Rethinking Political Communication in a Time of Disrupted Public Spheres

2018/04/01 by W. Lance Bennett, W Lance Bennett, Barbara Pfetsch · 535 citations
Social Sciences · #Computer science #Conceptualization #Democracy #Framing (construction) #Law #Media Influence and Politics #Media Studies and Communication #Media relations #Media studies #Normative #Political communication #Political science #Politics #Public relations #Social Media and Politics #Social media #Sociology

paper · doi:10.1093/joc/jqx017

published in Journal of Communication 68(2), 243-253 (Oxford University Press)

openalex publication_date 2018/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02

Abstract

Political communication in many democracies reflects the disconnection of publics from institutions of press and politics due to the hollowing of center parties and growing social divides. It is time to rethink assumptions—long grounded in idealized normative conceptions of democratic politics—about media systems and press/politics interactions. A proposed reformulation of research frameworks puts more focus on the implications of disrupted public spheres in interaction with and beyond the traditional media. This rethinking also entails better conceptualization and measurement of the political influences of information flows from social media and digital networks. Reformatting the field involves changing such core concepts as gatekeeping, framing, indexing, agenda-setting, and media effects in light of disrupted relations among media, publics, and democratic institutions.

Citations

• The Dynamics of Public Attention: Agenda-Setting Theory Meets Big Data
• A New Era of Minimal Effects? The Changing Foundations of Political Communication
• Red Media, Blue Media: Evidence of Ideological Selectivity in Media Use

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