Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (Research)

Department

Cork Institute of Technology

First Advisor

Mr. Emmet Coffey

Abstract

Significance of the study: Political Parties need to diversify ways of communicating with publics. Times are changing and more people focusing on what our public representatives are doing and how active they are within their communities. Looking outside traditional methods of communication is necessary and the use of successful public relations and communications strategies with graduates can contribute to the overall effectiveness of a political party or political representative in times of election.

Approach: The research took place in two stages. The first was an extensive literary review and looking a sources of information like reports, publications and journal articles. The second stage was to conduct qualitative research which would involve interviewing a number of political representatives or active members of political parties who could provide insight into how a party functions. Also a number of voters were interviewed to get their perspective on communications tactics and how they impacted the voters. A semi structured interview was used for all interviews to determine the types of public relations strategies used to maintain relationships with voters.

Results: The results indicate that political parties and representatives function in all communities across the Republic of Ireland. The model of two way communication seems to be one of the most utilised alongside one way communication which is still a popular choice in the political world. None of the political groups fit the criteria for practicing excellent public relations. Furthermore, the study identifies that there is an acceptance that public relations needs to be a part of the political parties structure.

Access Level

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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