F ELICIA ELOF S SON | F E AT U R E
S ( P ) I N I S TER P OL I TI CS
THE BUSINESS OF SPIN DOCTORS IN US-AME RICAN POLITICS POLITICS IS NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE: NATIONAL POLITICAL IDEAS ARE UP FOR GLOBAL SCRUTINY. ELECTION CAMPAIGNS ARE NO LONGER LIMITED TO A SEASON, BUT CAN STRETCH OVER YEARS. POLITICIANS ARE UNDER CONSTANT INSPECTION BY NEWS OUTLETS AND SOCIAL MEDIA. POLITICS HAVE BECOME INTENSELY PROFESSIONALIZED. IN THE MIDST OF THIS PROFESSIONALIZATION OF THE POLITICAL FIELDS A NEW INDUSTRY HAS EMERGED: THE INDUSTRY OF POLITICAL SPIN. THE PERSPECTIVE TAKES A DEEP DIVE INTO THE PROFESSION TO UNCOVER WHAT THESE DOCTORS PRESCRIBE.
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f the name Olivia Pope does not ring a bell, allow me to give you a quick rundown of the seven-season long HBO mega-hit “Scandal.” The series takes place in Washington DC, the epicenter of US-American politics, where former White House employee Olivia Pope opens her own crisis agency aimed at “fixing” whatever scandals her clients, ranging from politicians to sportsmen, might have gotten themselves involved in. By hiding dirty information, controlling the perception of
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events and strategically constructing heartfelt public statements, Olivia Pope manages to spin the public perception of any blunder of her well-paying clients. Olivia Pope is actually based on a very much alive woman named Judy Smith. Smith is a renowned crisis and PR manager who served in the White House under George Bush, later moving on to open her own crisis-management firm. She advised clients such as young Monica Lewinsky whose reputation came under constant
attack throughout the infamous Clinton sex scandal. Smith is only one out of many working in what has come to be called “spin.” The spin industry has a robust place in the political business of the US and UK, with superstar spin doctors such as Peter Mandelson who was the alleged mastermind behind Tony Blair’s political career. The US has seen the rise of several well-known spin doctors such as the aforementioned Judy Smith or Mike McCurry, who
