Partinė spauda Lietuvos politinėje komunikacijoje ; Political press in lithuanian political communication

Abstract

Nowadays information and communication technologies plays an increasingly role in all the fields of the life. This concerns changes in the systems of mass media and political communication as well. The main role in political communication belongs to the mass media so for this reason it is very important to analyse its impact and transformations. In my master thesis I am exploring political press in Lithuanian political communication. Usually political communication is analysed as application of political marketing and political advertising during political campaigns. Objective of the diploma thesis is political press in Lithuanian political communication. The aim of the work is to detect tendencies of evolution of the political communication and party press, its impact to political daily agenda, peciuliarity of political participation in the governance. I reached the aim of the work by analysing theoretical and historical context of the political communication and political press, tendencies of evolution, role of the mass media in formulating opinion for publics. In the first part of the thesis I analysed theory of the political communication, roles of the mass media as the mediator of communication between the government and society. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to specify the role of the political parties in the structure of governance, its specifics. As well as to answer how it influences every day life of the society. Big part of the second part of the thesis is dedicated to the historian aspects of the Lithuanian political press. During the first years of the Lithuanian independence political press played one of the main roles in democratic processes of the state. The third part of the paper is set for the practical research of the political press. Three main political parties, representing left, centre and right wings were interviewed about their communication strategies, relations with the mass media and usage of their own political press. Today we face the paradox of decreasing role of the traditional institutions of the political parties. While the number of communication channels are increasing unregulated and commercialized mass media is emerging. Political parties are induced to compete with the mass media channels on formulating political agenda. Earlier political press played the big role in political communications of the parties but today, mainly due to the big financial and human resources expenditures, it is decreasing and alternative forms of communication are appearing. This paper can be useful for media, journalists, political parties' officials, who are responsible for the political communication, as well as for students who are interested in the political communication and mass media studies.