Political Journalism Transition: Western Europe a Comparative Perspective

The 21st century has already seen dramatic changes affecting both jourbanalism and politics. The rise of a range of new digital and networked communication technologies combined with the stagnation and decline of many traditional mass media has had a profound impact on political jourbanalism. The arrival of new digital media has affected the ways in which political actors communicate with the public, with or without jourbanalists as intermediaries. Newspapers that once held political leaders to account are now struggling to survive; broadcasters that once gathered whole nations for the evening news are now fighting for relevance faced with innumerable new competitors on cable and digital television; online-only media, such as blogs and social networking sites, are changing how we communicate about politics. News media remain central to political processes, but the ways in which jourbanalists and politicians interact are changing. This book examines how and provides a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the state of political jourbanalism in Western Europe today, including the many challenges facing jourbanalists in this important period of transition.