Information and Arena. The Complex Role of the News Media in Modern Politics

• In Event: The Role of Media in Politics

Abstract

What role do the media play in politics? We offer an integrative approach showing that extant perspectives on the media-politics relationship are complementary. The first dimension of our typology distinguishes the media as a source of information for political actors from the media as an arena for political strive. The second dimension distinguishes the media’s attention for facts or people from the media’s definition or interpretation of these facts or people. Most debates, and as good as all empirical research, on the political influence of the media can be brought back to the media’s double role of information and arena, attender and definer. Previous work divergent conclusions about the media’s role is partly due to the fact that it was situated in different ‘cells’ of the typology, it dealt with different roles the media play, and also because it often focused on different types of political actors in different countries.

Authors

• Stefaan Walgrave, University of Antwerp

• Peter Van Aelst, U of Antwerp