Politics and new media

Ever since I took a class back in Sweden focusing on PR, massmedia and politics, I have been interested in how media, and new media in particular is affecting politics.

Many claim that TV dumbed politics down to nothing more than soundbytes and having a good Tv-personality. Some believe that the Internet is continuing to further dumb down politics, while some say it's actually a good tool for a more reasoned debate.

I agree with the fact that the internet has the ability to act as a platform where voters can find detailed information about all candidates, not just the big shots, and make more informed decisions. It could be a great tool for democracy.

However, I also think that PR people love it, because it opens up so many new doors for propaganda. In Eric Louw's book "the massmedia and the political process", he talks about how voters are actively kept out of the decision making process by those in power, by focusing less on issues and more on personality. By using the right tools, you can create a great "mask" for a candidate online, using viral videos etc, and generate a lot of buzz around him/her.

I think that massmedia believe that they have a good insight in politics, and maybe even more so now with the new media, but I'm not sure that's always the case. I think they're being taken for a ride quite often by spin doctors and public relations professionals, so that they report on what's entertaining rathern than what's important.

This is becoming more and more incoherent, so let's wrap it up. The internet can be a great tool for democracy, but it demands critical thinking from both voters and press if it is to change how we think and perceive politics and campaigning.