New media and Politics

Abstract

Media and politics have been defined as a symbiosis because they are mutually dependent on each other. Accordingly, current research trends are concerned with investigating how this symbiosis is developing and changing as a result of new media technologies. This article starts by discussing the term ‘new media’ before discussing four main research strands: political activism; political campaigning, political polarization, and political journalism. Strengths and weaknesses in these fields will be discussed, and the concluding remark suggests a vision for further research on new media and politics. The final version of this research has been published in Annals of the International Communication Association. © 2017 Taylor & Francis