Media & Politics

Research

Within the main research "Media Policy" we deal with media structures, media guidelines and medium regulation. Of particular interest is the institutionalizing of media and the development of media structures, ownership structures, the political organization and regulation of the media as well as structures and processes of media and regulation organizations. We put a strong emphasis on the reciprocal effects between society and media: Media always develops within a given society and reflects this fact.

• The media structure of a country - combined with media organizations, political, economic and cultural actors as well as their relations among themselves - influences the conditions under which content is produced in media companies. In particular the media organizations and their relations to other actors are a central research topic.
• The influence of media policy is applied to media structures. Media policy is a dynamic process, during which the society creates "its" media. Of particular relevance are questions about which actors are involved in this process, which interests they pursue and which decisions are then made.
• With the analysis of media policy the focus is mainly on the rules relevant for mass media. In a Governance-perspective not only state regulation interests us, but also forms of self- and Co-regulation as well as regulation at a European and global level.

Further information on "Media Policy": www.mediapolicy.uzh.ch

Within the research area of "Political Communication", we focus on politics and public communication, which are inextricably connected. Politics as the formulation of social interests, their aggregation to programs or the production and implementation of decisions is always communication. This is a direct result of the increased saturation of media in society and politics that has led to appreciable changes. In our research we deal particularly with the structures, actors and processes of political communication.

• Political communication takes place in the context of specific political and media structures, for instance norms, rules or institutional practices. How do governments and administrations communicate? And how do institutional arrangements, like consensus democracy, affect the "media society"?
• In political communication, different actors and organizations are involved (parties, government, administration, federations or movements). Which goals and interests do these actors pursue? How do organizations and their communications change over time?
• Political communication is a dynamic process, which is determined by structures and actors. But how do actors - by means of Public Relations - affect political processes and how is a particular picture of politics developing in the media?

We are particularly interested in organizations, and questions about their communication with and to political organizations, and the effects of media communication on organizations.