The Media and Political Process - Softcover

Has the mediaization of politics played any role in encouraging a growing cynicism and disillusionment with political processes in Western democracies?

This book examines the increasingly topical subject of the political process and assesses:

- The nature of the relationship between mass media and the political process

- The impact of media-ization on existing political frameworks

- The implications of media-ized politics

Eric Louw uses a number of case-studies including political, celebrity, war and terrorism to provide a media studies perspective on how media workers (journalists, public affairs officers, spin-doctors) impact upon the political process.

The book also considers the media's role in promoting a range of twentieth century ideologies and emerging dominant discourses.

It will be important reading for students of Media, Politics, Cultural Studies; Journalism and Public Relations.

Eric Louw, School of Communication & Arts, University of Queensland, previously worked for a number of South African universities (University of South Africa, University of Natal and Rand Afrikaans University), and ran a NGO engaged in development work.

His books include: Media and Society: production, content and participation (SAGE, 2015), The Media and Political Process (SAGE, 2010), The Media and Cultural Production (SAGE, 2001), The Roots of the Pax Americana (MUP, 2010), New Voices Over the Air: The Transformation of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (Hampton Press, 2010), South African Media Policy (1995), and The Rise, Fall and Legacy of Apartheid (Praeger, 2005).

Louw has published widely in the fields of political communication, South African media and South African political discourse.  His current research is focusing on the transformation of South Africa.