Changing Media Landscapes and Political Participation

Abstract This chapter discusses how a constantly changing media landscape affects political participation. After pointing out the affordances brought forward by digital media and communication technologies, six game changers are identified in the realms of media consumption, production and circulation: information overload, changing audiences’ media use habits, crisis of news media business, the shift from audiences to content creators, the emergence of new agents of information sharing and user cues. The chapter then discusses how and to what extent such game changers influence the different dimensions of political activity, from electoral to protest participation and then discusses the public role of private platforms. The final section concludes the chapter by highlighting the importance of critically assessing changes in media communication when examining political participation. Specifically, a call is made for adopting an innovative, dynamic attitude towards digital media research, while maintaining the focus on political deliberation.