Media Gianpietro Mazzoleni La comunicazione politica Chapter 8

Media Gianpietro Mazzoleni La comunicazione politica Chapter 8

The ethics of the media system • Four theories concerning media’s duties and rights 1. 2. 3. 4. Free press Market of the ideas Civic militancy against corruption Social responsibility • Point 2 above shows the potential conflict between professionalism and commercialism

Press • Quality vs. tabloid newpapers • Newspapers are usually considered more biased than radio and television

Television • TV continues to be the preferred channel of information • The advent of the digital technology brought about the splitting up of the public

New media • Internet is extremely difficult to control • Web 2. 0 “disintermediates” political relationships between citizen and politicians

How media built political reality • Frame • Agenda-building • Visibility for some people • The bias may be – Unwitting – Intentional

Elections and television • • • News(cast) Interview Press conference Debate Talk show

Contents • Issues may be – Pure, spontaneously generated – Reflected, generated by the politicians – Induced, generated by the media

Role of the issue during the campaign • • Political issues Policy issues Personal issues Campaign issues • Only policy issues are growing in Italian campaigns

Survey, poll, panel • Public opinion research is extremely appropriate for political communication • It may raise a bandwagon effect, as opposed to a underdog effect

Infotainment • A constructed noun, infotainment is the combination of the words information and entertainment, suggesting a practice of the blending together of their presentation within the broadcasting of news and current affairs

Types of infotainment • Infotainment 1. 0: a political program including gossip and scandals • Infotainment 2. 0: the information is completely “tabloidized” • Infotainment 3. 0: showmen talk about politics