The mediatization of politics Gianpietro Mazzoleni La comunicazione politica Chapter 3

What is mediatization? Centrality of the mass media in the (social and political) communication The economic goals of the media shape the political narratives Media as a branch of government (fourth power)

Mediatization defined The four dimensions of the mediatization of politics

The systemic effects of the mediatization Media effects Spectacularization Agenda Fractionalization Political effects Personalization Leaderization Selection of political élites

Media effects 1 Spectacularization All politicians make use of media All politicians must follow the frames of the mass communication They have also to activate the interest of the media

Media effects 2 Agenda Agenda setting: citizens’ issue priority Agenda building: governments’ issue priority

Media effects 3 Fractionalization Sound bites Packaging politics

Political effects 1 Personalization Each politician is assessed as a single person rather than as a partisan leader, due to changes in communication Popularization Pervasiveness of the TV End of the ideology

Political effects 2 Leaderization A similar effect, named “leaderization”, is due to Different kinds of democracy Electoral systems Plurality Preferential voting Direct election Vanishing of the mass parties

Political effects 3 Selection Candidates are increasingly selected according to their media profile The winnowing effect occurring during the presidential primaries in the United States is an evident example

Mediatization and Internet Internet and the Web 2.0 are different from classical media We could talk of an end of the mediatization due to the direct relationship now practicable between politicians and citizens (disintermediation) Alternatively we could talk about a new form of extended mediatization including old media and Internet