Politicians, Personal Image and the Construction of Political Identity A Comparative Study of the UK and Italy

by Archetti, Cristina

• ISBN13: 9781137353412
• ISBN10: 1137353414
• eBook ISBN(s): 9781137353429
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-01-10
• Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
• More Book Details
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Summary

Is the media obsession with image leading to a degeneration of politics? Are politicians more concerned with their appearances than with policy substance? Through the evidence provided by over 50 interviews with politicians across the UK and Italy  - local councillors, MPs and MEPs  - this book provides a very different picture of the world of politics than the one we often cynically imagine. By relying on extensive excerpts from frank and colorful conversations with the interviewees, the analysis develops a new multidisciplinary model to understand the 'mediatization' of politics and the way the personal image of elected representatives is constructed in the age of interconnectedness.

Author Biography

Cristina Archetti is Associate Professor in Politics and Media at the University of Salford, UK. She won the 2008 Denis McQuail Award for Innovating Communication Theory. Her recent publications include Understanding Terrorism in the Age of Global Media: A Communication Approach (2012) and Explaining News: National Politics and Journalistic Cultures in Global Context (2010).

Table of Contents

Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Image in Political Communication: Obscure Areas and Troubling Assumptions
2. Methodology
3. A New Framework for Analysis
4. Findings
5. A Different Understanding of the Mediatization of Politics
6. Conclusions
Notes
Bibliography