolicyarenotseparatediscourses,theyworkin

tandemtoproduceafullpictureofthepoliticallandscape(McNair,2000).However,an

oversaturationofprocessarticleshinderscitizens’understandingofpolicymatters.From

pressbriefing#30,theAprilRyanconfrontationcloudedstoriesaboutthereinstatementof

theDakotaAccessPipeline,whichisdetrimentaltotheenvironmentandIndigenousRights.

ProductiononthepipelinewashaltedafterPresidentObamaissuedanexecutiveorder

afterprotestsandoutragethatwereheldthroughouttheworld.ThePipelinewill

contaminatedrinkingwateranddesecratesacredburialsites.Duringpressbriefing#36,

SpicerwasattemptingtocondemnandridiculeRussiafortheirallianceswithSyriaand

other‘failedstates'.However,afterSpicer'sfalseclaim"someoneasdespicableasHitler

whodidn'tevensinktousingchemicalweapons",Spicerwastheonlyonebeing

condemnedandridiculedinthenewsmedia.HermanandChomsky(2002,p.265),discuss

comparingworldleaderstoHitlerforpoliticalpurposes.TheynotethatPolPotofCambodia

wasregularlylikenedtobothHitlerandStalinuntiltheVietnameseoverthrewPolPot,then

hewasportrayedinthemediaasacharacterofsympathy.AtthetimeAmericaconsidered

theVietnamese‘publicenemynumberone’.ThisthesisassertsthattocompareaWorld

LeadertoAdolfHitlertogainpoliticalcapitalisoffensiveandill-advisedasittrivialisesthe

atrocitiesoftheHolocaust.

Asdiscussedinchaptersix,thesecasestudiesallbecamedominantheadlinesduetoHarcup

andO’Neill’s(2016)newsvaluesofconflict,surprise,andthepowerelite.Eachcasestudy

possessesthesenewsvaluesasSpicer’spoliticalperformanceasWhiteHousepress

secretary(thepowerelite)wascontroversial(surprise)andcontentious(conflict)tothe

extentthatisunprecedentedforaWhiteHousePresssecretary.Politicalnews,likeother

genres,isnotaperfectmirrorofreality.Itismorelikeacarnivalfun-houseofmirrors,

emphasisingpartsinthereflectionandminimisingothers.Itcanbesaid,thatthese

contentiousmomentsfromthepressbriefingalsobecamenewsduetoGaltungandRuge's

(1965)newsvalueof‘unambiguity'.Itissimplertoexplainapublicfiguresoutburstthanto

providealongwindedexplanationofthebillthatPresidentTrumpwillsignintolawatthe

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EnvironmentalProtectionAgency,orthecomplexityofAmericanForeignRelationswith

RussiaandSyria.Politicaljournalistsareregularlytaskedwithsimplifyingpoliticaleventsfor

mediaconsumers(Neveu,2002).Newsstoriesarestructuredaroundclaimstotruthand

factsprovidedbysourcesnamedorotherwise.Hence,whythird-partysourcequoteswere

socloselyscrutinisedinchapterfive.Itisbecauseofthisstructurethattheanimosity

betweenSpicerandthepresscorpsoverwhatisfactandwhatisfiction,whichthenbecame

afrequentcomponentinpoliticaljournalismitself.Politicaljournalismmapspower,anda

presssecretarythatdoesnothavethefaithoftheirpresscorpsissomewhatpowerless,and

thereforeithasvaluetobereportedintheinternationalnewsmediaasamethodtohold

thepresssecretaryaccountablefortheiractions.Sanders(2009),however,notesthat

withoutthepresssecretaryAmericanPoliticalJournalismwouldmainlybebasedon

conjecture,rumoursandbaselessslander.Despitethiswithoutpoliticalautonomy,political

journalismwouldmerelybepoliticalpropaganda.TheWhiteHousepresscorpsbelieves

thattruthismerelyblackandwhite,SpicerandtheTrumpadministrationbelievesthatthe

truthcanbecontainedinamyriadofshadesofgreyandthattherecanbesuchathingas

‘alternativefacts.'

8.2Significanceofresearch

Thisresearchissignificantbecause,beforeSeanSpicer,itwasnotthenormforpress

secretariestobecomethenewsheadlineasthesubject,timeandtimeagain.Inanopinion

piecefortheUSperiodicalPRWeek(October1,2009),McCurryasserted“Pressbriefings

aretherawingredientsofnewsstories,not“thenews”.Eightyearson,theTrump

administrationhaschangedthis,asifitbecamenewsbecausetherawingredientswere

rotten,likebananasbeingbakedintoacake.Althoughtherelationshipbetweenthepress

secretaryandtheWhiteHousepresscorpshashistoricallybeencontentious,previouspress

secretariesdidnothavetheirrelationshipwiththepresscorps,reportedinthenewslike

theyareBradPittandAngelinaJolie.

Thepressbriefingisasignificantcommunicativeencounterasitallowsforthemediato

havein-personcontactwithanadministrationofficialtoclarifythePresident'spositionon

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currentorunfoldingeventsanddiscusstheirdailyschedule.Kumar(2008),statesthatthe

presscorpsisthepublic'slinktothepresidentonadailybasis.However,especiallyin

Trump'scase,thereisanargumentthatTwitterisanothercrucialcommunitivetoolthat

linksthePresidenttothepublic.InthecaseoftheTrumpadministration,itcouldbesaid

thatTwitteristhepublic'slinkforthePresident'sramblingthoughts,andthepressBriefing

isthepublic'slinktotheadministrationasaninstitution.Thepresssecretaryactsasa

surrogateforthePresident,astheyarebusygoverningthecountry,orgolfing.

PresidentDonaldJ.Trumphasclaimedthathehasbeeninarunningwarwiththemedia,

virtuallysinceannouncinghiscandidacy,whichthemediadidnottakeseriously.Asthe

pressbriefingisadailyactivity,itisthebattlegroundforthis‘runningwar’,thiscouldbe

waychangeshavebeenmadetotheWhiteHousepressbriefing.SincetheClinton

administration,theWhiteHousepressbriefinghadbeenteleviseddailyafteritwas

suggestedbythen-presssecretaryMikeMcCurry,in1995.DuringSeanSpicer'stenure,

thereweretimeswhencameraswerebannedfromthebriefingandinformationfromthe

briefingcouldnotbebroadcastuntilafteritsconclusion.Therewasnoexplanationgivenfor

this,otherthanWhiteHouseChiefStrategistSteveBannonsendingatextmessagetoa

reporterjokingthattheystoppedtelevisingthebriefingsbecause"Seangotfat."Jones

(2012)arguedthatcablenewsnetworkshaveturnedpubliclifeandpoliticsintoan

entertainmentspectacle.Intheinformationage,withaninstantflowofcommunicative

messages,onecouldarguethatthepressbriefingisneededandmustreturntoitsoriginal

dialogicalcommunicativeencounterthatiscomprisedof“amicableconflict”,ratherthan

hostility.

Trump’santagonisticattitudetowardsthepresscorpsandthepressbriefinghavebeen

exhibitedinmultipletweetsfromhispersonalTwitteraccount@realDonaldTrump(nothis

officialWhiteHouseTwitteraccount).Thefirstexampleisatwo-parttweetseries,which

waspublishedon12May2017.“AsaveryactivePresidentwithlotsofthingshappening,it

isnotpossibleformysurrogates(SpicerandHuckabeeSanders)tostandat(the)podium

withperfectaccuracy!...."Followedby“...Maybethebestthingtodowouldbetocancelall

future"pressbriefings"andhandoutwrittenresponsesforthesakeofaccuracy???”By

cancellingthedailyWhiteHousepressbriefing,TrumpwouldfullyconvertAmerican

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politicalcommunicationfromadialogicalcommunicativeencountertoamonological

communicativeencounter.Although,thisthesisfocusedonthespecificityofSpicer,content

anddiscourseanalysesofhisbriefingsandthesubsequentnewsstories,thefrequencythat

Sander'spressbriefingsaretalkedaboutinthenewsshowsthatSpicer'stenurewasmerely

acatalystofastrained,bitterrelationship.Itcanbebelievedthattherelationshipwilllast

anentireadministration,andpossiblypoisonthenextone.Thisthesisarguesthatwhena

pressbriefingisbeingledbyapresssecretarythathasrespectforthepresscorpsandtheir

FirstAmendmentandFourthEstateresponsibilities,itisabastionfordemocracy.

However,inhostilehandssuchasSpicer’sandtheTrumpadministration,thepressbriefing

becomesaweaponofmassdistraction.Itmustbenotedthatthemediaarenotfaultlessin

thisevent.DonaldTrumptweetedfromhis@realDonaldTrumpTwitteraccounton9May

2018,“TheFakeNewsisworkingovertime.Justreportedthat,despitethetremendous

successwearehavingwiththeeconomy&allthingselse,91%oftheNetworkNews

aboutmeisnegative(Fake).Whydoweworksohardinworkingwiththemediawhenit

iscorrupt?Takeawaycredentials?”Whileitshouldnotbeassumedthatallnegative

mediaaboutTrumpandhisadministrationisfalse,thestatisticofthenewsbeing91per

centnegativecamefromthecrediblePewResearchCentre(2017),aspreviouslycitedin

thisthesis.Sanders(2009)pointsoutthatpoliticaljournalismisaproduct.Thismeans

thatitissoldtobeconsumed,themediahaveeconomicpressuresthattheyface,not

justthepressuresofbeingavoicetothepeople.TheTrumpadministrationandthe

tabloidisationofpoliticaljournalismandthefocusonthepoliticalprocessisamovethat

hasbeentakenforeconomicsurvival.Thissentimentwassummedupbestby

Comedienne,MichelleWolfatthe2018WhiteHouseCorrespondentsDinner.

“YouguysareobsessedwithTrump.Didyouusetodatehim?Becauseyoupretend

likeyouhatehim,butIthinkyoulovehim.Ithinkwhatnooneinthisroomwantsto

admitisthatTrumphashelpedallofyou.Hecouldn'tsellsteaksorvodkaorwater

orcollegeortiesorEric,buthehashelpedyou.He'shelpedyousellyourpapersand

yourbooksandyourTV.Youhelpedcreatethismonster,andnowyou'reprofiting

offofhim.Ifyou'regoingtoprofitoffofTrump,youshouldatleastgivehimsome

money,becausehedoesn'thaveany.”

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8.3Limitationsandfurtherresearch

ThisresearchwasdesignedtoestablishtherelationshipbetweenpresssecretarySean

SpicerandtheWhiteHouseandhowitismanifestedinthereportage,resultinginthe

representationoftheSpicer/presscorpsthroughtheeyesofthemedia.Therefore,more

attentionwaspaidtoSpicer'sfaultsthantothepresscorps,whoaspreviouslymentioned,

wasnotblamelessintheexchanges.Hence,whytranscriptsofthepressbriefingswerealso

analysed,asanattempttocompareamediatedrepresentationofthebriefingstotheraw

material.

Theresearchdesignandmethoddidresultinsomelimitationsforthisthesis.Firstly,theuse

ofcasestudiesinthisthesisallowedfortheanalysestobefocused,allowforaccurate

comparisonsandcontrasts,aswellasbetterorganisethecollectionofthesamplearticles

fortheanalysis.ByselectingthethreewascontroversialmomentsinSeanSpicer'stenure,

thisthesisdidnothavetheopportunitytoassessifSpicerhadmomentswhenhecouldbe

consideredasuccessfulpresidentialpresssecretary.Norwasthereanopportunityto

analyseSpicer'samiablebehaviour,ifany.

Byusingcontentanalysis,theresearchhadthepossibilitytosufferfromanunintended,

unconsciousbiasfromtheresearcher.Theideatowriteathesisontherelationship

betweentheTrumpadministrationandthemediawasbornoutofachildhoodconviction

thatDonaldTrumpwasabullytothecontestantsonhisrealityshowTheApprentice.

Therefore,whatwascountedas‘illegitimateaggression’insomeinstancesmaynothave

beencountediftheresearcherwasmoresympathetictotheTrumpadministration.

Toincorporatemediaoutletsacrossmanygenresofmedia,suchasprint,digital,broadcast

television,cabletelevisionandradio,theresearchedonlyfocusedonthetextualelements

ofarticlesthatwerepostedonthemediaorganisations’officialwebsites.Thismeansthatif

therewasvideooraudioelements,theywerenotanalysed.Furtherresearch,couldinclude

115

ananalysisofvideoandaudiorecordingstogainadeeperunderstandingofSpicer'spolitical

performance,withmorethanjournalisticinterpretations.

FurtherresearchcouldtakeSpicer'sperspectiveoftheincidentsrecordedinthisthesisinto

account.ThiscouldbedonebyinterviewingSeanSpicerforhisperspective.Theinterview

couldalsoexplorewhomMelissaMcCarthy'simpressionofhimonSaturdayNightLive

affectedhisperformanceaspresssecretary.Alternatively,contentanddiscourseanalyses

couldbeperformedonSpicer'sautobiographyTheBriefing,inwhichSpicerdiscusseshis

tenureaspresssecretaryandhisrelationshipswithPresidentTrumpandtheWhiteHouse

Presscorps.

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Hernandez,S.(2017).SeanSpicerjustliedaboutthesizeoftheinaugurationcrowd.Buzzfeed.Retrievedfromhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/salvadorhernandez/president-trumps-spokesman-just-lied-about-the-size-of-the-i?utm_term=.llEaKwE28#.fia5WeA92

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Korn,M.,&Schaber,D.(2017).TrumpspokesmanblastsmediaoverinaugurationCoverage.ABCNews.Retrievedfromhttp://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-spokesman-slams-media-inauguration-coverage/story?id=44957932

Korte,G.(2017).SpicerSlamsReporters,butEvidencedoesn’tmatchup.USAToday.Retrievedfromhttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/01/21/second-day-white-house-press-secretary-strikes-combative-tone/96894392/

Mason,J.,&Rampton,R.(2017).WhiteHouseaccusesmediaofdownplayinginaugurationcrowds.Reuters.Retrievedfromhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-media/white-house-accuses-media-of-playing-down-inauguration-crowds-idUSKBN15600I

McCaskill,N.(2017).WhiteHouse:‘Ourintentionwasnevertolietoyou”.Politico.Retrievedfromhttps://www.politico.eu/article/white-house-our-intention-is-never-to-lie-to-you/

Milam,G.(2017).WhiteHouselashesoutatmedia'lies'aboutinaugurationcrowd.Sky News.Retrievedfrom:https://news.sky.com/story/donald-trump-reaches-out-to- intelligence-services-on-first-us-trip-10738312

Prignagno,C.(2017).SpicerAgainSaysInaugrationwasthemostwatchedever.TheBostonGlobe.Retrievedfromhttps://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2017/01/23/spicer-stands-statement-that-inauguration-was-most-watched-ever/Enerk2rXwPM4kvUktCywiK/story.html

Schapiro,R.,&Slattery,D.(2017).TrumppresssecretarySeanSpicerclaimsinaugurationdrew‘largestaudienceever’inaconferencelightonfacts.NewYorkDailyNews.Retrievedfromhttp://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trump-press-secretary-claims-inauguration-grew-largest-crowd-article-1.2952666

Sevastopulo,D.,&Weaver,C.(2017).TrumpAttackonmediasetstoneforstartofPresidency.TheFinancialTimes.Retrievedfromhttps://www.ft.com/content/0bcd46fa-e0cc-11e6-8405-9e5580d6e5fb

123

Stetler,B.(2017).WhiteHousePresssecretaryattacksmediaforaccuratelyreportinginaugurationcrowds.CNN.Retrievedfrom:http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/21/media/sean-spicer-press-secretary-statement/index.html

Sullivan,M.(2017).ThetraditionalwayofreportingonthePresidentisdead.AndTrump'spresssecretarykilledit.TheWashingtonPost.Retrievedfromhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-traditional-way-of-reporting-on-a-president-is-dead-and-trumps-press-secretary-killed-it/2017/01/22/75403a00-e0bf-11e6-a453-19ec4b3d09ba_story.html?utm_term=.883a35c589e9

Taylor,J.(2017).TrumpadministrationGoestoWarwiththeMediaOverInaugurationCrowdSize.NationalPublicRadio.Retrievedfromhttps://www.npr.org/2017/01/21/510994742/trump-administration-goes-to-war-with-the-media-over-inauguration-crowd-size

Torry,H.,Ackerman,A.,&Lee,C.(2017).TheWhiteHousebacksalternativefacts.TheWallStreetJournal.Retrievedfrom:https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-backs-alternative-facts-1485144074

124

AppendixB:PressBriefing#30SampleArticles ABCNews.(2018).SeanSpicertellsreporter“Stopshakingyourhead”.Retrievedfrom

https://www.apnews.com/9ba25eb5ecfa4fbd821486f6a0cfcef5

Beavers,O.(2017).ReporterAprilRyanonSpicerconfrontation:Ishookmyhead‘indisbelief”.TheHill.Retrievedfromhttp://thehill.com/homenews/administration/326276-reporter-april-ryan-on-spicer-confrontation-i-shook-my-head-in

Blake,A.(2017).SeanSpicerLoseshiscool:“Stopshakingyourhead”.TheWashingtonPost.Retrievedfrom:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/03/28/sean-spicer-loses-his-cool-stop-shaking-your-head/?utm_term=.ff47be99040d

Calfas,J.(2017).TheDailyShowRealizedSeanSpicertreatspress‘likeabunchofkindergartener’.TimeMagazine.Retrievedfromhttp://time.com/4728486/the-daily-show-sean-spicer/

Edes,A.,&Taylor,J.(2017).#BlackWomenAtWork:WomenSpeakOutAfterCriticismOfJournalist,Congresswoman.NationalPublicRadio.Retrievedfromhttps://www.npr.org/2017/03/29/521954040/-blackwomenatwork-women-speak-out-after-criticism-of-journalist-congresswoman

Estepa,J.(2017).SeanSpicertellsreportertoAprilRyan:“StopShakingHerHead”.USAToday.Retrievedfrom:https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/03/28/best-line-from-tuesday-white-house-press-briefing/99735698/

FoxNews.(2018).“Stopshakingyourhead”:WhiteHousepresssecretaryscoldsreporter.FoxNews.Retrievedfromhttp://fox4kc.com/2017/03/28/stop-shaking-your-head-white-house-press-secretary-scolds-reporter/

Greene,L.(2017).SeanSpicerandBillO’Reillycontinuetheage-oldAmericaTraditionofdisrespectingblackwomen.NewYorkDailyNews.Retrievedfromhttp://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/sean-spicer-carries-tradition-disrespecting-black-women-article-1.3012048

Griffin,T.(2017).ReporterScoldedbySeanSpicer:“ThePressareUnderAttack”.Buzzfeed.Retrievedfromhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/tamerragriffin/reporter-scolded-by-sean-spicer-we-are-the-press-who-is?utm_term=.jwN17AnkE#.lbgd4q1j2

Grynbaum,M.(2017).ForAprilRyan,ClasheswiththeWhiteHouseBringsaNewKindofProminence.TheNewYorkTimes.Retrievedfromhttps://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/31/business/media/april-ryan-white-house-spicer-trump.html?_r=0

Hart,T.(2017).ContentiousExchangeDuringWhiteHousepressbriefing.AmericanUrbanRadioNetworks.Retrievedfromhttp://aurn.com/contentious-exchange-white-house-press-briefing/

125

Moore,M.(2018).Spicertriestomakenicewiththereporterhesnubbed.NewYorkPost.Retrievedfromhttps://nypost.com/2017/03/29/spicer-tries-to-make-nice-with-reporter-he-snubbed/

Neilson,L.(2017).Spicersaysaccusationshetreatedreporterunfairlyisdemeaningtoher.Politico.Retrievedfromhttps://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/sean-spicer-april-ryan-press-briefing-exchange-236634

Powell,E.(2017).ItmaynotbetheWhiteHousebutHillaryClintonDeclaresthatsheis‘outofthewoods’.TheChristianScienceMonitor.Retrievedfromhttps://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2017/0329/It-may-not-be-the-White-House-but-Clinton-declares-she-is-out-of-the-woods

Scott,E.(2017).AprilRyan:Thepressisunderattackbythisadministrarion.CNN.Retrievedfromhttp://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/29/politics/april-ryan-sean-spicer-cnntv/index.html

Silva,D.(2017).‘StopShakingYourHead’:SeanSpicerLashesOutatReporterAprilRyan.NBCNews.Retrievedfromhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/stop-shaking-your-head-sean-spicer-lashes-out-reporter-april-n739691

Smith,D.,&Siddiqui,S.(2017).“IsawyouonSeanSpicer”:Trumppresssecretarybecomeshottestshowintown.TheGuardian.Retrievedfromhttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/02/sean-spicer-donald-trump-press-secretary-briefings

Stableford,D.(2017).‘Stopshakingyourhead’:SpicerscoldsreporterwhoaskedhowTrumpadministrationplanstorevampitsimage.Yahoo!.Retrievedfromhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/stop-shaking-your-head-spicer-scolds-reporter-who-asked-how-trump-administration-plans-to-revamp-its-image-184014479.html

TheAssociatedPress.(2018).CNNhiresAprilRyanasaPoliticalContributor.TheAssociatedPress.Retrievedfromhttps://apnews.com/7730af5b2c5d4651a6a06fd383807749/CNN-hires-April-Ryan-as-political-contributor

Wemple,E.(2017).AprilRyanonSeanSpicer’sinsultingbehaviour:“I’llbeback".ChicagoTribune.Retrievedfrom:http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-sean-spicer-insulting-behavior-20170328-story.htm

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AppendixC:PressBriefing#36

AlJazeera(English).(2017).SeanSpicerapologisesforHitler,HolocaustGaffe.Retrieved fromhttp://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/04/sean-spicer-apologises-assad-hitler- 170411231018650.html BBCNews.(2017).WhiteHousegaffeonHitlerandchemicalweaponsdrawsire.Retrieved fromhttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39572902

Benen,S.(2017).Spicer’sHitlerAnalogygoeshorriblyawryatWhiteHouse briefing.MSNBC.Retrievedfromhttp://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow- show/spicers-hitler-analogy-goes-horribly-awry-white-house-briefing

CBSNews.(2017).SpicersaysHitlerdidn’tusechemicalweapon.Retrievedfromhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/spicer-says-hitler-didnt-use-chemical-weapons/

Easley,J.(2017).Spicer:EvenHitlerdidn’tusechemicalweapons.TheHill.

Estepa,J.,&Jackson,D.(2017).SeanSpicer:AdolfHitlerremark‘wasamistake’.USAToday.Retrievedfromhttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/04/11/spicer-hitler-didnt-even-sink-to-using-chemical-weapons/100333958/

Fandos,N.,&Landler,M.(2017).SeanSpicerRaisesOutcryWithTalkofHitler,Assad,andPoisonGas.NewYorkTimes.Retrievedfrom:https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/11/us/politics/sean-spicer-hitler-gas-holocaust-center.html?_r=0

Fredericks,B.(2017).SeanSpicermakesmind-blowinglyinsensitiveHolocaustremark.The NewYorkPost.Retrievedfromhttps://nypost.com/2017/04/11/sean-spicer-says- hitler-was-nicer-than-assad/Gaianan,M.(2017).SeanSpicer:Hitler‘Didn’tevensinktousingchemicalweapons’.Time Magazine.Retrievedfromhttp://time.com/4734994/sean-spicer-syria-adolph-hitler- chemical-weapons-holocaust/

Gomez,S.(2017).SpicerapologisesforHitlerComments.FoxNews.Retrievedfromhttp://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/04/11/spicer-apologizes-for-hitler-comments.html

Horsley,S.(2017).WhiteHouseSpokesmanStumblesOverAssad-HitlerComparison.NationalPublicRadio.Retrievedfromhttps://www.npr.org/2017/04/11/523444643/white-house-stumbles-over-assad-hitler-comparison

Johnson,J.,&Parker,A.(2017).Spicer:Hitler‘didn’tevensinktousingchemicalweapons’,althoughhe‘sentJew’stotheHolocaustCenter’.TheWashingtonPost.Retrievedfromhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/04/11/spicer-hitler-didnt-even-sink-to-using-chemical-weapons-although-he-sent-jews-to-the-holocaust-center/?utm_term=.e345250c06c2

127

Joseph,C.(2017).WhiteHousePresssecretarySeanSpicer:Hitler'didn'tevensinktousing chemicalweapons'.NewYorkDailyNews.Retrievedfrom http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/sean-spicer-hitler-didn-chemical- weapons-article-1.3043835

Lee,C.,&Bender,M.(2017).SeanSpicerApologizesforSayingAssad’sChemical-WeaponsAtrocitiesWereWorseThanHitler’s.TheWallStreetJournal.Retrievedfrom:https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-spokesman-argues-assads-chemical-weapons-atrocities-were-worse-than-hitlers-1491937683

Linsky,A.(2017).SeanSpicerApologisesforclumsyandfalseHitleranalogy.TheBoston Globe.Retrievedfrom https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2017/04/11/sean-spicer-apologizes- after-clumsy-and-false-hitler-analogy/135ytZI5uB7jELOBiljmkK/story.htmlMerica,D.,&Lander,E.(2017).:SpicerApologisesforHitlerComparison:‘Itwasamistake todothat’.CNN.Retrievedfrom:http://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/11/politics/sean- spicer-hitler-assad-gas-chemical-weapons/index.html?iid=EL

Nelson,L.(2018).SeanSpicerclaimsevenHitlerdidn’tusechemicalweaponsagainsthis peoplePolitico.Retrievedfromhttps://www.politico.eu/article/sean-spicer-claims- even-hitler-didnt-use-chemical-weapons-against-his-people/Rascoe,A.(2017).TrumpspokesmansparksoutcrybycomparingAssad.Reuters.Retrieved

fromhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-hitler/trump-spokesman-sparks-outcry-by-comparing-assad-to-hitler-idUSKBN17D2N9

Reinstein,J.(2017).SeanSpicerSaysHisCommentThatHitlerNeverUsedChemicalWeaponsWas"InappropriateAndInsensitive".Buzzfeed.Retrievedfromhttps://www.buzzfeed.com/juliareinstein/sean-spicer-said-even-hitler-didnt-use-chemical-weapons?utm_term=.dnVMpvjJg#.pilwZLAKY

Ryan,A.(2017).SeanSpicerinhotwaterforcommentscomparingAssadandHitler.AmericanUrbanRadioNetworks.Retrievedfromhttp://aurn.com/sean-spicer-hot-water-comments-comparing-assad-hitler/

SkyNews.(2017).TrumpSpokesmanSeanSpicersayshe‘screwedup’withHitlerComment.Retrievedfromhttps://news.sky.com/story/trump-spokesman-sean-spicer-says-he-screwed-up-with-hitler-comments-10834601

Smith,D.,Jacobs,B.,&McCarthy,T.(2018).SeanSpicerapologisesfor“NotEvenHitlerusedchemicalweapons”gaffe.TheGuardian.Retrievedfrom:https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/apr/11/sean-spicer-hitler-chemical-weapons-holocaust-assad

Stracqualursi,V.(2017).NikkiHaleycallsSeanSpicer’sHitlerComparison‘unfortunate’.ABCNews.Retrievedfrom:http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hitler-sink-chemical-weapons-spicer/story?id=46732616

128

Thomas,K.,&Colven,J.(2017).:SpicerApologiesforHitlercommentthatangeredmany.-ReproductionofTheAssociatePressArticleunderdifferentheadline.TheChicagoTribune.Retrievedfrom:http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/politics/ct-spicer-apologizes-holocaust-20170411-story.html

Thomas,K.,&Colvin,J.(2017).Spicerapologisesfor‘insensitive’referencetotheHolocaust.TheAssociatedPress.Retrievedfromhttps://apnews.com/54102ee5694546c1a7bc47f436f7cc59

Thomas,K.,&Colven,J.(2017).SpicerApologizesfor“Insensitive”referencetotheHolocaust.Bloomberg.Retrievedfromhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-11/spicer-suggests-even-hitler-didn-t-use-chemical-weapons

Vitali,A.,&Alexander,P.(2017).WhiteHousePresssecretarySeanSpicerApologizesAfterCausingUproarWithHitlerGaffe.NBCNews.Retrievedfromhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/spicer-offends-hitler-gassing-remark-n745241

Weaver,C.(2017).SeanSpicersparksoutragewithAssad-NaziComparison.TheFinancial Times.Retrievedfromhttps://www.ft.com/content/22ab578a-1eee-11e7-a454- ab04428977f9

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AppendixD:PressBriefingTranscriptsTheWhiteHouse.(2017).StatementbyPresssecretarySeanSpicer.Retrievedfrom https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/01/21/statement-press- secretary-sean-spicer TheWhiteHouse.(2017).TranscriptofPressBriefing#3028/03/2017.Retrievedfrom https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/03/28/daily-press-briefing- press-secretary-sean-spicer-30TheWhiteHouse.(2017).TranscriptofPressBriefing#3611/4/2017.Retrievedfrom https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/11/press-briefing-press- secretary-sean-spicer-4112017-36

130

AppendixE:InitialPressBriefingContentAnalysisCoding Table 7: Coded Results of Initial Press Briefing

Article Number

1. Spicer is First Quoted



4. Subjective Commentary

A1 0 1 0 1 A2 1 1 0 1 A3 0 1 1 1 A4 1 1 1 1 A5 1 1 0 1 A6 1 1 1 1 A7 1 1 1 1 A8 1 1 1 1 A9 0 1 0 1 A10 1 1 1 0 A11 1 1 1 0 A12 1 0 1 0 A13 1 1 1 1 A14 1 1 1 1 A15 1 1 0 1 A16 1 1 1 0 A17 1 1 0 1 A18 - - - - A19 1 0 1 1 A20 - - - - A21 1 1 0 1 A22 1 0 0 1 A23 1 1 1 1 A24 1 1 1 1 A25 1 1 1 1 A26 1 1 0 1 A27 0 1 1 0 A28 1 1 0 1 A29 1 1 0 1 A30 0 1 0 1

131

AppendixF:PressBriefing#30ContentAnalysisCoding Table 8: Coded results of Press Briefing #30

Article Number

1. Spicer is First Quoted




B1 0 1 0 1 B2 1 0 1 0 B3 - - - - B4 0 1 0 1 B5 0 1 1 1 B6 - - - - B7 - - - - B8 1 1 1 0 B9 1 1 1 1 B10 1 1 1 1 B11 0 1 1 1 B12 1 1 0 1 B13 1 1 1 0 B14 1 1 0 0 B15 1 1 1 0 B16 0 1 1 0 B17 - - - - B18 - - - - B19 0 1 1 0 B20 - - - - B21 0 1 0 1 B22 1 1 0 1 B23 0 1 1 1 B24 0 1 1 1 B25 1 1 0 1 B26 0 1 0 1 B27 - - - - B28 1 1 1 0 B29 - - - - B30 - - - -

132

AppendixG:PressBriefing#36ContentAnalysis Table 9: Coded results of Press Briefing #36

Article Number 1. Spicer First

identified source




C1 1 1 1 1 C2 1 0 1 0 C3 1 0 0 1 C4 1 1 1 0 C5 1 1 0 1 C6 1 1 1 0 C7 1 1 1 0 C8 1 1 0 1 C9 1 1 0 1 C10 1 1 1 1 C11 1 1 0 1 C12 1 1 0 1 C13 1 1 0 1 C14 1 1 1 1 C15 1 0 1 1 C16 1 1 1 1 C17 0 1 1 1 C18 1 1 1 0 C19 1 1 1 1 C20 1 1 0 1 C21 1 1 0 1 C22 1 1 1 1 C23 - - - - C24 1 1 1 1 C25 1 1 1 0 C26 1 1 1 1 C27 1 1 0 1 C28 1 1 0 1 C29 1 1 1 0 C30 1 1 1 1

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