Public Policy and Media Organisations

The research for this publication involved re-examining the political philosophers in respect of what is termed the ‘common’ good’, ‘well-being’, ‘good-life’ and ‘happiness’ and how such theoretical contexts underpin thinking in public policy that is meant to bring benefits to society. The cultural memory (or history of ideas) of Western philosophy (Plato, Aristotle, Marsilius of Padua, Thomas Aqiunas and many more) seep into contemporary narratives concerning the dissemination of public policy. The overall aim therefore was to assess the political and moral thinking behind government decision-making concerning public policy and further explore how news reports frame and represent public policy issues within a cultural context. In so doing the research explored how government and news media base thinking and representation on perceptions of community in the name of the ‘public interest’.

Chapter one assesses the contribution of political philosophy, chapter two then assesses the ‘Big Society’ as public policy ideology and as a form of bureaucratic authority to shape society. Chapter three presents a discussion on news and the public interest and assesses a number of empirical examples of news representations of public policy issues. Chapter four to six are written by Dr Caroline Kamau, a Social Psychologist designed to assess key psychological processes between production and consumption of public policy