Political Media Relations Online as an Elite Phenomenon

The paper approaches political media relations in Germany applying social network analysis. It analyzes communicative relations between politics (governmental bodies and major parties) and the media (major offline and online media), enquiring into the center of institutionalized political communication. Analysis is grounded on 45 personal semi-structured interviews with political spokespersons and journalists. Theoretically, one would assume dense and exclusive networks, allowing central communicators to accumulate social capital and maintain positions of communicative power. Yet processes of digital change are often attributed with the capability to render such networks inclusive, potentially eroding established structures. Findings indicate networks coined by structural conservatism. Central positions are occupied by large parties and major offline media. Analysis of perceived influence indicates that online media are regarded as important – yet in the networks they are of marginal centrality. New actors (e.g. weblogs or political challengers) do not play any significant role in these elite networks.