Voters and the Media: Analysis of the Effects of New and Traditional Media on Electoral Behaviour

Abstract

Informed political decisions are at the core of representative democracy. Citizens acquire information not only trough their peers but also from mass media and, mostly so, during electoral campaigns. Television broadcast, newspapers and websites are arguably the most important sources of political information. Mass media are key actors in the run up to any election, whether they reinforce pre-existing attitudes or actually sway voters. This panel seeks to bring together contributions that look at how media affect voters’ behaviour at first as well as at second order elections. While the literature on how traditional media impact voting preferences is rich and diverse in terms of methods, our understanding of the effects of new media is still limited. Papers that address such a gap are particularly welcome, so are studies that explore the effects of multiple media platforms. The use of innovative methodological approaches and experimental evidence are encouraged. The panel aims to combine single-country studies with comparative and longitudinal analyses.

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