Political Communication
Short description
Political communication focuses on communication from and between political institutions and actors, media institutions and actors, and citizens, as well as on factors influencing or effects following from political communication.
Political communication research at JMG takes as its starting point the question of how politics are communicated and how that influences power and democracy. Our research is concerned with how political communication is organized and constructed in the context of social, discursive and mediated practices. We are studying political actors and elites, the media and how they cover politics, and citizens’ political behavior.
An important part of the research is about the interaction between media and citizens and how it affects people's knowledge, perceptions of reality and opinions.
Our research has a strong empirical orientation and is marked by theoretical and methodological pluralism.
Political communication as a research field focuses on communication flows and content from and between political institutions and actors, media institutions and actors, and citizens, as well as on factors influencing or effects following from political communication.
Some central themes in research on political communication
- The media coverage of politics and election campaigns: who sets the agenda, is there any biases in the media coverage of politics, and what is the quality of political news.
- Political conversations and political language in the media
- Party campaign strategies, political ads and political rhetoric from a contemporary and historical perspective
- The interaction between journalists, politicians, and citizens in debate programs, interviews, and social media
- Different actors’ opinions on political communication and the democratic role of journalism
- People’s media use and the media’s influence on citizens’ beliefs, knowledge and participation
- Media effects on public opinion and the political agenda
- The mediatization of politics and the media’s indirect and long-term influence on political and democratic processes.
- How different social institutions adapt to the media and the logic of media
- How politics is defined and the media’s role in processes of politicization and de-politicization
- The significance of the media in political socialization and young people’s citizenship and social commitment
