Media and Political Communication

Abstract

This chapter discusses the process of political communication—generating, promoting, disseminating, and receiving information—in Switzerland by looking at the interactions between political actors (politicians, parties, and political institutions), the media (editors and journalists), and citizens, and provides an overview of the Swiss media landscape, including from an international perspective. While the Swiss communication landscape can be considered a latecomer in terms of digitalization, important changes have occurred in Switzerland as elsewhere in the world. The chapter examines the consequences of increased online media consumption, media concentration, and platformization on the role and interactions of the different actors involved in the political communication process.