Media Politics I

This chapter suggests that political behaviour is intertwined with media formats to such an extent that politics is media politics . The media and politics sustained each other, but as the role of mass media became more powerful than mere politicians, the latter adapted to the former, and they both changed. Political media, as much as any single source, contributed to the death of organized journalism. In the context of politics, media logic and the dominance of certain formats, especially television, are apparent in the selection, organization, presentation, and emphasis of political behaviour. Political institutions have been the most affected by media practices and formats because politicians, their advisors, and even their critics routinely rely on the grammar and timing of mass communication. Political life has been recast to fit the demands of major media. Politics has also continued to incorporate new themes and formats, including the way journalists now attack political coverage.

Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Irish and British Studies · Law · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Political theory and Gramsci