Un circulo virtuoso? El impacto de las comunicaciones politicas en las democracies post-industriales

In: Revista española de ciencia política, Heft 4, S. 7-33

Abstract

During the last decade a rising tide of voices on both sides of the Atlantic has blamed the news media for growing public disengagement, ignorance of civic affairs, & mistrust of government. This idea has developed into something of an unquestioned orthodoxy in the popular literature in the United States. A related viewpoint more common in Europe regards the growth of professional political marketing by parties, including the m6lange of spin, packaging & pollsters, as also contributing towards public cynicism. But is the conventional wisdom correct? This paper, based on a systematic examination of the role of political communication in post-industrial societies, argues that the process of political communication by the news media & by parties is not responsible for civic disengagement. Part I summarizes the core assumptions in different theories of media malaise. Part 11 examines some of the key structural trends in the news industry that many believe are responsible for media malaise. Part III examines evidence for the impact of attention to e news media on selected indicators of civic engagement. The conclusion develops the theory of "a virtuous circle" to explain the pattern we find. Rather than mistakenly "blaming the messenger," the study concludes that we need to understand & confront more deep-rooted flaws in systems of representative government. Tables, Graphs, References. Adapted from the source document.