Mediatization of politics and politicization of the media. Two dimensions of the relationship

Zbigniew Oniszczuk

English version of the article

The article examines the relations between the media system and the political system. The analysis concentrates on two exceptionally important aspects of these relations: the mediatization of politics and the politicization of mass media. Both aspects are derived from the paradigm of the dominance of one system over the other. Firstly, the mediatization of politics implies imposing rules and logic characteristic of the means of mass communication upon the political system. This narrows the room for maneuver when making decisions and conducting political activities. Secondly, the politicization of the media is an attempt, made by politics, to dominate the realm of mass media and use them instrumentally to achieve its own, often purely partisan, purposes. Hence, it is in the best interest of democracy to build relations between the sphere of politics and the mass media on the principle of cooperation, not rivalry, since various interlinkages are of a symbiotic nature, i.e. based on shared interests.

KEYWORDS

mutual relations, political system, media system, mediatization of politics, politicization of the media