Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media Systems
Referendum campaigns, which happen in many countries on the national or sub-national level, are highly important and special periods of political communication. Unlike elections, however, referendum campaigns are understudied phenomena. This thematic issue addresses patterns of referendum campaigns,...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Cogitatio
2023-01-01
|
| Series: | Media and Communication |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6703 |
| _version_ | 1797938429668884480 |
|---|---|
| author | Linards Udris Mark Eisenegger |
| author_facet | Linards Udris Mark Eisenegger |
| author_sort | Linards Udris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Referendum campaigns, which happen in many countries on the national or sub-national level, are highly important and special periods of political communication. Unlike elections, however, referendum campaigns are understudied phenomena. This thematic issue addresses patterns of referendum campaigns, which increasingly take place in digital and hybrid media environments, where political actors conduct campaigns through various channels, news media react to and shape debates on social media, and citizens receive a large share of political information from traditional and digital media. In this editorial, we provide a short overview of how research on referendum campaigns has evolved and how it has started to shift its attention away from news coverage and toward the role of campaign actors and the citizens who use (or engage with) search engines and social media platforms. The articles in this thematic issue reflect this shift but also show that news media remain important actors in referendum campaigns. Finally, we outline further research steps, which should include even more holistic analyses of the hybridity of referendum campaigns and hopefully more comparisons across cases. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T18:59:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f4a2bd586acb4fc3ae6dcbc5a8009632 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2183-2439 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T18:59:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Cogitatio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Media and Communication |
| spelling | doaj.art-f4a2bd586acb4fc3ae6dcbc5a80096322023-01-31T11:41:55ZengCogitatioMedia and Communication2183-24392023-01-011111510.17645/mac.v11i1.67032887Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media SystemsLinards Udris0Mark Eisenegger1Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society (fög), University of Zurich, SwitzerlandDepartment of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich, SwitzerlandReferendum campaigns, which happen in many countries on the national or sub-national level, are highly important and special periods of political communication. Unlike elections, however, referendum campaigns are understudied phenomena. This thematic issue addresses patterns of referendum campaigns, which increasingly take place in digital and hybrid media environments, where political actors conduct campaigns through various channels, news media react to and shape debates on social media, and citizens receive a large share of political information from traditional and digital media. In this editorial, we provide a short overview of how research on referendum campaigns has evolved and how it has started to shift its attention away from news coverage and toward the role of campaign actors and the citizens who use (or engage with) search engines and social media platforms. The articles in this thematic issue reflect this shift but also show that news media remain important actors in referendum campaigns. Finally, we outline further research steps, which should include even more holistic analyses of the hybridity of referendum campaigns and hopefully more comparisons across cases.https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6703digitalizationdirect democracyhybrid media systemnews mediareferendum campaignssocial mediatech platforms |
| spellingShingle | Linards Udris Mark Eisenegger Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media Systems Media and Communication digitalization direct democracy hybrid media system news media referendum campaigns social media tech platforms |
| title | Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media Systems |
| title_full | Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media Systems |
| title_fullStr | Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media Systems |
| title_short | Referendum Campaigns in the Digital Age: Towards (More) Comparative Analyses in Hybrid Media Systems |
| title_sort | referendum campaigns in the digital age towards more comparative analyses in hybrid media systems |
| topic | digitalization direct democracy hybrid media system news media referendum campaigns social media tech platforms |
| url | https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/6703 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT linardsudris referendumcampaignsinthedigitalagetowardsmorecomparativeanalysesinhybridmediasystems AT markeisenegger referendumcampaignsinthedigitalagetowardsmorecomparativeanalysesinhybridmediasystems |