Mass information and public relations strategies of Albanian political parties / Strategies and tactics of PR of political parties in mediatization of mayoral candidates

Abstract

Political parties use Public Relations - PR- as a useful tool of communication to convey messages to their supporters, especially during electoral campaigns. The main goal of political PR is utilization of media for transmitting political parties’s stance to their voters. This article analyzes effective utilization by political parties of online media during pre-electoral periods of upcoming local elections in Albania to be held on June 21, 2015, focused on strategies used on launching the potential mayoral candidates up to the final selection phase, as well as media coverage regarding this process. Article aims to investigate the strategic interplay of communication’s experts of political parties in charge of communication, as well as of reporters covering politics of seven daily online media: Tema online, Dita online, Shqiptarja.com, Shekulli, Mapo, Panorama, Shqip. Article also intends to explore the efficiency of PR strategies in ensuring a full media coverage of information/news provided by political parties and how they achieve their goals. Article uses interviews with political parties PR officers, political reporters in aforementioned online newspapers, by considering all editions of newspapers starting from March 17, 2015 (the day when the first mayoral candidate was launched) until April 18, 2015, (the day that Electoral Code defines as the closing day of submission of candidates by the political parties. In conclusion, we can say that a good cooperative relationship between people in charge of PR of political parties and political reporters is established, but this relationship is not sufficient to determine the result of publishing the strategies; it is also defined by the approach of media owners towards each political party.