Langer, A.I. (2010) The politicization of private persona: exceptional leaders or the new rule? The case of the UK and the Blair effect. International Journal of Press/Politics, 15(1), pp. 60-76. (doi: 10.1177/1940161209351003)
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Abstract
This article investigates the extent and nature of the press coverage of the personal lives and personal qualities of contemporary British political leaders. In particular, it explores the legacy of the politicization of Blair’s private persona, or the Blair effect. Was Blair’s era a temporary anomaly, or did it have a transformative effect on the way that parties, politicians, and journalists conceive the role of the personal in public discourse and in the construction of a leader’s public persona? This research demonstrates that the degree of politicization of private persona still depends, to an important extent, on the personality of the leader and on the leader’s communication strategies, and that it is still possible to have a prime minister such as Gordon Brown, who tries to keep his personal life mostly private. But this is only part of the story. Blair’s era altered expectations about the role that the personal plays, and ought to play, in public discourse, and how much significance is given to it as a criterion of leadership evaluation.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Langer, Dr Ana Ines |
| Authors: | Langer, A.I. |
| Subjects: | J Political Science > JA Political science (General) |
| College/School: | College of Social Sciences > School of Social and Political Sciences > Politics |
| Journal Name: | International Journal of Press/Politics |
| Publisher: | SAGE |
| ISSN: | 1940-1612 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1940-1620 |
| Published Online: | 27 October 2009 |
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