Mass Media and Political Communication in New Democracies

by Katrin Voltmer (Editor)

Overview

This book examines how political communication and the mass media have played a central role in the consolidation of emerging democracies around the world.

Covering a broad range of political and cultural contexts, including Eastern and Southern Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa, this new volume investigates the problems and conflicts arising in the process of establishing an independent media and competitive politics in post-autocratic societies. Considering the changing dynamic in the relationship between political actors, the media and their audience, the authors of this volume address the following issues:

• changing journalistic role perceptions and journalistic quality
• the reasons and consequences of persisting instrumentalization of the media by political actors
• the role of the media in election campaigns
• the way in which the citizens interpret political messages and the extent to which the media influence political attitudes and electoral behaviour
• the role of the Internet in building a democratic public sphere

This book will be of great interest to all those studying and researching democracy and democratization, comparative politics, political communication, journalism, media and the Internet.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415459716
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/15/2007
Series:	Routledge/ECPR Studies in European Political Science
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Katrin Voltmer is Senior Lecturer of Political Communication at the Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds, UK.

Table of Contents

1. The Mass Media and The Dynamics of Political Communication in Processes of Democratization – An Introduction Part 1: The Mass Media and Journalistic Practice – Normative Dilemmas, Professionalization and Political Instrumentalization 2. The Role of the Press in Times of Transition: The Building of the Spanish Democracy (1975 – 78) 3. ‘In the Name of Democracy’: The Paradox of Democracy and Press Freedom in Post-Communist Russia 4. Conflicts of Interest? Debating the Media’s Role in Post-Apartheid South Africa 5. In Journalism We Trust? Credibility and Fragmented Journalism in Latin America 6. Old and New Media, Old and New Politics? On-And Offline Reporting in the 2002 Ukrainian Election Campaign Part 2: Political Parties, Governments and Elections: Communication Strategies and the Mediatization of Politics 7. Electoral Campaigning in Latin America’s New Democracies: The Southern Cone 8. Democratization and Election Campaigning in Taiwan: Professionalizing the Professionals 9. Where’s the Party? Television and Election Campaigns in Russia 10. The Internet in Politics: Democracy in E-Government in Taiwan Part 3: Audience Responses to Political Messages: Interpretations and Effects 11. Does ‘Trust’ Mean Attention, Comprehension and Acceptance? Paradoxes of Russian Viewers’ News Processing 12. Politics and the Media in Post-Communist Russia 13. New Democracies Without Citizens? Mass Media and Democratic Orientations – A Four Country Comparison 14. Political Communication Between Democratization and the Trajectories of the Past

Editorial Reviews

'The authors of each of the books sections provide a wealth of interesting cases, the writings in this volume draw a gripping picture of the media's changing role within it, from an instrument of autocratic power to an independent voice.'

- Political Studies Review

From the Publisher