• Udris Linards

Are election campaigns becoming devoid of substance? Are political actors in referendum campaigns increasingly conducting “negative campaigning” – if so, when and why? Have social media replaced traditional media as agenda-setters?
Those exemplary questions focus on the relationship between media and politics in particularly crucial moments or “hot phases” of democratic processes. In this MA lecture, we will first discuss the different normative expectations towards how political campaigns in general should be conducted and what role the news media in particular should play.
Second, the lecture will address empirical studies which shed light on how referendum and election campaigns have changed over time and how and why they differ among countries. Particular attention will be paid to macro-level factors which shape the increasingly “hybrid” media systems.

You will gain basic knowledge about the function and the transformation of political communication in the interplay of media and politics during special phases, i.e. referendum and election campaigns.
You will get an understanding which factors shape news coverage about referendum and election campaigns.
You will be able to contextualize current phenomena and explain them with theories and critically assess existing studies.

Written exam at the end of the semester (60 minutes)

Written exam at the end of the semester (60 minutes)