How Political News Affects and is Affected by Social Media

Abstract

The increasing importance of the Internet and social media as a means of communication and information has changed how political news is produced, distributed and consumed. More and more journalists are influenced by discussions on blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. In addition, politicians have more digital opportunities to directly influence the public while bypassing the traditional media. These trends not only challenge some of the established theoretical insights in the field of political communication but simultaneously also offer new opportunities to study how information spreads and how the public deals with it. This panel welcomes papers that study aspects of the changing relationships between news media, politicians and citizens in the social media age.