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Four Phases of Mediatization: An Analysis of the Mediatization of Politics
Strömbäck, J. (2008). Four phases of mediatization: An analysis of the mediatization of politics. The
International Journal of Press/Politics, 13, 228-246.
Aim: analyse the concepts of mediated and mediatized politics
Concepts used to describe the changes with regards to media and politics (in
recent years)
Conclusion: As politics becomes increasingly mediatized, the important question no longer
is related to the independence of the media from politics and society but it focuses on the
independence of politics and society from the media.
Remarks: The focus in on traditional news media, not including the internet – however,
conclusions suggest that the internet has not made much of a difference
Mediated politics – Refers to a situation in which the media have become the most
important source of information and vehicle of communication between the governors
and the governed
People depend on the media for information about politics and society in a broad
sense of the words, just as politicians and other powerful elites depend on the media
for information about peoples’ opinions and trends in society, and for reaching out
to people
Refers to the fact that the media mediate between the citizenry and the institutions
involved in government, electoral processes, opinion formation
Politics is mediated whenever the mass media are the main channels through
which politics is communicated and when, as a consequence, the depictions of
“reality” that are conveyed through the mass media presumably have an impact on how
people perceive reality
The concept of mediated politics is basically a descriptive and rather static concept
that refers to whether or not the media constitute the most important channels for
information exchanges and communication between the people and political actors
The term fails to capture the dynamics of modern political communication
processes and how they have evolved over time
,Mediatized politics – Mediatization relates to the changes associated with communication
media and their development
Implies a process through which core elements of a social or cultural activity
assume media form
Refers to the interactions, interdependencies and transactions with regards to how
the media shape and reshape politics, culture and people’s sense making
Four phases of mediatization
Main aspects of the mediatization of politics – all together they determine the degree to
which politics is mediatized about the independence of the media from politics and
society
1. First phase – Mediation
This phase is reached whenever the mass media in a particular setting constitute
the most important source of information and channel of communication
between the citizenry and political institutions and actors, such as political
parties, governmental agencies, or political interest groups
Prerequisite for subsequent levels of mediatization
When politics has reached the first phase of mediatization, the depictions of
reality as conveyed by the media presumably have an impact on how people
perceive reality these perceptions matter when people form their opinions
subsequently political communicators have to take the media into account when
attempting to shape opinion
In assessing whether politics has reached the first phase of mediatization, the
crucial question is whether the media constitute the dominant source of
information and channel of communication between the governors and the
governed
The other three dimensions are relatively less important
2. Second phase
The degree to which the media are independent from political institutions in
terms of how the media are governed
Here the media become more independent of governmental or other political
bodies and have begun to be governed according to the media logic rather than
political logic
Higher journalistic professionalism
2
, Media do not mediate messages unconditionally anymore
As more autonomous organizations, the influence of the media on the institutional
level increases
The media now make their own judgments regarding what is thought to be the
appropriate messages based on their own medium, its format, norms and values,
and its audiences
The media largely control their own content, and they possess resources that can
be utilized in the “negotiation of newsworthiness” against those who are attempting
to influence the news – Political actors and institutions might still have the upper
hand, but they cannot control the media or unconditionally use them to further their
own interests
3. Third phase
It’s about the degree to which the media content is governed by a political logic or
media logic
Media have further increased in independence to the point that political and
social actors have to adapt to the media, rather than the other way around
Media have the upper hands, but are still external to the political system
The media have become so important that their formats, content, grammar, and
rhythm—the media logic—have become so pervasive that basically, no social
actors requiring interaction with the public or influence on public opinion can
ignore the media or afford not to adapt to the media logic
‘The active mechanism is not direct influence, but adaptation’
The mediated reality becomes more important than the actual reality: the
mediated reality is what people have access to and react to – pseudo environment
Reasonable to expect political actors to adapt to the media logic
Political actors however still perceive the media as external
Between the second and third phases, the upper hand has hence switched from the
parties to the media – but there are still many political actors who think that the
increased importance of the media is not legitimate and that politics should
continue to be in command of the interactions
4. Fourth phase
It’s about the degree to which political actors are governed by a political logic or
by a media logic
3
, Standards of media logic/news worthiness become part of governing processes
(evaluation of issues and policies)
Media are no longer external
Attained when political and other social actors not only adapt to the media
logic and the predominant news values, but also internalize these and, more or
less consciously, allow the media logic to become a built-in part of the
governing processes
Whereas in the third phase political actors adapt to the media logic, now they
adopt the same media logic
Here the media and their logic colonize politics – perhaps not even recognizing the
distinction between political and media logic
‘Going public’ as an essential strategy of governing
The dominant source of information is still the media however the intensity of
media experiences is stronger than earlier phases
Institutional and social actors accepted the media logic as valid in the context of
campaigning and governing – as, for example, economic trends or threats to the
environment or to national security
News media logic on the move?
Karidi, M. (2018). News Media Logic on the Move? In search of commercial media logic in German news.
Journalism Studies, 19(9), 1237-1256.
Aim: Prove the assumption of a shift towards commercial news media logic
The study (content analysis): Differences and commonalities in media reality construction
examined in Germany’s most influential news media across all regular news beats. The
research provides evidence for what has been assumed to take place in Western political
news content: the increased incidence of negativity, celebrities, conflicts, scandals,
media pundits, and emotionalized, opinionated and narrative reporting style
Nine aspects of commercial news media logic examined in the study:
1. Celebrities – defined as well-known persons outside their functional social
system
2. Conflict
3. Emotionalization – a story is emotionalized when it describes emotions or
emphasizes feelings like anger, fear, panic, threat
4
Four Phases of Mediatization: An Analysis of the Mediatization of Politics
Strömbäck, J. (2008). Four phases of mediatization: An analysis of the mediatization of politics. The
International Journal of Press/Politics, 13, 228-246.
Aim: analyse the concepts of mediated and mediatized politics
Concepts used to describe the changes with regards to media and politics (in
recent years)
Conclusion: As politics becomes increasingly mediatized, the important question no longer
is related to the independence of the media from politics and society but it focuses on the
independence of politics and society from the media.
Remarks: The focus in on traditional news media, not including the internet – however,
conclusions suggest that the internet has not made much of a difference
Mediated politics – Refers to a situation in which the media have become the most
important source of information and vehicle of communication between the governors
and the governed
People depend on the media for information about politics and society in a broad
sense of the words, just as politicians and other powerful elites depend on the media
for information about peoples’ opinions and trends in society, and for reaching out
to people
Refers to the fact that the media mediate between the citizenry and the institutions
involved in government, electoral processes, opinion formation
Politics is mediated whenever the mass media are the main channels through
which politics is communicated and when, as a consequence, the depictions of
“reality” that are conveyed through the mass media presumably have an impact on how
people perceive reality
The concept of mediated politics is basically a descriptive and rather static concept
that refers to whether or not the media constitute the most important channels for
information exchanges and communication between the people and political actors
The term fails to capture the dynamics of modern political communication
processes and how they have evolved over time
,Mediatized politics – Mediatization relates to the changes associated with communication
media and their development
Implies a process through which core elements of a social or cultural activity
assume media form
Refers to the interactions, interdependencies and transactions with regards to how
the media shape and reshape politics, culture and people’s sense making
Four phases of mediatization
Main aspects of the mediatization of politics – all together they determine the degree to
which politics is mediatized about the independence of the media from politics and
society
1. First phase – Mediation
This phase is reached whenever the mass media in a particular setting constitute
the most important source of information and channel of communication
between the citizenry and political institutions and actors, such as political
parties, governmental agencies, or political interest groups
Prerequisite for subsequent levels of mediatization
When politics has reached the first phase of mediatization, the depictions of
reality as conveyed by the media presumably have an impact on how people
perceive reality these perceptions matter when people form their opinions
subsequently political communicators have to take the media into account when
attempting to shape opinion
In assessing whether politics has reached the first phase of mediatization, the
crucial question is whether the media constitute the dominant source of
information and channel of communication between the governors and the
governed
The other three dimensions are relatively less important
2. Second phase
The degree to which the media are independent from political institutions in
terms of how the media are governed
Here the media become more independent of governmental or other political
bodies and have begun to be governed according to the media logic rather than
political logic
Higher journalistic professionalism
2
, Media do not mediate messages unconditionally anymore
As more autonomous organizations, the influence of the media on the institutional
level increases
The media now make their own judgments regarding what is thought to be the
appropriate messages based on their own medium, its format, norms and values,
and its audiences
The media largely control their own content, and they possess resources that can
be utilized in the “negotiation of newsworthiness” against those who are attempting
to influence the news – Political actors and institutions might still have the upper
hand, but they cannot control the media or unconditionally use them to further their
own interests
3. Third phase
It’s about the degree to which the media content is governed by a political logic or
media logic
Media have further increased in independence to the point that political and
social actors have to adapt to the media, rather than the other way around
Media have the upper hands, but are still external to the political system
The media have become so important that their formats, content, grammar, and
rhythm—the media logic—have become so pervasive that basically, no social
actors requiring interaction with the public or influence on public opinion can
ignore the media or afford not to adapt to the media logic
‘The active mechanism is not direct influence, but adaptation’
The mediated reality becomes more important than the actual reality: the
mediated reality is what people have access to and react to – pseudo environment
Reasonable to expect political actors to adapt to the media logic
Political actors however still perceive the media as external
Between the second and third phases, the upper hand has hence switched from the
parties to the media – but there are still many political actors who think that the
increased importance of the media is not legitimate and that politics should
continue to be in command of the interactions
4. Fourth phase
It’s about the degree to which political actors are governed by a political logic or
by a media logic
3
, Standards of media logic/news worthiness become part of governing processes
(evaluation of issues and policies)
Media are no longer external
Attained when political and other social actors not only adapt to the media
logic and the predominant news values, but also internalize these and, more or
less consciously, allow the media logic to become a built-in part of the
governing processes
Whereas in the third phase political actors adapt to the media logic, now they
adopt the same media logic
Here the media and their logic colonize politics – perhaps not even recognizing the
distinction between political and media logic
‘Going public’ as an essential strategy of governing
The dominant source of information is still the media however the intensity of
media experiences is stronger than earlier phases
Institutional and social actors accepted the media logic as valid in the context of
campaigning and governing – as, for example, economic trends or threats to the
environment or to national security
News media logic on the move?
Karidi, M. (2018). News Media Logic on the Move? In search of commercial media logic in German news.
Journalism Studies, 19(9), 1237-1256.
Aim: Prove the assumption of a shift towards commercial news media logic
The study (content analysis): Differences and commonalities in media reality construction
examined in Germany’s most influential news media across all regular news beats. The
research provides evidence for what has been assumed to take place in Western political
news content: the increased incidence of negativity, celebrities, conflicts, scandals,
media pundits, and emotionalized, opinionated and narrative reporting style
Nine aspects of commercial news media logic examined in the study:
1. Celebrities – defined as well-known persons outside their functional social
system
2. Conflict
3. Emotionalization – a story is emotionalized when it describes emotions or
emphasizes feelings like anger, fear, panic, threat
4
