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Media and politics

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Media and politics
MAVA 102 – Introduction to Media and Communication
Commentary piece
Can electronic media (e.g : the Internet) enhance political involvement ?

Introduction In today 's society, the Electronic Media are increasingly present in our lives. For almost a century, radio, television and now the Internet have been added to the press. It 's therefore necessary to consider the influence, good or bad, of the media on our thinking and us. By Electronic Media, we mean information or data that is created, distributed and accessed using a form of electronics, electromechanical energy or any equipment used in electronic communications. The common equipment we use on a day to day basis to access Electronic Media is our television, radio, computer, cell phones and other devices transporting information to and from us by means of electronic involvement. Via these devices we are brought closer of politics. Political involvement means to take part in politics. The general level of involvement in a society is the extent to which people as a whole are active in politics. In this commentary piece, we will attempt to answer the following question:
Can electronic media enhance political involvement?
In order to answer this question, we are going to divide this essay in 3 parts. In the first place, we will define and analyze the Electronic Media of today. Subsequently, we will show how the Electronic Media enhances the political involvement. Finally, we will list some limitations to the relation between Electronic Media and politics.

I- Electronic Media
Electronic Media are channels of communication that serve many diverse functions, such as offering a variety of entertainment, communicating news and information or displaying advertising messages. They are usually referred to as broadcast media, or radio and television, including cable. It concerns any type of device that stores and allows distribution or use of electronic information.



References: KU Library: The Media and Political Process. Eric Louw The Exploding Political Power of personal Media. Gladys D. Ganley Politics and the Mass media. Mark Wheeler. http://kutr.summon.serialssolutions.com/document/show?id=FETCHMERGED-kutr_catalog_b1542960x1&s.q=electronic+media+politics Internet: http://www.questia.com/library/communication/political-communication/politics-and-mass-media http://vu4qz9yk4g.search.serialssolutions.com/?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info:sid/summon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Media+Politics&rft.jtitle=European+Journal+of+Communication&rft.au=Anonymous&rft.date=2002-03-01&rft.pub=Sage+Publications+Ltd&rft.issn=0267-3231&rft.eissn=1460-3705&rft.volume=17&rft.issue=1&rft.spage=143&rft.externalDocID=112297237

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