Media, Power and Technology
Lectures & Book & Literature
2025/2026
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
by L.M.A.
1
,Lecture 1 Media, Power and Technology 3
P1: Political power can usually be translated into power over all forms of media 4
P2: When the powerful lose control over the political environment, they also lose control
over all forms of media. 7
P3: Every political story that appears in every form of media is biased 8
P4: All forms of media are primarily dedicated to telling good stories, which can often
have a major impact on political processes 11
P5: Many of the most important effects of the various forms of media on citizens tend to
be unintentional and unnoticed (the media can get you when you are not paying
attention)
14
Lecture 2 Media, Power and Technology
23
Lecture 3 Media, Power and Technology
27
Lecture 4 Media, Power and Technology
32
Lecture 5 Media, Power and Technology
34
Lecture 6 Media, Power and Technology
35
Lecture 7 Media, Power and Technology
40
Lecture 8 Media, Power and Technology
45
Lecture 9 Media, Power and Technology
53
Lecture 10 Media, Power and Technology
61
Lecture 11 Media, Power and Technology
67
Lecture 12 Media, Power and Technology
69
Lecture 13 Media, Power and Technology
73
Key Definitions 75
2
, Lecture 1 Media, Power and Technology
Before going into this summary it is good to know that the first chapter (in this document
lecture 1) is also a summary of the entire book following the five principles of Wolsfeld.
Groetjes.
Random information that the lecturer started with:
Echochambers → for a lot of people, not that sophisticated to tailor their own news diet.
Some people completely avoid political information → Abstainers (political abstainers)
37% of the NL avoid news → people decide to get isolated.
Weak ties connected, Backfire effect / echo chambers / bubbles.
Questions about if summarization of political information is bad or not?
Definitions of political communication?
Definition of Communication → communication creates what people understand to be
political. Includes: spoken words, texts, visual symbols, digital videos or a combination of all
of them. (also memes and cartoons)
Some forms of communication have long lineages of being important politically (like legacy
media), while newer ones are central to the ways we communicate about politics today. (like
podcasts, social media accounts, content creators)
Harold D. Lasswell, defined communication as: who says what, to whom, in what channel,
with what effect?
Definitions of political communication:
- Dorris A. Graber: Political communication is the study of the production,
dissemination, processing, and effects of information, both through communication
channels that are directly political and through communication channels that are not
directly political. (Tiktok used to be not very political, found for other ideas like self
video, now it has become a political platform.)
- Brain McNair: The communication processes, strategies, techniques, and media
through which individuals and groups take part in the formation, implementation, and
contestation of public policy.
- David L. Swanson & Dan Nimmo: The role of communication in the political process,
with emphasis on the effects that media, messages, and channels have on political
behavior, and the ways in which political actors use media to influence one another
and the public.
- James W. Carey: The transmission of messages and symbols for the purpose of
influencing the attitudes and behaviours of various publics.
Model to understand how politics,
power, and platforms relate to each
other. →
Platforms sit at the core of
contemporary political communication,
alongside other forms of media, and
are arranged into systems.
Increasingly, platforms are the primary
3
, way citizens encounter political information and engage with it, as well as communicate with
others about things that concern their shared lives. Political content on platforms is created
by political and media actors of all sorts, including journalists, activists, political strategists,
elected officials, and citizens themselves. Platforms are not neutral distribution channels,
however (e.g. Nielsen & Gantner 2022; Gillespie et al, 2020). Platform technologies, their
affordances and algorithms, and their governance, through policies, regulations, business
models, and the organizations behind them, shape the way political content is distributed
and flows on and across platforms. In other words, platforms are not just code. To
understand how political communication works on platforms, we need to look beyond the
content found on them and also reflect on the technologies and governance mechanisms
that shape how they work → in addition to the dynamics of the media systems they are
embedded in.
Figure I.1 out of the
book → The
competition among
political actors over
all forms of media.
Most political
contests are
unequal: including
the powerful and
the challengers
The political
environment can
have a major effect
on the contest over
the various forms of
media: type of government and level of democracy and media intervention
Political actors attempt to exploit these various forms of media to influence others
Audiences are not passive recipients of messages (arrows run both ways)
The five principles concerning politics and the media from Wolsfeld:
1. Political power can usually be translated into power over all forms of media
2. When the powerful lose control over the political environment, they also lose control
over all forms of media
3. Every political story that appears in every form of media is biased
4. All forms of media are primarily dedicated to telling good stories, which can often
have a major impact on political processes
5. Many of the most important effects of the various forms of media on citizens tend to
be unintentional and unnoticed.
P1: Political power can usually be translated into power over all forms of media
- The media is biased in favour of the powerful: there is a competition between
governments and their opponents to be heard.
- The ability of weaker adversaries to be heard is a central component of any healthy
democracy.
4
Lectures & Book & Literature
2025/2026
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
by L.M.A.
1
,Lecture 1 Media, Power and Technology 3
P1: Political power can usually be translated into power over all forms of media 4
P2: When the powerful lose control over the political environment, they also lose control
over all forms of media. 7
P3: Every political story that appears in every form of media is biased 8
P4: All forms of media are primarily dedicated to telling good stories, which can often
have a major impact on political processes 11
P5: Many of the most important effects of the various forms of media on citizens tend to
be unintentional and unnoticed (the media can get you when you are not paying
attention)
14
Lecture 2 Media, Power and Technology
23
Lecture 3 Media, Power and Technology
27
Lecture 4 Media, Power and Technology
32
Lecture 5 Media, Power and Technology
34
Lecture 6 Media, Power and Technology
35
Lecture 7 Media, Power and Technology
40
Lecture 8 Media, Power and Technology
45
Lecture 9 Media, Power and Technology
53
Lecture 10 Media, Power and Technology
61
Lecture 11 Media, Power and Technology
67
Lecture 12 Media, Power and Technology
69
Lecture 13 Media, Power and Technology
73
Key Definitions 75
2
, Lecture 1 Media, Power and Technology
Before going into this summary it is good to know that the first chapter (in this document
lecture 1) is also a summary of the entire book following the five principles of Wolsfeld.
Groetjes.
Random information that the lecturer started with:
Echochambers → for a lot of people, not that sophisticated to tailor their own news diet.
Some people completely avoid political information → Abstainers (political abstainers)
37% of the NL avoid news → people decide to get isolated.
Weak ties connected, Backfire effect / echo chambers / bubbles.
Questions about if summarization of political information is bad or not?
Definitions of political communication?
Definition of Communication → communication creates what people understand to be
political. Includes: spoken words, texts, visual symbols, digital videos or a combination of all
of them. (also memes and cartoons)
Some forms of communication have long lineages of being important politically (like legacy
media), while newer ones are central to the ways we communicate about politics today. (like
podcasts, social media accounts, content creators)
Harold D. Lasswell, defined communication as: who says what, to whom, in what channel,
with what effect?
Definitions of political communication:
- Dorris A. Graber: Political communication is the study of the production,
dissemination, processing, and effects of information, both through communication
channels that are directly political and through communication channels that are not
directly political. (Tiktok used to be not very political, found for other ideas like self
video, now it has become a political platform.)
- Brain McNair: The communication processes, strategies, techniques, and media
through which individuals and groups take part in the formation, implementation, and
contestation of public policy.
- David L. Swanson & Dan Nimmo: The role of communication in the political process,
with emphasis on the effects that media, messages, and channels have on political
behavior, and the ways in which political actors use media to influence one another
and the public.
- James W. Carey: The transmission of messages and symbols for the purpose of
influencing the attitudes and behaviours of various publics.
Model to understand how politics,
power, and platforms relate to each
other. →
Platforms sit at the core of
contemporary political communication,
alongside other forms of media, and
are arranged into systems.
Increasingly, platforms are the primary
3
, way citizens encounter political information and engage with it, as well as communicate with
others about things that concern their shared lives. Political content on platforms is created
by political and media actors of all sorts, including journalists, activists, political strategists,
elected officials, and citizens themselves. Platforms are not neutral distribution channels,
however (e.g. Nielsen & Gantner 2022; Gillespie et al, 2020). Platform technologies, their
affordances and algorithms, and their governance, through policies, regulations, business
models, and the organizations behind them, shape the way political content is distributed
and flows on and across platforms. In other words, platforms are not just code. To
understand how political communication works on platforms, we need to look beyond the
content found on them and also reflect on the technologies and governance mechanisms
that shape how they work → in addition to the dynamics of the media systems they are
embedded in.
Figure I.1 out of the
book → The
competition among
political actors over
all forms of media.
Most political
contests are
unequal: including
the powerful and
the challengers
The political
environment can
have a major effect
on the contest over
the various forms of
media: type of government and level of democracy and media intervention
Political actors attempt to exploit these various forms of media to influence others
Audiences are not passive recipients of messages (arrows run both ways)
The five principles concerning politics and the media from Wolsfeld:
1. Political power can usually be translated into power over all forms of media
2. When the powerful lose control over the political environment, they also lose control
over all forms of media
3. Every political story that appears in every form of media is biased
4. All forms of media are primarily dedicated to telling good stories, which can often
have a major impact on political processes
5. Many of the most important effects of the various forms of media on citizens tend to
be unintentional and unnoticed.
P1: Political power can usually be translated into power over all forms of media
- The media is biased in favour of the powerful: there is a competition between
governments and their opponents to be heard.
- The ability of weaker adversaries to be heard is a central component of any healthy
democracy.
4
