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Owning a smart TV is one of the most convenient perks of our modern digital world. This is, of course, a TV that directly connects to the internet and lets you access your streaming services and apps without the need for another external gadget.
The idea does make a lot of sense as it combines the best parts of a set-top box, a computer and a television into one streamlined appliance.
Fewer wires, less clutter - smart TVs have undoubtedly changed the way many of us watch television.
But what price are we paying for this convenience? In return for that always-connected experience, are we allowing our smart TVs to spy on us too?
Don't look now, but you won't believe how your smart TV is not just gobbling up your viewing data. In some cases, it's also gathering information about your home.
So, can you minimize your smart TV's snooping activities? Our advice: Turn off its tracking features.
Are you watching TV or is it watching you? Can the new generation of smart TV's be hacked? Listen to this free Komando Consumer Tech Update podcast and find out.
What is ACR and how do you turn it off?
Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) is a smart TV technology that tries to identify the content that you're playing on your TV by analyzing its pixels.
Since ACR acts on the pixel level, ACR can identify every ad, TV show or movie that you're playing on your TV including content from streaming boxes, cable/over-the-air TV, and even DVD and Blu-Ray disk players.
This data is then collected and can be used for marketing and targeted advertising purposes. If this all sounds too creepy to you, thankfully, there are ways to turn it off, depending on your TV's brand.
Vizio recently settled a class-action lawsuit that accused the company of keeping track of what owners watched without their permission. Although Vizio denies these allegations, it has agreed to pay Vizio TV owners up to $31 each to settle the case.
Note: Vizio was already fined by the FTC to the tune of $2.2 million in 2017 and also settled another class-action lawsuit in 2018 for $17 million.
If you own a Vizio smart TV, aside from the settlement money that you may be entitled to, you can also turn off your set's ACR features. Here's how:
On older Vizio TV sets that use Vizio Internet Apps (VIA), go to the TV's System, and then: Reset & Admin >> Smart Interactivity >> Off.
On Vizio smart TVs that use the newer SmartCast system, go to System >> Reset & Admin >> Viewing Data >> toggle it to Off.
A few years ago, Samsung got into some hot water when it was called out for transmitting voice command data from its smart TVs to a third-party provider.
Yes, it's nice to be able to control your TV with your voice, but if you're concerned about your privacy, you can turn off its voice control, ACR and ad tracking completely.
On newer Samsung sets, go to Settings >> Support >> scroll down to Terms & Policies. Here you can turn off Viewing Information Services (Samsung's ACR technology), Internet-based Advertising (for personalized ad tracking) and Voice Recognition Services.
On older Samsung smart TVs, go to the TV's Smart Hub menu >> Settings >> Support >> look for Terms & Policy >> then disable SyncPlus and Marketing . You can disable Voice Recognition Services in this section, too.
Keep in mind that turning off your Samsung TV's Voice Recognition Services will disable its voice commands.
LG's ACR technology is baked into its newer WebOS-powered smart TVs and it is known as LivePlus. To turn this off, go to Settings >> All Settings >> scroll down to General >>scroll down to a setting called LivePlus >> toggle it to Off.
To limit other forms of data collection on your LG smart TV, go back to Settings >> All Settings >> scroll down to General >> About This TV >> User Agreements>> toggle Personalized Advertising to Off.
Amazon Fire TV Edition
Amazon's Fire TV platform is baked in some smart TVs made by Toshiba and Insignia. Although Amazon said that it does not use ACR to identify content on Fire TV Edition TVs, it can still collect data about the over-the-air channels that you watch and streaming apps that you use.
To turn this off, go to your TV's Settings >> Applications >> then turn off "Collect App and Over-the-Air Usage Data."
You can also opt out of personalized ads by going to Settings >> Preferences >> scroll down to Advertising ID then turn Internet-based Ads off.
Roku TV
On Roku-powered smart TVs, you can turn off ACR by going to Settings >> scroll down then select Privacy >> Smart TV Experience.
Next, uncheck "Use Information for TV Inputs" to disable ACR. Although this will stop your Roku TV from identifying your content on the pixel level, Roku can still collect data about the Roku TV streaming channels you've installed and use.
To prevent personalized ads on your Roku profile, go to Settings >> Privacy >> Advertising then check "Limit ad tracking." Note: This setting is also available on Roku streaming gadgets.
Samba TV
Another way advertisers track you through your smart TV is through a service called Samba TV.
How widespread is Samba TV? According to a New York Times report, the company has struck deals with about a dozen popular TV makers to have its software placed on several models.
Brands with Samba TV include Sony, Sharp, TCL, Element, Sanyo, Toshiba, Westinghouse, Seiki and Philips.
Samba TV describes itself as "a cutting-edge technology layer on your TV that understands what your TV is playing, regardless of the source." It also "communicates with your devices, enabling personalized recommendations and unique second-screen experiences for compatible TVs and apps."
But wait, there's more! Samba TV's system can also reach out to other devices in your home that are connected to the same network as the TV.
This means aside from the ability to recognize and track content regardless of source, Samba TV can also create a "device map" of your home.
Samba TV itself doesn't sell its tracking data directly. Instead, advertisers and marketing firms pay them to send targeted ads to other connected gadgets in a home.
For example, they can direct ads and recommendations to your smartphone after a client's TV commercial plays. Advertisers can also add Samba TV tags to their websites to let them know how many people visit after watching one of their ads.
Did you opt-in to Samba TV?
Have you opted into Samba TV's service without even realizing it?
See, when a Samba TV-enabled device is set up for the first time, consumers are encouraged to opt-in to the service and agree to its terms of service and privacy policy.
The opt-in sounds enticing enough - "Interact with your favorite shows. Get recommendations based on the content you love. Connect your devices for exclusive content and special offers," it states.
The problem? The nitty-gritty details of its terms of service are only available online via browser or if you click through to another screen on your TV.
Although these documents do disclose their tracking practices, they are also long and difficult to understand. The company's terms of service exceed 6,500 words and the privacy policy is over 4,000 words! (Who actually reads these cryptic terms of service anyway?)
It's no wonder that more than 90 percent of people choose to opt-in not realizing the amount of information they're giving up to the company.
How to opt-out of Samba TV
If you're totally creeped out by Samba TV's data collection and you do want to opt-out, here's how.
Smart TVs
According to Samba TV's website, you can opt-out of its smart TV services anytime by finding the option in a TV's "Settings" page or within the "Interactive TV Service" user interface.
If applicable, another way to limit spying is by enabling "Limit Ad Tracking" from the "Privacy" menu within the "Interactive TV Settings" on your smart TV.
Samba TV wrote that if you do this, its advertising platform will opt your Samba TV ad ID out of targeted advertising based on content viewing.
You can also opt out of Samba TV web and app-based interest advertising with these steps:
Web browsers
You can opt-out of having Samba use your web browsing information for interest-based advertisements by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative's (NAI) opt-out page or by accessing the "Opt-out of Samba TV Ads" option within the company's privacy policy page.
Mobile devices
According to Samba TV, the most effective and up-to-date method is to limit ad tracking on your mobile device.
Here's how you do this:
iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch - Go to Settings >> Privacy >> Advertising >> Toggle "Limit Ad Tracking" to On. You can also reset your Advertising Identifier in this section to unlink any previous data associated with your ID.
Android phones - Generally, on an Android gadget, you can go to Settings >> Google >> Ads >> Toggle "Opt out of Ads Personalization" to On. Similar to iOS gadgets you can also reset your gadget's advertising ID in this page.
Your other options
A few other options are simple but maybe impractical, such as disconnecting your smart appliances from the internet. This, of course, renders gadgets that rely on an internet connection, like smart speakers or the web features of smart TVs, totally useless and may not be a viable option for some people.
Additionally, if you're worried about the security implications of this emerging world of web-connected "Internet of Things" appliances, maybe just stay away from purchasing them altogether. If you think the convenience of having these smart gadgets is not worth the risk, then it's your choice to keep them out of your home.
Bonus: If you have a Vizio smart TV, you may be entitled to a portion of a settlement the company has agreed to on charges of tracking owners' viewing habits without their permission. Tap or click here to find out how to file for compensation.


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Stephan C. Henneberg Manchester Business School University of Manchester Margaret Scammell London School of Economics Department of Media & Communications Nick J. OShaughnessy Queen Mary University of London
Paper presented at the International Symposiumon Political Marketing Brno, Czech Republic, 8 Oct. 2009
Note: This paper is based on a published article by Henneberg, Scammell, OShaughnessy (2009), Political Marketing Management and Theories of Democracy, Marketing Theory, 9 (2), 165-189. The copyright for the articles remains with the authors.
Author InformationProfessor Stephan C. Henneberg is Professor of Marketing and Strategy at the Manchester Business School, The University of Manchester, UK. His research interests are in the areas of strategic marketing, relational marketing, consumer behaviour, and social and political marketing. He publishes regularly on political marketing, e.g. in the Journal of Marketing Management, European Journal of Marketing, Marketing Theory, Journal of Political Marketing , and Journal of Public Affairs. Stephan has organised several international academic conferences and PhDcolloquia on political marketing. He has edited a book of readings on The Idea of Political Marketing, Praeger, 2002, together with N. OShaughnessy. Contact information: Dr. Stephan C. Henneberg, Manchester Business School, Booth Street West, Manchester M15 6PB, United Kingdom, Tel.: +44-(0)161-306 3465, EMail: email@example.com Dr. Margaret Scammell is a Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication at the London School of Economics. Her current research interests are political branding, campaigning, political journalism and broad aspects of media and democracy. She is the author of Designer Politics, 1995, and co-author of On-Message: Communicating the Campaign, 1999 and Media, Journalism and Democracy, 2000. Contact information: Dr Margaret Scammell, Department of Media and Communication, London School of Economics, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom, Tel.: +44-7955 6495, E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Professor Nicholas J. OShaughnessy is Professor of Marketing and Communication at Queen Mary, University of London, and is Quondam Fellow of Hughes Hall, Cambridge University. Previously he was Director of the Centre for Research in Consumer and Social Marketing at Brunel University Business School; and he is the author of a number of books on marketing and political marketing, and numerous journal articles. His latest book, Politics and Propaganda, Weapons of Mass Seduction, has just been published by the University of Michigan Press and the University of Manchester Press. Contact information: Professor Nick OShaughnessy, School of Management, Queen Mary, London University, Mile End Road, London E14NS. Tel 0207 723 1437, EMail: firstname.lastname@example.com
AbstractPolitical marketing management is often criticised for devaluing democratic processes. However, no literature exists which outlines different concepts of democracies and systematically juxtaposes them with political marketing management in its varied conceptual and practical facets. In this article, we outline three different perspectives, i.e. a selling-oriented, an instrumentally-oriented, and a relational political marketing management, and analyse their compatibility with two different concepts of democracy, specifically competitive elitism, and deliberative democracy. We discuss implications of political marketing vis--vis the theory of democracy as well as necessary further research. We find that while certain political marketing management perspectives are associated with different theories of democracy, the current normal paradigm of marketing theory shows the least overlap with democratic theories.
KeywordsPolitical Marketing; Democracy; Competitive Elitism; Participatory Democracy
The Normal Paradigm of Political Marketing: A Case of Incommensurability with Theories of Democracy?
common vision of the just, noble and good into the private and often irrational whimsy of consumerism. Political marketing, it is argued, encourages voters to judge politicians in terms of the selfish rewards of consumer purchase (Qualter, 1991: Bauman, 2005); equally it may undermine the courage necessary for political leadership (Klein, 2006). However, on the other hand political marketing has been discussed in a more positive light, e.g. Bannon (2005), Johansen (2005), or Henneberg and OShaughnessy (2008) argue that a relationship-building approach of political marketing could well provide a basis for more meaningful interactions between voters and political institutions. Furthermore, political marketing should not be judged against ideal and impossible standards of a perfectly informed, knowledgeable and participating electorate, but rather against the real world of relatively low interest and knowledge in politics. This realist strand of research claims that marketing of some sort may be valuable, even essential, for promoting voter interest and involvement (Popkin, 1991; Wring, 1997; Corner, 2003; Scammell, 2003). However, as OShaughnessy (1990) put it The answer to the ethical question [regarding political marketing] depends on the views of democracy we hold (p. 6). Therefore, we posit that a critique of political marketing management needs to be underpinned by a clear understanding of the conceptual complexity of the phenomenon in question as well as by a rigorous analysis of the yardstick that is employed. Existing literature in political marketing and political science does not engage with the epistemological foundations of political marketing management but remains concerned with specific applications and tools (Wring, 1997; Henneberg, 2008). We therefore attempt to fill a gap in the literature which hitherto has hindered further conceptual development of the area of political marketing as well as cross-
disciplinary interactions between marketing theory and political science. Our contribution is based on a discussion of different aspects of political marketing management vis--vis key concepts of democracy in order to provide a rich and rigorous juxtaposition of the compatibility or incompatibility between them. Specifically, we are interested in whether the current dominant paradigm of (political) marketing management is commensurable with theories of democracy. What we will not attempt is an in-depth discussion of ethical issues, i.e. axiomatic philosophical judgements, associated with this juxtaposition (Hunt and Vittell 1986; Laczniak and Murphy, 2006; Nill and Schibrowsky, 2007). We will structure our argument as follows: to specify and motivate our research, we will briefly discuss the status of political marketing management with regards to politics in the next section. Following on, an analysis of the characteristics of three distinct concepts of political marketing management is introduced, derived from theoretical vantage points. Two different normative concepts of democracy will subsequently enable a juxtaposition of political marketing management on the one hand and democratic theories on the other, exemplified in a categorisation scheme. In a conclusion section we will synthesise our findings and their consequences, and discuss implications for research in the area of political marketing.
with the general fit of the concepts of political marketing management in relation to the research phenomenon in question (Lock and Harris, 1996; Egan, 1999; Scammell, 1999). More specifically, political marketing research needs to be concerned with issues of democracy in general and its commensurability with political marketing management and its underlying concepts, such as voter-orientation, or marketorientation (OCass, 1996, 2001; Lees-Marshment, 2001; Newman, 2002; Ormrod, 2007). This goes beyond more specific questions about the applicability of political marketing activities in politics, such as whether it is ethical to focus only on floating voters in a targeted election strategy (Baines et al., 2002; Lilleker, 2005). The point of departure of this argument is the fundamental question regarding the integrity of political marketing management (OShaughnessy, 2002). When posing the question in this way, there is somehow not enough clarity regarding the constructs concerned: what do we mean by democracy, and what exactly is political marketing management in this context? Thus, this question quickly disintegrates into more complex sub-questions once the two main components are scrutinised. Political marketing management and its theoretical and conceptual foundations, following marketing theory, is not a monolithic bloc of unambiguous definitions, clear aims and aligned activities, but comprises many different schools (Hunt, 1979, 1983; Sheth et al., 1988; Wilkie and Moore, 2003). Below, we focus on three distinct concepts of a marketing-orientation in politics which span the space of possible options: a sellingoriented concept of political marketing management, an instrument-mix-oriented concept, and a relationship-building concept which is also informed by societal marketing considerations. Thus, the initial conceptual question about the relationship of political marketing and democracy needs to be related to each of these concepts of political marketing management.
Moving to the second core component, that of democracy, it is equally clear that conceptually, this too is a contested and fragmented construct (Cunningham, 2002). To judge the affinity of political marketing management against a democratic yardstick, one needs to consider which of the many expressions and principles of democracy are used, e.g. are we talking about the ideals of deliberative democracy or the norms of realist models? Again, for the purpose of our subsequent argument, we will focus on just two influential schools of democracy to illustrate our points: the competitive elitist approach, and the deliberative concept of democracy. Our analysis is therefore grounded in two parsimonious categorisation schemes (one of political marketing management concepts, and one of theories of democracies) and their interrelations (Hunt, 1983). Such juxtaposing analysis will allow us to provide a discussion of political marketing management not just on an activity level but on a conceptual and therefore more general level. Furthermore, it also provides alternative benchmarks through the explicit use of a set of normative versions of democracy (Scammell, 1999; Henneberg and OShaughnessy, 2007).
of academic research or practical application: for example relational marketing, or network marketing approach for organisational interactions (Andersen et al., 1994; Parvatiyar and Sheth, 2001; Shaw and Jones, 2005). Although marketing theory is dominated by the instrumental or managerial school as the normal paradigm, it has been questioned if the managerial school of marketing is in line with the richness of social exchange theory underlying marketing thought (Grnroos, 1994; 2000). Furthermore, it has been argued that it is incommensurable with pivotal marketing concepts like customer-orientation, that it is simplistic, and that it is merely a pedagogic tool (Easton and Araujo, 1994; OMalley and Patterson, 1998; Grnroos, 2006). As in the case of marketing theory, a similar variety of approaches exist in PMM. This is represented in the extant literature by analyses of communication-based campaigning approaches (e.g. OShaughnessy, 1990, 2005; Newman, 1994, 1999, 2001, 2002; Kavanagh, 1995; Scammell, 1996; Wring, 2002; Harris et al., 2005), by strategic positioning approaches (e.g. Butler and Collins, 1996; Baines, 1999; LeesMarshment, 2001; Henneberg, 2006), or by concepts based on the organisational attitudes and behaviours in their relationship with external and internal political stakeholders (e.g. OCass, 2001; Ormrod 2007). However, only a few categorisation attempts exist which provide a comparison of different political marketing management approaches, e.g. Lees-Marshments (2001) conceptualisation of product, sales, and, market(ing)-oriented parties. For a juxtaposition of political marketing management and democratic theory, we have to be precise about the characteristics of PMM as represented by different, often incompatible concepts. We select and define three distinct schools of PMM that cover the spectrum and richness of marketing approaches to politics:
These approaches have been chosen because they exemplify ideal types of orientations, because they are based on state-of-the-art research discussions, and because they constitute the dominating paradigmata for research and practice in this area. The selling-oriented PMM is most often equated with a traditional, ideology-oriented approach to politics (Kavanagh, 1996; Henneberg, 2002). The political offering, i.e. the policy promises, and the electoral and campaign activities are derived from solid political convictions, often characterised by an alignment with certain interests within dominant or social cleavages, such as class, ethnicity, and region (Lipset and Rokkan, 1966). A market-leading perspective and a predominantly tactical use of political marketing instruments characterises this approach (Henneberg, 2006). A sellingoriented PMM is often seen as the first age of political marketing, exemplified by the use of party political broadcasts, slogans, posters, and (in America) the 30 second spot replacing the rally and the speaker meeting (OShaughnessy, 1990; 2005). It has been argued that this meant that political management mattered more than political marketing (Wring, 2005). Examples of a selling-oriented PMM are now often found in primary-issue parties, typically Green parties or regional parties, such as Plaid Cymru. The German Green party campaigns offer a illustrative example, focussing on policies which are derived from a belief in environmental sustainability, while at the same time using selected political marketing instruments (Blhdorn and Szarka, 2004).
The instrumentally-oriented PMM can be characterised as the normal paradigm of current research in political marketing. A sophisticated and managerial use of political marketing activities and strategies is employed to convince voters of the value of the political offering, adapt the offering to target segment preferences, and implement political marketing campaigns effectively and efficiently through the co-ordinated use of a multitude of political marketing instruments (Lees-Marshment, 2001; Wring, 2005). This is in line with market-led approaches of strategic marketing (Slater and Narver, 1998, 1999), or a following mentality as a radical interpretation of a voterorientation (Henneberg, 2006). Tony Blairs first UK General Election campaign represents an example of such focus-group-driven campaigning (Wring, 2006). An instrumental approach can mean a focus on short-term expediency with emphasis on responding to tracking polls and public opinions. Instrumentally-oriented PMM describes an amalgam of techniques and a formulaic approach to the implementation of the marketing concept (Johansen, 2005). Recently, a relational approach to PMM has been advocated (Bannon, 2005; Henneberg and OShaughnessy, 2008). This is inspired by societal marketing considerations (Ward and Lewandowska, 2006; Kang and James, 2007) which have also been advocated in the political sphere (Henneberg, 2002; Newman, 2002). The emphasis is on long-term exchange interactions that benefit all relevant actors as well as society (i.e. direct as well as indirect stakeholder interests are considered) (Laczniak and Murphy, 2006). Value considerations are linked to an
acknowledgement of the (inter-)dependency of all involved exchange partners and are therefore grounded in mutual benefits as well as societal needs, based on delivering on promises, i.e. a voter and citizen-inclusive approach to policy implementation (Johansen, 2005). To make the relational approach to PMM operational, however, it
has to go beyond the cosmetics and the superficial (such as the silver wedding card from President Bush recently received by the family of one of these authors). The current London mayoral campaign is evidence of how far relationship oriented political marketing is being advanced. E-mails and text messages, social networking sites and U-Tube have all been used extensively by the candidates. For example, Ken Livingstones team offered sympathetic bloggers special information and interviews with their candidate: his focus was on personality cult, with no mention of party, only candidate, as well as personalized letters to all Londoners. The candidates had some success in building relationships: A U-Tube video of Conservative candidate Boris Johnson received more than a million hits, and his campaign created an online supporters network called Team Boris, with more than 9000 members. This enabled the campaign to ensure crowds wherever their candidate appeared, organised via Face Book or Twitter or text message (BBC News Website, Brian Wheeler, 16 th April 2008). While none of this really amounts to Political Relationship Marketing in any finished sense, and it may be seen as fostering the illusion of participation, it nevertheless establishes a trajectory along which we are being driven towards relational interactions in politics. To juxtapose these three distinct approaches, some pivotal characteristics are selected which emphasise the essence of the different PMM concepts. These dimensions are used to describe typical and therefore to some extent generic aspects, and cover elements of the strategy on which the specific PMM is based, the envisaged characteristics of the underlying political exchanges, and the specific activity patterns associated with the relevant PMM (see table 1). In the following discussion, we will focus particularly on the differences between these schools of PMM. ------------------------------
Insert Table 1 about here -----------------------------With regard to the strategic dimensions the three PMM rationales differ: while a selling-oriented approach is offering focused, i.e. puts an ideology or conviction first, instrumentally-oriented PMM is focused on a deep understanding of primary stakeholders, specifically target voters needs and wants. A relational approach enhances this perspective in line with a wider societal orientation which also incorporates the interests of stakeholders which are not direct exchange partners, and assesses the trade-offs between short-term and long-term effects. While this implies a differentiated targeting approach covering core and periphery actors, the instrumentally-oriented PMM focuses pragmatically on those decisive voter segments which need to be convinced in order to achieve the organisational aims, i.e. main target segments are floating or indecisive voters, or swing seats. An undifferentiated targeting of voters who are aligned with the core offering is to be expected for selling-oriented political organisations. Consequently, these political actors use PMM as a peripheral and tactical tool of politics, while PMM is central for the two other approaches, specifically for the relational political marketing management concept which perceives marketing strategy as the guiding principle of offering creation, stakeholder interaction, as well as service delivery in politics (Smith and Hirst, 2001; Henneberg, 2006) . The exchange dimensions of PMM are concerned with what kind of interaction is facilitated by the specific approach, on what aspects value considerations are based, and what time perspective underpins the different approaches. For a selling-oriented PMM approach, a uni-directional and episode-based exchange, focusing on election campaigns, is characteristic. This is in line with a conviction-based definition of
exchange value components. An instrumentally-oriented PMM shows some similarities. However, the underlying exchange value concept derives its content from the current needs of specific groups of voters or the general prevailing public opinion. On the other hand, the relational PMM concept stresses the long-term perspective, including besides elections also other interaction processes, such as governing and policy implementation as part of societal interactions. A dialogue with changing agenda-setting functions between different interaction partners is envisaged, with a societally-mediated value concept as its foundation (Newman, 1994, 1999; Scammell, 1999). Relational political marketing management is based on a comprehensive and permanent (i.e. continuously ongoing) portfolio of marketing activities, including policy development, communication, and implementation, and long-term relationship and stakeholder management. This contrast with the more limited activity dimension set of the other two approaches: while the instrumental PMM orientation focuses specifically on communication, intelligence gathering, and market-based policy development, a selling-oriented PMM predominantly uses communication activities, specifically deployed in a push-marketing setting for election campaigns (Bannon, 2005; Johansen, 2005).
Concepts of DemocracyThe previous discussion has outlined the differences between three approaches of using marketing for the management of a political organisation. We are concerned now with how these approaches intersect theoretically with democracy. Democracy, in practice and theory, does not exist as a single universally agreed model (Lijphart, 1984). Helds (1996) influential categorisation identified six broad groups of
democracy (including direct, republican, elitist, New Left participatory and New Right democracies); concepts which each differ with respect to emphasis on core ideas of participation, liberty, equality, leadership, and the democratic process. For reasons of clarity and parsimoniousness, we focus here on only two. This will enable us to shed conceptual light on the relative importance of political marketing management, and to assess how the demands of democracy are met or threatened by the three particular approaches of political marketing management outlined above. We concentrate on the following conceptions of democracy: Competitive elitism (particularly as expounded by Joseph Schumpeter) Deliberative democracy (particularly as introduced by Jrgen Habermas)
These conceptions cover widely different normative beliefs about the essence of democracy and how democracy ought to function. Each arises out of particular intellectual traditions and spawns its own set of internal arguments, which we acknowledge but cannot encompass here (for discussions, see Held, 1996). The prime reasons for our selection are that these two conceptions represent the broad spectrum of contemporary debate in democratic theory. Competitive elitism, by common consent, has been an extraordinarily influential model in Western democratic theory (Scammell, 2000). Its insistent realism, critics would say pessimism, has provided the touchstone for arguments about the nature of democracy for more than fifty years. Modern theories of participatory democracy emerged in part as a reaction against competitive elitism; of the various versions of participatory democracy, deliberative democracy is the most influential in political communication research. Habermass idea of the public sphere, a core concept of deliberative democracy, ballooned into the new God-term of critical analysis over the course of the 1990s (Gitlin, 1998: 168)
Competitive elitism The conception of democratic competitive elitism is based on elite theory which has an impressive heritage in political thought, from Platos The Republic, Machiavellis The Prince, through to early 20th Century Italian school descendants, notably Mosca, Pareto, and Michels (Blaug and Schwarzmantel, 2001). Its most durable claim is the inevitable stratification of society between rulers and the ruled. Elite theory is often disliked because of its profound pessimism about democratic possibilities, and rejection of the grander liberal and socialist ideals of freedom, equality, popular sovereignty, and the realization of human potential. The elitists answer relies on realism: history and social science demonstrate the presence of a ruling class in all political organisms (Dunleavy and OLeary, 1987). Furthermore, recognition of this unavoidable fact is essential for the establishment of the normatively desirable, namely that governing should be in the hands of those most fit to rule. Schumpeters Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (originally published in 1942) remains the most influential account of democratic elitism. Schumpeter begins from a rejection of what he calls the classical doctrine of democracy, in which elected representatives realize the common good by carrying out the will of the people. His chief criticisms centre on the will of the people and the common good: he argued that the classics had overestimated the possibilities of both. There was no such thing as the common good to which all people could agree by force of rational argument. Questions of principle were irreconcilable because ultimate values and our conceptions of what life and society should be and are beyond mere logic (Schumpeter, 1942: 251). He also disparaged the very idea of the will of the people: if it was to command respect, it required a level of knowledge and rational ability in individual human beings that simply did not exist among the masses. In reality the
will of the people was little more than an indeterminate bundle of vague impulses loosely playing about given slogans and mistaken impressions (253). Schumpeter reverses the order of classical liberal theory in which the people elect representatives who then give effect to the will of the people. The role of the people is to produce a government that takes it upon itself to establish the common good. Democracy becomes an arrangement for arriving at political decisions, in which leaders acquire the power to decide by means of a competitive struggle for peoples votes. Democracy, in short, is reduced to a method for the periodic and peaceful transfer of government between two or more groups of leaders. The most that can be expected of democracy is that it may choose the most competent leaders and provide mechanisms for controlling their excesses. According to Schumpeter this greatly improves the theory of the democratic process, emphasizing the importance of leadership, which was neglected in classic theory. It states also that the method of competition for leadership is crucial to democracy: the process must be generally accepted as fair, if not perfect. Schumpeters durability resides primarily in two factors: firstly, the considerable body of evidence which continues to show that despite apparent improvements in education, large minorities of the population (about one third in the USA) have little interest in or knowledge of politics (Bennett;1988; Delli Carpini and Keeter, 1996). Secondly, he compels attention to the quality of the electoral systems and processes. As Shapiro (2002) notes, theorists are often discomforted by the competitive elitist tendency to reduce democracy to procedures, yet these are vital for structuring power relations and limiting interference with individual and/or group pursuit of their versions of the good life. Norriss (2004) study of some three dozen parliamentary and presidential elections concurs: the detail of electoral systems may appear unduly technical and dry but matter significantly
for basic issues of political representation and accountability, for patterns of participation and party competition, and for the effective health of democratic institutions around the world (264). To juxtapose this democratic perspective with a diametrically opposed conception, the main characteristics are summarized in table 2. -----------------------------Insert Table 2 about here -----------------------------Participatory/Deliberative democracy Contrasting with this view, deliberative democracy emerged as a distinctive strand of the New Left backlash against Schumpeters pessimistic portrait of democratic possibilities. Led by Patemans (1970) seminal work, the New Left argued that the Schumpeter-influenced contemporary model of liberal democracy was excessively afraid of the dangers of popular active participation. While expressing some concern with voter apathy, they offered no account for it, and instead located the major threat to modern democracy in mediocrity and the danger that it might destroy its own leaders (Pateman, 1970: 10-11). Pateman argued that the Schumpeterian legacy had abandoned a central democratic tenet: the insistence on participation. For the New Left, the concept of participation is clearly differentiated from the far more limited pluralist concerns to increase voter engagement with politics. Pateman argues that the pluralists concern is essentially with stability: that is, participation is necessary only to the extent that it is sufficient to ensure the legitimacy and stability of the democratic system as a whole. For participationists, however, participation is itself a goal. Democratic politics, properly conceived, is about self-development of citizens, fostering concern for collective problems and enabling the development of an active and knowledgeable citizenry. Participationists dispute the realist assumptions of
elite theory; they accept that the actual levels of knowledge and participation are low, but dispute that they must always be low, and that such low levels are compatible with genuine democracy. The stress on participation as deliberative communication or dialogue is the main contribution of deliberative democracy. Deliberative democracy represents an exciting development in political theory (Bohman and Rehg, 1997: ix): it reclaims the classic idea that democratic government should embody the will of the people. In essence legitimate lawmaking results in this view from the public deliberation of citizens. It rejects Schumpeters view that there is no such thing as a common will, and that the public is not capable of rationality. On the contrary, deliberative theorists argue that democratic legitimacy depends precisely on a rational consensus of public opinion (see table 2). Habermas conception of deliberative democracy, inspired by Rousseaus republicanism, is the best known of these theories (Calhoun, 1992). For Habermas, citizen status should mean more than the protection of private rights and periodical voting opportunities. It demands a commitment to democratic processes that ensures that the people are the authors of the laws that govern them: in short, a healthy public sphere with a guarantee of an inclusive opinion- and will-formation in which free and equal citizens reach an understanding on which goals and norms lie in the equal interest of all (Habermas, 1996: 22). Habermass version of deliberative democracy, i.e. a public in continuous, rational, deliberation about its own governance, has had a huge impact on political communication scholarship (Scammell, 2000.). This is not surprising because, unusually for democratic theory, it places communication (via Habermass conception of the public sphere) at its core. Its power stems both from its critique of the failures
of existing democratic practice, characterized by declining participation and increasing public dissatisfaction with the formal institutions of politics, and from its sheer optimism, that given conducive conditions, a genuine mass participatory democracy is possible. Barbers (2003) Strong Democracy with its menu of initiatives to encourage public debate, is arguably the most important practicallyoriented intervention in favour of deliberative democracy. Barber contrasts his model of strong democracy to what he calls the thin democracy of Schumpeter-influenced liberalism, which actively encourages little or no participation from citizens between formal elections.
mobilizing into voting. The economic logic of markets demands that producers compete to sell their wares; the reality of uninterested voters demands that politicians find ways to attract attention and mobilise support. Thus, famously for Schumpeter, what he called the psycho-technics of electioneering (advertising, slogans, rallies, stirring music and suchlike) were not corruptions of democratic politics, but were essential if the process was to work at all. Conceptually Schumpeters approach fits closely to the selling-oriented model of political marketing as outlined above. In both approaches the offer is essentially topdown, designed according to producer convictions and then sold through tactical use of marketing instruments. Schumpeters view reflected the mid-War period of ideologically polarised political choice, class and social bloc-based politics and limited affluence and consumer choice. The selling model of marketing was effectively the only one available for mass markets (Lees-Marshment, 2001; Henneberg, 2002). However, it is clear that competitive elitism must be less comfortable with tenets of what we call instrumentally-oriented political marketing. It is precisely a concern of modern competitive elite theorists that populist demands of mass-mediated democracy have potentially destructive effects upon political leadership (Scammell, 2000). While a voter-oriented follower mentality may be hailed as bringing in more consultative democratic aspects (Lilleker, 2005), pressures of media and the proliferating opinion polls on virtually all aspects of our lives effectively squeeze the discretionary power of leaders to set the political agenda. Gergen (2000), a White House adviser to Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, notes the escalation of poll-led politics: All modern presidents have polled heavily Haldeman [for Nixon] put three different pollsters in the field at a time and secretly paid for a fourth to keep an
eye on the others but no one before Clinton has taken a poll to determine whether he should tell the truth publicly (the Lewinsky case) or to use American ground troops (Kosovo) (331). Clinton, Gergen reports, spent nearly ten times as much on polling in his first year in office as his predecessor spent in two years. The great concern of modern elitists is that political marketing (understood as instrumentally-oriented) encourages a shift in criteria for selection of candidates for office, away from intra-organisational success and competence towards media-centric qualities of personality, likeability and attractiveness. Instrumental marketing may be seen as an understandable response to increasing media power, but nonetheless it ratchets up the threats to leadership, as image comes to dominate, competent but media-awkward candidates are sidelined in favour of celebrity and the political offer is increasingly cautious, determined by the results of polls and focus groups. The shoe-horning of politicians into poll-driven strategic moulds has been a recurring complaint of commentators who witness politicians turning into on-message robots day after day. Klein (2006) denounces political marketing consultants precisely for draining the authentic, human qualities out of the politicians they serve : Theyve put democracy in a Styrofoam cage. And the politicians who tend to see caution as an aphrodisiac have gone along. (240) Thus, instrumental political marketing may ultimately harm democracy by fostering weak and follower-type leaders, or, just as damagingly, a politics devoid of the idea of common interest altogether. Leaders, in the classic Schumpeterian formulation, should take it upon themselves to determine the common interest. Yet instrumental political marketing segments electorates and concentrates resources on the targets and niches required for victory (Smith and Hirst, 2001; Lilleker, 2005; Rees and Gardner, 2005). This may lead, as in the hands of a strategic marketer as effective as Karl
Rove, George W. Bushs infamous architect, to a politics of national polarisation. Worse still, instrumental political marketing revives traditional fears about the depth of attachment to democratic ideals among ordinary citizens and their vulnerability to skilful manipulation. The peoples choice might well be for the politics of demagogic xenophobia, as witnessed by popular support for radical right-wing movements in contemporary Europe (Blaug and Schwartzmantel, 2001: 261). With regard to relational PMM, competitive elitism also shows some concerns. These are derived from the involvement of citizens not so much in the process of democracy but also in the content of the offering creation and delivery, i.e. the fundamentals of policy development and implementation. Modern competitive elitists are not convinced that deliberation produces better democracy, in the sense of fostering consensus on fundamental conceptions of the common good. As Shapiro (2002) argues, there is no obvious reason to think that deliberation will bring people together (238). Moreover, even if deliberative consensus were achievable, it is not necessarily desirable and may lead to the suppression of difference: the competition of ideas argument rather than deliberation is the vital ingredient of democratic liberty (Shapiro, 2002: 239). Thus, to the extent that relationships and inter-dependencies preclude competition they will not foster liberty. It is arguable that relational PMM is inherently problematic for a democratic orientation focusing on the need for meritocratic leaders to derive clear and decisive actions out of incompatible preferences. Furthermore, the theory of political elitism is sceptical that meaningful relationships with citizens based on political interactions are realistic. Even by increasing the numbers of citizens who are interested and informed, and therefore interested in political relationships, the majority, or certainly a large minority, will (want to) stay ignorant and potentially easily manipulated. Democratic elitisms main
concern is therefore with the role of leadership (specifically that it must be protected and safeguarded) as well as the political competitive process (it must be fair, open and designed to produce the best leaders). Neither aspect is self-evidently a main concern of relationship-oriented PMM. PMM and deliberative democracy Authentic public deliberation requires spaces protected from manipulation and selfinterested promotion in which citizens may engage as equals in discussion of matters of common concern. It is not so much that political salesmanship should not exist, rather that it should not displace or dominate the discussion of private individuals coming together to form the public. However, it is arguable whether such an unmanipulated ideal public sphere ever has or ever could exist (Schudson, 1995). Nonetheless it is the driving concern of deliberative democrats to increase protected spaces for citizen-to-citizen communication through, for example, neighbourhood assemblies, televised town halls and mediated civic communications initiatives (Barber, 2003). It would seem clear that a selling-oriented PMM, as a vehicle for one-sided, unidirectional rhetoric, may be a threat to deliberative ideals; it offers at best competitive debate, which, while essential for electoral politics, is corrupting if it dominates the public sphere. After all, the ideal public sphere is precisely the place where private citizens create public opinion and hold critical authority over their governments and would-be leaders. Proponents of deliberative democracy must also be deeply suspicious of the dominant current practice exemplified by instrumental PMM. Their concerns are the mirror image of the competitive elitists anxiety. Where the latters prime fear is for weak leadership, the formers is for a populist democracy that effectively bypasses public
deliberation altogether. Polls and focus groups express opinion of sorts, but that opinion may be anything: a reflex, a prejudice, even a totally invented view. Polls have no necessary correspondence to thoughtful, considered opinion (Frankovich, 2005). The danger of politics that follows polls, focus groups, and casually expressed voter opinions is that it may in the context of a deliberative democracy compound prejudice, elevate it to policy, and neglect the fora of truly public deliberated opinion. The clever and unprincipled power-seeker may ride to office on waves of prejudice, and as such s/he will not be the meritocratic leader that competitive elitism seeks, but neither is s/he necessarily weak, and all the worse for democracy if strong. Of the marketing models discussed here it would seem that only the relationshiporiented model based on a societal orientation has any potential for compatibility with the ideal construct of a deliberative democracy. This derives from the models insistence on the maintenance of relationships with real people, rather than a purely poll-driven assessment of preferences (Johansen, 2005; Henneberg and
OShaughnessy, 2008). Relationship marketing inherently invites dialogue, even if not necessarily the ideal deliberation of the public sphere. It emphasises the need to pay attention to the core (supporters and members) as well the periphery of target floating voters and other societal stakeholders, and thus provides incentives to develop political interest and engagement on an enduring basis. A truly deliberative democrat (but also a convinced political relationship marketer) must look with scepticism at the proliferating claims of parties to be listening. The Big Conversation, which Tony Blair launched in 2003 claiming it was the biggest consultation exercise ever with voters, is now largely forgotten, and was quickly dismissed as a gimmick. However, the political drive for increased connection with voters does present opportunities for mechanisms of relationship-building. Trippis
(2004) heralded open-source campaign for Howard Dean in 2004 (the Blog for America campaign enabled citizens to place any message without censorship, and enlist to volunteer or to donate, with 40,000 people per day visiting this site) was high-risk and ultimately short-lived, but remains a high-profile and influential model of reciprocity between a candidate and supporters (Trayner, 2006). A polity constructed as part of on-going relationship building, e.g. using regular referenda, citizens juries, or electronically-enabled interactions, could bring forth a genre of political marketing which focuses on the goals of information, persuasion, and reciprocity, rather than attack and defence. The positive aspects of disintermediarisation which are attributed to such e-enabled PMM would overlap with requirements of a deliberative democratic setting (Collins and Butler, 2003). It is likely that the proponents of deliberative democracy have not fully grasped how flexible political marketing can be, and how effective it can become when used as a tool to counteract elitist hegemony. Political marketing management is not just confined to party campaigns. Marketing techniques, concepts and methodologies are being increasingly adopted by pressure groups such as the Stop the War Coalition in the United Kingdom. While the first big demonstration to be held against the Iraq war in 2003 was a mass of discordant images, an anarchy of amateur poster designs with the total effect of confusion, the more recent demonstrations have become almost corporate in tone. This is exemplified by hordes of individual demonstrators carrying the posters designed by David Gentleman with a unitary, cohesive anti-war brand symbolism (spots of bright red ink on a white background with the black slogan Stop the War). If a complete critique is to be developed of schools of PMM, it must be recognized that it is no longer the exclusive monopoly of elite groups such as parties, and that in the age of the Internet even the powerless can turn to marketing.
However, it may be that competitive elitism is the more useful of the two democratic theories to political marketing theory. Its emphasis on the competitive nature of the struggle of votes regards marketing as essential to the democratic process, and not an alien import. Its concern with process directs attention to the need for incentives and disincentives to practice a democratically more wholesome political marketing. It tells us that the rules matter. Commercial marketing has been persuaded to take societal issues seriously, through a mixture of enlightened self interest and externally imposed regulation. Political marketing theory and practice should follow suit.
implementations of political marketing management can be tested against different theories of democracy. Our juxtaposition has shown that while a selling-oriented PMM is to some extent compatible with a Schumpeterian approach of competitive elitism, the ideal of a deliberative democracy shows more affinity with a relational interpretation of PMM. What becomes clear is that the instrumentally-focussed PMM, i.e. the political marketing approach most clearly associated with the current normal paradigm of marketing theory (Wilkie and Moore, 2003), shows the least overlap with the conceptual demands of either theory of democracy. This has considerable implications for the development of political marketing management theory and underlines the need for alternative and critical concept and method development in political marketing (Lock and Harris, 1996; Henneberg and OShaughnessy, 2007).
A clear implication of our analysis is that political marketing needs to engage with theories of democracy in order to provide itself with legitimacy. While political marketing may arguably be conceptually neutral, its application and practice is not and needs to be imbued with a normative aim. For example, political relationship marketing, if pursued by politicians and political parties, could succeed in moving politics further towards the forms of deliberative democracy. The concepts, techniques and technologies inherent in the idea of political marketing, and based on societal marketing considerations, could be used to foster a true relationship between party, politician and their publics, re-inventing traditional methods of political proselytisation such as direct mail, to inform as well as persuade, to listen as well as consult (Johansen, 2005). There are of course some good examples of exactly this, such as the 3000 constituents engaged in an internet dialogue with the British Liberal Democrat MP Stephen Webb (Sunday Times, March 13th 2005) or the Proposition Movement in California, a phenomenon that dates from the progressive era of a century ago. In fact, the rise of such phenomena as bloggers, the idea of net roots and the cacophony of democratic noise emanating from the internet, has persuaded some at least that we are on the edge of a new era of deliberative or consultative democracy (Collins and Butler, 2003). The resulting change in the balance of power between policy producer (political parties and politicians as well as media) and policy consumer (citizens), and the empowerment of self authorship, has some potential impact on the future possibilities for a deliberative democracy which can be channelled via relational marketing practices. For its critics, the idea of political marketing will be perennially suspect and anathema in relation to democracy, similar to the concept of marketing in the public
sector in general (Collins and Butler, 2003; Laing, 2003). Partly this is because of the negative resonances of the linguistic juxtaposition, which would appear to merge a significant activity, politics, with a seemingly trivial and inherently insignificant one, namely marketing. The inference is that political marketing management represents the ideology of consumerism applied to politics, and thus connects to broader fears about consumerism and consumer culture. While we do not want to be apologists of political marketing in our discourse, i.e. we see our argument as an ordering attempt, not as an order (Tadajewski, 2006), we argue that the critics view takes into account neither the subtleties of different interpretations of political marketing nor of different ideals of liberal democracy. While some of the concerns against PMM can be dismissed as amounting to mere prejudice (Henneberg, 2004), others are credible, for example the costs inherent in a marketing conceptualisation of politics do mortgage politicians and parties, particularly in America, to powerful vested interests (Harris and Lock, 2005). This would be a potential vindication of the Schumpeterian case; the gratification of sectarian interest is then seen as inherent in the practice of political marketing. Cost is a mighty factor in campaigning, and this raises fears of public opinion becoming a commodity to be manufactured, bought or sold, i.e. the commoditisation of opinion which becomes dysfunctional to the collective interest. If political marketing management is defined to embrace the isolated use of sophisticated instruments, e.g. the generation of public imagery such as George Bush on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln, and aspects of the so-called permanent campaign (OShaughnessy, 1990; Nimmo, 1999), then the critique that political marketing is enhancing an illusion of participation becomes more credible. However, we argue that there are other definitions of political marketing managementand that we can not choose between the desirability or appropriateness
of these alternatives without explicating the democratic yardstick we use. What emerges clearly out of our exploration is that types of marketing have implications, conducive and corrupting, for ideal types. We have examined only two models of democracy; but for both of these we find that that the instrumentally-oriented perspective of PMM which dominates current (political) marketing theory is the least appropriate in terms of conceptual overlap with theories. Thus, we are left with two alternative narratives, which represent different assessments of the present and different ideas about future possibilities. The one, based on a rhetoric of technology-driven empowerment, meaningful relationships, a societal orientation, and inspired by ideals of deliberative democracy, would portray a benign future constituted by a broadening down of democracy and enhanced by the application of relational political marketing tools, technologies and concepts. The alternative is to argue for acceptance of the elitist model, either from the perspective that it represents a genuinely more workable model of democracy, or from the cynical resignation of the disillusioned idealist. It may therefore be that political marketing management emerges almost naturally out of political competition, and is shaped by the structure of this competition. This would mean a preference for a selling-oriented PMM, including a strategic posture of leading the electorate (Henneberg, 2006). In either case, the status accorded to political marketing management is critical to the ascription of future scenarios of a desired democracy. Furthermore, for any of these two narratives to happen, the dominant paradigm in (political) marketing management needs to change. Further research on this issue is necessary. In fact, the development of a critical theory of political marketing which takes an exchange perspective seriously and adapts it to the political sphere is an important stepping stone for further concept development in
this area (Henneberg and OShaughnessy, 2007). This would include an understanding of the contingencies of the interplay of different aspects of political marketing management and normative theories of democracy, and therefore constitute a marketing systems approach (Shaw and Jones, 2005). As Dann, Harris, Mort, Fry and Binney (2007) have pointed out, the current agenda is in need of comparative research about both the effectiveness but also the relevance of political marketing. While we were only able to focus on two interpretations of the democratic ideal, it is necessary to relate political marketing theory as well as practice to the contemporary discussions in political science and democratic theory. This includes discussions (and empirical analyses) of ethical dimensions of the interplay of political marketing management and theories of democracy, i.e. aspects which we have only framed through our argument but not extensively touched upon (Hunt and Vittell, 1986; Mayo and Marks, 1990; Laczniak and Murphy, 2006). Teleological (i.e. outcomerelated) and deontological (i.e. means or duty-related) considerations are possible foundations for such political marketing ethics (Gaski, 1999; Crane and Desmond, 2002). Furthermore, political marketing research needs to take the concerns of political scientists seriously and develop alternative PMM models which are complementary to the dominant instrumental view of political marketing.
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Strategy Dimensions
Relational PMM Voter and societal needs Core and periphery voters Differentiated/ Micro 36
Importance of PMM for party/ candidates Exchange Dimensions Interaction Value construct Temporal orientation Main PMM activity
Peripheral; tactical activity management One-way Conviction-based promises Short-term, electoral Communication
Central; tactical/strategic activity management Mediated one-way Needs-based promises Short-term, electoral Communication, Channel management, Offering development, Activity coordination, Intelligence management Push and Pull marketing instruments Election; Resourcegeneration
Activity Dimensions
Central; strategic policy development/ implementation; strategic/tactical activity management Dialogue Mediated needsbased promises Long-term, electoral and governmental Policy and value strategy development, Promises implementation, Micro-activity management, Managing in relationships Relationship building instruments Election, Government, Resource generation; Implementation
Competitive Elitism Democracy Structure of a stratified society Political preference incompatibility Limited voter knowledge/interest in politics Political instability
Deliberative/Participatory Democracy Changeable structure Unified will of people exists/can exist Voter rationality/knowledge can be created
Process/method focus to produce Gestalt perspective on political government and imbue discourse framework legitimacy Sovereignty of the people realised through deliberation in the public sphere Main Political leadership by elite Communication and dialogue by instruments public (healthy public sphere) Outcomes Competent leadership Political participation by citizens Legitimate/fair process Knowledgeable citizenry Stability Table 2: Schools of Theories of Democracy


text:
Court fight continues for St. Anne's residential school survivors
Former students seek evidence to back up memories of beatings, rape, use of hand-made electric chair
Survivors of a residential school in Fort Albany, Ont., were back in court Tuesday continuing their legal battle over documents relating to a 1990s criminal investigation into abuse at the school.
Some former St. Anne's students have shared stories of beatings, rape, and the use of a hand-made electric chair for discipline.
They have been fighting for the full disclosure of documents from a five-year investigation into the school in the 1990s by Ontario Provincial Police.
That investigation resulted in the criminal convictions of six school officials, said the Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN), which includes the community of Fort Albany.
The documents from the OPP investigation were in the possession of the federal government and last year a group of St. Anne's survivors won a judgment that forced the release of the evidence.
- Documents related to St. Anne's residential school to be released
- St. Anne's Residential School: One survivor's story
So far, over 12,000 documents have been provided to former students, and to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, but NAN said significant sections of information have been blacked out.
"It is shameful that instead of moving toward revealing the truth reflected in the hundreds of signed statements to the Ontario Provincial Police the Government of Canada remains entrenched in an unnecessary fight against the St. Anne's survivors," Fiddler said in a release.
Compensation sought
Lawyers for the survivors are asking the court to ensure the Government of Canada is responsible for making all of the allegations found in the documents available, NAN said.
The former students are seeking compensation through the Independent Assessment Process, a provision of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement that provides extra compensation for former students who suffered sexual or severe physical abuse.
"Dumping tens of thousands of unsorted and heavily redacted documents on self-represented claimants or the claimants' lawyers has all but made them useless," said Fiddler.
"It is critical that survivors have proper disclosure and access to these documents in order to be fully compensated."
The justice hearing the matter reserved his decision until a later date.


text:
Swaggerific Option Fixed - Now ON SALE - Only $55
For the last year I have had the pleasure of publishing Old School Gamer Magazine and in that time we have brought in a ton of readers and subscribers because of our great writers who produce great content that "take you back." Now it is time that we are asking the retro gaming community to step forward and really embrace what we are doing and help us take Old School Gamer through the roof!
While we will always have free digital subscriptions, free doesn't mean it doesn't cost money to put together, and printing the magazine costs us even more. We are looking to kickstart Old School Gamer's 2nd year by partially funding our operations for the next 6 issues through the unique system that is Kickstarter.
The Magazine!
The best way is to check it out - Available digitally for free - here's a couple issues to check out! Or see them all by clicking here!
More About The Magazine
We have the best in writers, some of which you won't see anywhere else than Old School Gamer. We have regulars like Game Historians Leonard Herman & Ken Horowitz, Published Book Authors Brett Weiss, Michael Thomasson & Patrick Hickey Jr., and others like Todd Friedman, BIll Lange, Adam Pratt, Brad Feingold. Plus we have industry members like Walter Day, Dan Loosen, Adam Pratt, Warren "Q*Bert" Davis, and others writing in the magazine nearly every issue. And that doesn't even touch all of the people that write fantastic material for us on magazine topic assignment or on the OldSchoolGamer.Com website! We cover retro gaming cons, new retro products, favorite stores and arcades you will want to visit and more both online and in print!
Our writers will make you feel like you are back in the day of quarter arcades and cartridge games that you need to blow on to clean and play.
We cover the history and "future" of Old School Gaming, with everything from the 70s, 80s and 90s in home and arcade gaming, and we want to expand what we are doing, and will with your help.
We are looking for $30,000 which will cover the costs of printing 6 issues, and mailing them to subscribers.
If we can hit $50,000 in funding we will expand the magazine from 48 pages to at least 60 pages of content in every issue, and pour even more into our blog content, presences at major video game cons and more!
You can see more info on the rewards pages but here's the basics:
$10 - Our Thanks and a digital subscription.
$30 - Print and Digital Subscription for 1 year (6 issues).
$60 - Swaggerific + Magazine + Recognition - Print and Digital Subscription for 1 Year (6 Issues) plus "It's Dangerous to Go Alone T-Shirt", OSG keychain and new Walter Day High Scorebook plus some cool stuff from some of our sponsors plus we will recognize you in each issue of Old School Gamer for the next year.
$300 - More? Print and Digital Subscription for 1 Year (6 Issues) plus "It's Dangerous to Go Alone T-Shirt", OSG keychain and new Walter Day High Score Book. PLUS If you are proud of your video game collection and would love to be featured in Old School Gamer, this is an option for you. While we are constantly looking for collectors and industry people to feature, we are not beyond making such a spot at the front of the line if you believe in Old School Gamer enough to do this.
Rewards For Industry Members/Stores/Conventions
$600 - Full Page Ad in the Magazine and a Mass Email to 8-10,000 Retro Gamers! Plus you will get the magazine sent you, a phone call to discuss what we can do together by the publisher of Old School Gamer beyond the advertising. More details on our advertising and who we reach is available by clicking here!
$3,000 or more - Pending availability of your date and you picking up his hotel room, Walter "The Founder of eSports and Twin Galaxies" Day will spend a day doing a meet and greet at your favorite Gamer 'Con (one you possibly run) and do a full card ceremony and more! Old School Gamer will take care of the rest of his travel costs (Airfare/more) and pay his fee for being at your event!
Check out our magazine below (click on covers), we feel we have put together a great quality product for the industry to enjoy!
All 5 of our issues and digital copies of other past retro gaming magazines are available at https://www.oldschoolgamer.com/magazine/
Risks and challenges
Kickstarter asks us to list risks involved, for us the risk is minimal. Because of being a publisher with a 25 year track record and we have ironed out all the kinks in our pipeline, now we are ready to kick things up!Learn about accountability on Kickstarter
Funding period
- (20 days)