Information and Arena: The Dual Function of the News Media for Political Elites | Zendy

Van Aelst Peter | Zendy; Walgrave Stefaan | Zendy

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Information and Arena: The Dual Function of the News Media for Political Elites

Author(s) -

Van Aelst Peter,

Walgrave Stefaan

Publication year - 2016

Publication title -

journal of communication

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 3.752

H-Index - 131

eISSN - 1460-2466

pISSN - 0021-9916

DOI - 10.1111/jcom.12229

Subject(s) - politics , mass media , news media , function (biology) , political communication , political science , order (exchange) , power (physics) , dual function , public relations , sociology , media studies , computer science , business , law , computer graphics (images) , contouring , evolutionary biology , biology , physics , finance , quantum mechanics

How do individual politicians use the news media to reach their political goals? This study addresses the question by proposing an actor‐centered, functional approach. We distinguish 2 essential functions (and subfunctions) the mass media have for political elites. The media are a source of information; politicians depend on it for pure information and they can profit from the momentum generated by media information. The media also are an arena elites need access to in order to promote themselves and their issues. These 2 functions offer certain politicians a structural advantage over others and, hence, are relevant for the power struggle among political elites. A systematic functional account enables comparisons of the role of the media across politicians and political systems.

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