ПОЛИТИКИ И ЖУРНАЛИСТЫ В ЭПОХУ КОММУНИКАЦИОННОЙ РЕВОЛЮЦИИ

Abstract

Communication permeates all spheres of public life, to influence politics, the formation of political meanings, images and ideas. In the modern world, politics is done with help of innovative methods of communication. The article examines how the relationship between politics and journalism in France transformed during the Fifth Republic due to change in the political regime and an increasing role of communication in the society. At the beginning of the Fifth Republic, the information policy had been formed by the power of the state; however, this power gradually abandoned a tight control over radio and television. In the new century, politics has been more closely approaching the media. In the era of media politics, politicians successfully master the latest methods of communication with the audience, while journalists focus less on the information content than on commenting and evaluation. Politicians are getting involved in the creation of a “political spectacle” together with journalists to whet the interest of the public. On the basis of interviews conducted by the author of the article, it can be traced how politicians and journalists evaluate their interaction and react to changes in their own social roles. It has been shown that the activities of politicians and journalists are getting closer; these activities obey the logic of “the current situation”, they are characterized by conspicuous behaviors. The number of participants in the process of political communication has been growing; judges and investigators are getting involved. As a result of reforms, the institution of the Presidency has strengthened in France, despite the fact that at the same time, the society underwent a process of de-sacralization of the presidential power. Increasingly, presidents have become objects for journalistic and criminal investigations, while legal ways to protect the privacy of the president are absent. However, media popularity of politicians does not convert into a public trust. Opinion polls of recent years show that the majority of the French population does not trust the political elite. It is not clear if political actors will be able to overcome the limitations brought by the age of revolution in communications and to convert the capital of virtual connections into real interaction with society.