THE IMAGE OF THE POLITICIAN - ENGLISH COURSE

A.    Memos, reports, newsreleases.

The internal and external communication of an organisation are vital for its functioning, that is why we should know certain rules of conceiving the written messages in several standard forms.

A1. The internal information. Memoranda.

Read the following text and comment upon the utility of such documents. Remember the rules of conceiving a memorandum.

A memorandum might be described as an internal note (or letter) circulating within an organisation. Quite often the memorandum will be handwritten. Each organisation will have its own design for memoranda (the plural for memorandum), but a typical format is shown below.

Memoranda are used for a variety of reasons, but tend to be informal and brief, which explains why the forms are often printed in the smaller paper sizes. They need to be addressed sufficiently to enable them to land on the right desk after going through an internal mailing system, and the date and the initials (if not the signature) of the originator are essential.

Memoranda might be used to:

seek information or cooperation;

give instructions or advice;

offer ideas and suggestions;

notify, clarify and explain events which have occurred.

The type of memorandum shown here is an alternative to the telephone message. Most internal communication in organisations is face-to-face or by telephone, but when these avenues are closed for one reason or another (perhaps the person you are trying to contact is "out of office" or otherwise unavailable), the memorandum comes into play.

Increasingly in modern offices desktop visual display units (VDUs) are used to convey information from one part of the organisation to another, and this has the effect of reducing the flow of paper.

A2.The internal information. Reports.

Read the following text and comment upon the importance of such documents. Remember the rules of writing a report.

The report is usually reserved for the more important deliberations. The matters considered are likely to be more complex and the contents aimed at helping management to make rational decisions. Still on the subject of the accident to Julia Styles, the Works Manager has asked for a full report on the accident from the supervisor in the Welding Section. The accident would have been reported in the official logbook for accidents.

The entries in this log are very important as the accident would have to be reported to the appropriate authorities. For example, a formal report arising from the accident might be presented to the Works Manager at Alpha by the supervisor in the Welding Section where the accident happened.

A3. The external information. Newsreleases.

Newsreleases can comprise rough information, as that regarding an appointment for a position or the foundation of a new department in an organisation, or they can be articles presenting a new product, a new client, an event. The main difference between an article in a newspaper and the newsrelease is the structure. The newsrelease should be much more concise and the final paragraph should contain precise information, for example:

"Kingsford Products is a subsidiary of the Clorox Company. Having headquarters in Oakland, California, Clorox produces food for the American market".

Newsom and Carrell distinguish four types of newsreleases: announcements, short news, replies and presentations. The announcement type is very often used by the PR agencies. They seem not to have only commercial contents. The short news type appear in the periods when the client is in a crisis. The replies contain specific information as an answer to the pressure of the public opinion, questions or accusations. Presentations are newsreleases but they are more than a rough accounting of facts. Then, the PR agent should behave like a reporter himself, searching for the most interesting approach.

A4. Exercises:

a. Peter Robinson, the Personnel Manager at Alpha, has called for a meeting of his staff next Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. You are a member of his team but have arranged to visit a couple of local schools on Friday, hoping to recruit some new clerical staff. You are not sure how long this will take and might not be able to get to the meeting until later. Draft a memorandum to the Personnel Manager explaining the situation.

b. Having received the report on the accident, the Works Manager wants the supervisor to make sure all the welders follow the safety rules in the future. He also wants to know the address of the hospital and the visiting hours so he can go and see her. Taking into account the guidelines for a report (conciseness, precision, the use of headings and subheadings, the use of title and subject specifications, the use of conclusions and recommendations) you are asked to draft a proper memorandum for him to sign.

c. Write a newsrelease on the topic of the change of the General Manager in the firm in which you work.

B.     Phrasal Verbs

B1. Remember the following phrasal verbs with in and into. Maken sentences with each of them, using them in the most suitable contexts. Make comparisons between the meaning of the phrasal verb and the meaning of the "mother" verbs.

to break in = a se baga in vorba

to break into = a intra intr-o casa prin efractie

to bring in = a duce (un venit)

to do in = a executa, a lichida

to drop in = a trece pe la cineva

to fill in = a completa (un formular)

to get in = a intra, a strange, a recapata, a plasa, a invata

to get into = a patrunde, a se deprinde cu

to give in = a inmana

to give into = a se da batut in fata unor argumente

to go in = a intra, a sosi

to go in for = a se prezenta la un examen, a se ocupa de ceva

to go into = a intra in, a se implica in

to pull in = a veni, a sosi (despre mijloace de transport)

to read in = a introduce date in calculator

to ring in = a anunta sosirea cuiva

to run in = a conduce la politie, a aresta, a alege un candidat, a roda o masina

to take in = a pofti inauntru, a insela, a stramta (despre haine)

to turn in = a transforma, a preschimba, a se culca

to turn into = a transforma in, a deveni

B2. Complete each of the sentences below with a suitable verb, making sure that it fits grammatically into the sentence:

a.     He ....into the filing cabinet and helped himself to the top secret documents.

b.     ....in the next layby. I'd like to get out and stretch my legs for a bit.

c.      They say they'll ....in the hostage if the ransom isn't paid by tomorrow.

d.     And after the game's over, I may ....in for a cup of coffee.

e.     You might try Mrs. Willow across the road. She ....in lodgers.

f.      No matter how cruel and offensive you are to me, I won't ....in and give you a divorce.

g.     As soon as he'd ....in the coupon, he went out to post it.

h.     Excluding overtime pay, how much do you ....in a week?

i.       Excuse me, what time does the London to Manchester train ....in?

j.       When you've finished writing ....in the test paper to the invigilator.

B3. Add it where necessary to the following sentences, and say what it means or might mean:

a.     Here is the hair-dryer. You can plug in over there.

b.     The door was flung open and Gloria burst in.

c.      I'll probably stay in tonight as I've got a cold.

d.     Have you finished the report? Hand in tomorrow, please.

e.     Rolf pulled in for petrol at the motorway services.

f.      The new clerk needs to be the right sort of person to fit in here.

g.     I don't think poor Mrs. Gates can take all in.

h.     Well, I give in! I'll do whatever you like!

i.       That horse is completely wild. You'll have to break in!

j.       If you'd like a lift, get in!

C.     The image of the Politician

Among the characters of the modern world, the politician is admired and hated, made responsible for all the bad parts of our social life and praised for the evolution and the accomplishments of the state. As specialists in the field of public relations, you should know almost everything about the building-up of his image.

C1. Answer the following questions in little essays having no more than 100 words:

a.     What Romanian politician would you like to consider for being part in his/her public relations team?

b.     If you were a politician, where would you start your image building campaign from? What slogan would you use?

c.      Which type of media do you think is the most important in a political campaign? Why?

d.     When establishing the agenda for the political campaign, which part of Romania should a politician start? Why?

e.     Which events would you introduce, as a possible image builder, in the program of the politician you advise? In what order? Why?

f.      What do you think about the ethics of a political campaign?

C2. Read and translate the following text about the image of the politician, comment upon it and try to give examples for the situations described:

It is a five-minute biographical film, one that many Americans viewed on their TVs early in the 1980 presidential campaign. It opens with Ronald Reagan accepting his party's nomination. A flashback takes the viewer to pictures of the candidate's youth in "America's heartland, small-town Illinois", to Hollywood where Ronald Reagan attracted audiences because he was "so clearly one of them", to his World War II military record, to Reagan's work as "dedicated union man" and, then, to his success as California's governor after taking over " a state in crisis". The overall message: "Governor Reagan dealt with California's problems. He will do as much for the nation".

There was nothing particularly unusual about the Reagan TV ad. Candidates for public office routinely employ a variety of spot advertising, mini-documentaries, lengthy biographical sketches, televised town meetings, call-in radio shows, and other electronic devices to campaign. Other propaganda pops up in brochures, newspaper advertising, yard signs, lapel buttons, bumper stickers, even - would you believe? - on toilet paper. Considerable time, money and artistic talent is expended on convincing voters that each candidate is a man or woman for all seasons, capable of anything the times, situation and constituents demand.

.Candidates, of course, are in a position to act out their fantasies. They dramatise their fantasies by creating rhetorical visions. These visions appear over and over again in each candidate's propaganda. Each speech, brochure, position paper, slogan, TV or radio advertisement and so on is a carefully crafted effort to portray the candidate's rhetorical vision. Such crafting is an artistic enterprise. Hence, campaign propaganda can be regarded as an example of fantastic art, that is, the use of artistic devices to promote a candidate's rhetorical vision of his presidency. If successful, the candidate's fantasy chains out to become the news media's and the voters' fantasy as well.

Campaign propaganda aims at mediating two closely related, overlapping fantasies. First, propaganda constructs fantasies about the candidate, his qualities, qualifications, program and destiny. Second, propaganda mediates realities about the nature of the world, the array of forces, dangers, threats and enemies that must be confronted and vanquished. The linkage of the two fantasies is essential, that is, the destiny of the candidate becomes the destiny of the political world.

An entire industry now exists to construct such fantasies, craft appropriate propagandistic artifacts for them, and espouse each candidate's rhetorical vision. This industry of "propartists" consists of specialists with a variety of skills. There are, for instance, organisers, fund raisers, pollsters, TV producers, filmmakers, advertisers, public relations personnel, press secretaries, hairstylists and all manner of consultants. The industry has developed an aesthetic style consistent with the artistry of modern advertising. Two devices in that artistry are particularly key mechanisms, positioning the candidate and fashioning the image.

In commercial advertising positioning places a product at a particular point or with a particular stance as a means of distinguishing it from competing products that, in substance, are strikingly similar to the product being huckstered. The attempt is to carve out a share of the market. But it is not the unique traits or qualities inherent in the product that are stressed. Rather, advertisers mold a picture of the product as distinct because of the people who buy or consume it. Consider beers. Many are indistinguishable in taste, but TV ads alert us that Miller Lite is favored by former athletes, Schlitz is the cool and tough brew of macho James Coburn and Natural Lite is the favorite of discerning women. Now consider candidates. In 1976, Jimmy Carter and his team conceived a successful pre-campaign scenario of the news media: Jimmy Carter's pollster, Pat Caddell, advised against Carter's positioning himself on the liberal/conservative continuum, Caddell noted that his polls indicated a large portion of Americans were disenchanted with government and with the failure of the politicians, liberal or conservative, to solve problems. He advised Carter to position himself as the anti-Washington candidate. Carter did, carved out a whole new market, and ended up with the nomination.

Positioning puts a candidate in a place to run from in a campaign. Image making is what the candidate runs as. The progress is not one-way. Voters' impressions on candidates' qualities derive only in part from campaign propaganda; how voters contrast the candidate's fantasies with their own makes a difference. A household cleanser or trash bag may position itself to carve out a market segment, but if "Big Wally" or the "man from Glad" does not conform to what the pop song calls "dreams of the everyday housewife", the desired image may not follow. Fashioning image themes that strike responsive chords requires skill, resources and luck. In 1980, with varying degrees of success, the process gave  us George Bush jogging while he waved and talked, to remind voters that he was not like the older Reagan; John B. Anderson telling that he was a "candidate with ideas", to mark himself off from the republican pack; and Jimmy Carter dramatising himself as "moral" and "a good family man", to denote he was no Kennedy.

C3. Case study: Udall and the Iowa caucuses. Comment the situation, discuss the weak points of the campaign and try to find a similar example from the Romanian electoral campaigns.

From their initial decision-making in early 1975 to November of that year, the Udall campaign planned to make their first solid effort in the New Hampshire primary under the assumption that, in the years past, the print and broadcast media would devote a great deal of attention to the build-up and results of that first primary. Campaigning in New Hampshire, Udall would attract considerable press coverage; winning New Hampshire (followed, hopefully, by a win in Massachusetts) would catapult him into the front runner status. It was a familiar route: "Our strategy", explained Stewart Udall, the candidate's brother, in an interview, "has to be a strategy in the key states, which are New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Wisconsin".

Beginning on October 27, the national political reporters began to devote so much attention to the upcoming Iowa caucuses that it soon became apparent that the first big splash of the 1976 race would occur there, rather than in New Hampshire. R.W. Apple's piece in the October 27^th New York Times signaled the fact that the Iowa caucuses would be an important event form the perspective of news reporting organisations. The significance of Apple's piece was enhanced by the clairvoyance of his reporting in 1972, interpreting the caucus results in Iowa as demonstrating unexpected McGovern strength. As in 1972, Iowa could be the first opportunity to observe which candidates were "emerging from the pack".

All the attention caused the Udall campaign to reconsider its decision to stay out of Iowa. As frequently happens, the decision caused a split within the campaign. The efforts of key participants to explain their positions after the fact provide a unique opportunity to observe the importance of predicted media coverage in major political decisions. The campaign political director argued for making a major, albeit eleventh hour, effort in Iowa. His position was reinforced by a memo prepared by a key advisor after an explanatory trip into the state. The important passage of that memo read: "Iowa justifies the expense. It will be covered like the first primary always has been in the national press. If we can emerge as the clear liberal choice in Iowa, the payoffs in New Hampshire will be enormous."

Despite the argument by others in the campaign that it was by them too late to make a successful effort in Iowa, the political director's side finally won with the additional argument that even if that did not win Iowa, at least their presence there would keep the liberal frontrunner from emerging in the headlines until New Hampshire. The Udall campaign committed 80,000 $ and, an even more precious resource, ten days of the candidate's time to the Iowa effort.

While it can never be ascertained whether this decision to switch resources away from the New Hampshire effort resulted in a poorer showing there, it certainly did not improve their New Hampshire campaign. With hindsight, Udall staffers admitted the preeminence of the media considerations in their mistaken venture: "Iowa was regrettable in that we had no inclination or desire to devote resources and time and money to Iowa. But it became such a media event that I think some of our staff people panicked in the face of it and we rushed in headlong" (Press secretary Robert Neumann).

Their discovery that the media planned to cover the Iowa caucuses as extensively as they would, the early primaries led Udall's advisors to conclude that they could not let the other candidates (principally Bayh and Carter) get the jump on them either in sheer amount of coverage or in favorable perceptions of political progress communicated by the media to New Hampshire voters. Needless to say, by any standard, this was a major campaign decision.

C4. Translate into English, then comment upon the consequences of the annalzsis in the following text

Prima problema care apare, din punctul de vedere al creatorului de imagine din Romania, este ca aceste semnale ale realitatii cotidiene indreptate in flux continuu catre filtrul colector al mass-media nu sunt decat arareori pre-elaborate la nivelul imaginii sau, atunci cand exista asemenea intentie, ea se realiseaza haotic, cel mai adesea neprofesionist.

In acest caz, selectia se muta exclusiv in zona de actiune a editorilor de programe sau sefilor de sectii de la marele ziare. Ei se vor afla in fata unei mase enorme de fapte brute ce reprezinta tot atatea mesaje potential interesante, lipsindu-le insa forma, expresia simbolica adecvata.

Deoarece in tara noastra nu exista inca o preocupare profesionista din partea creatorilor de imagine pentru o codare a mesajelor in sensul formularii lor corecte si descifrabile la nivelul filtrului informational, greselile din acest domeniu vor avea consecinte importante, generand efecte paralizante in constiinta publicului.

Problemele devin si mai complicate, gradul lor de gravitate creste, in masura in care spre filtrul mass-media se indreapta elemente componente ale unor fapte politice. Sa ne aminitim de perioada nu foarte indepartata denumita "era comunicatelor de presa". Era timpul in care mass-media difuza, obositor si cu relevanta mica pentru publicul standard, comunicate, contracomunicate, replici multiple la prima sau la a doua categorie, cel mai adesea date simultan si prezentate publicului in bloc comun, pentru respectarea principiului echidistantei. Amuzante pentru ziaristii profesionisti, poate utile pentru comentatorii si analistii politici, ele nu produceau din punctul de vedere al creatorului de imagine decat confuzie si, la limita, adversitate.

D.    Vocabulary Practice.

D1. Do the following exercises:

a.     Complete the following sentences:

Richard couldn't enter his house because ....

He realised that his umbrella ....

He made up his mind to break the window because ....

He broke the parlor window by ....

He was climbing through the window when suddenly ....

b.     Complete the following sentences paying attention to the sequence of tenses:

I told Maggie the story before ....

While we were talking a man ....

When he came in ....

He said in a most dreadful voice: "You'll leave this house as soon as ...."

"Go to help her before ....", he added keeping on smiling.

Had I known what would have happened, I ....

"You can ask him if ....", whispered Maggie from under the table.

Unfortunately the man heard the words and muttered: "We shall have a good time if ....".

"I am going to see if ....", I replied quickly and made for the door.

"If I met you before, I ....", laughed the man.

We could have escaped from the room if Maggie .....

D2. One way of extending your vocabulary is by learning to use all the forms of a word. For example, to access (verb) - access (noun) - accessible (adjective). Complete the following table with other parts of speech besides the verb:

Verb                                 Noun Noun Adjective

Concept Agent

to administer administration administrator administrative

to supervise

to manage

to operate

to apply

to inform

to account

to maintain

to acquire

to realise

to choose

to remember

D3. Complete the expressions by matching the verbs on the left with the appropriate phrase on the right:

1. to clear                       a. a big order

2. to fix                           b. for a meeting

3. to pick up                  c. with a new product

4. to cut                          d. 200,000 $ worth of sales

5. to appeal to                            e. your problem

6. to pull out of             f. an optimistic target

7. to get together        g. young consumers

8. to appreciate            h. an opportunity

9. to miss                       i. the recession

10. to be successful     j. stock levels

D4. Translate into English, using the verbs to detect, to discover, to find out:

a.     Am publicat de curand o lucrare despre epoca marilor descoperiri geografice.

b.     In cele din urma s-a descoperit totul si s-a dat publicitatii.

c.      Ei, ce-ai descoperit, e bine sau nu?

d.     Materialul are unele defecte dar sunt greu de descoperit la prima vedere.

e.     S-au descoperit urme de vopsea verde pe hainele celui accidentat.

f.      S-a descoperit cine ii trimitea scrisorile acelea anonime?

g.     Uite ce am descoperit in pod, carti vechi si valoroase.

h.     N-am reusit sa-i descopar numele.

i.       E mare scandal pe santier, s-au descoperit vicii ascunse la elicea cea noua.

j.       In final, dupa multe investigatii, am descoperit totul din relatarile lor separate.

Remember the following phrases:

to detect traces of; lie-detector; to discover new lands; the Age of Discovery; to find out the truth/the meaning.