The media landscape is changing radically. The news media authoritative voice is eroding as technological, economic and political transformations increase the range of competing stakeholders (Williams and Delli Carpini 2011). These changes drive citizens to increasingly use a wide range of social media and online resources to get information about politics. Moreover, politicians and parties have integrated online technologies into their election campaigns (Stromer-Galley 2014; Vaccari 2013). In this theme we explore how these transformations shape the character of political information and communication and the practice of democratic citizenship.

Responsables: Frédéric Bastien, Thierry Giasson

Researchers involved: Frédéric Bastien, Thierry Giasson, Colette Brin, Fenwick McKelvey, Eran Shor

Research projects:

• A Paper Ceiling? Explaining Sex-Ratio and Minorities Inequality in Media Coverage – Eran Shor
• Online Citizenship Canada – Frédéric Bastien, Thierry Giasson, Tamara A. Small
• Programming the Vote: a long-term, comparative study of how political parties have used computers to better control their campaigns in Canada and the United States – Fenwick McKelvey

Projects completed:

• Le système médiatique canadien: un système libéral? – Frédéric Bastien, Colette Brin
• Enpolitique.com: Stratégies, contenus et perceptions des usages politiques du web en période électorale. Le cas des campagnes électorales présidentielle française et législative québécoise de 2012 – Thierry Giasson, Frédéric Bastien
• Dissolved Politics: trends in media coverage of leaders’ debates and Throne speeches in Canada – Frédéric Bastien
• La couverture médiatique de la “crise” d’accommodement raisonnable dans la presse écrite quotidienne québécoise. La thèse du tsunami médiatique – Thierry Giasson, Colette Brin