The Mediation of Power investigates how those in positions of power use and are influenced by media in their everyday activities. Each chapter examines this theme through an exploration of some of the key topics and debates in the field, including:

• theories of media and power
• media policy and the economics of information
• news production and journalistic practice
• public relations and media management
• culture and power
• political communication and mediated politics
• new and alternative media
• interest group...

Political Communication and Social Theory presents an advanced and challenging text for students and scholars of political communication and mass media in democracies. It draws together work from across political communication, media sociology and political sociology, and includes a mix of theoretical debate and current examples from several democratic media systems. Its wide ranging discussions both introduce and contest the traditional scholarship on a number of contemporary topics and issues. These include:

• comparative political and media systems
...