Signs of media logic : half a century of political communication in the Netherlands

english

2006

volume 13, issue 1

mass media    communication 

Evropski inštitut za komuniciranje in kulturo - EURICOM
(Obvezni izvod spletne publikacije)

On the basis of three elections, covering a period of fifty years, the authorsaim at testing the increasingly popular hypothesis that political communication is driven by media logic and by political and media system characteristics. In short: sooner or later, the modes and styles of American media will appear in Europe too. The complex and volatile relationship betweenmedia and politics in the Netherlands in the last half-century does show some, although not uni-linear signs of media logic. The strength of a public service tradition and a political culture of nonadversariality, however, seem to have stopped the developments short of a political communication style which is characterised by performance driven campaigning, horse race and poll driven reporting, orientation on the public as consumers, journalistic dominance, agenda setting and cynicism.

14.01.2015