Spin unspun: Unravelling cultural representations and audience understandings of political public relations

This thesis explores representations of political public relations (PR) in fictional film and television. Combining textual analysis, interviews, and focus groups, it investigates how fictional representations inform audience understandings of political PR professionals and their practices. The research highlights ongoing tensions tied to the phenomenon of political PR, and themes of power, persuasion, trust, and cynicism are prevalent. Findings demonstrate fictional representations serve as important cultural reference points for audiences in negotiating their understandings of political PR. This thesis argues these representations heighten public awareness and encourage critical consideration of political communication and the role of "spin" in mediated democracies.