Media and Citizens: Public Perception of the Behavior of the Mass Media during the Campaign for the 2007 Presidential Elections in Argentina

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze citizen’s perceptions concerning the role of mass media during presidencial elections. First, some issues related to the actual importance of mass media in electoral campaigns, the main features of mass mediated political communication, and its effects on voting behavior, are explored. Second, the results of an opinion poll on public perception of the argentinean mass media during the presidencial campaign for the 2007 election are presented. Last, we discuss some possible consequences of the formats used by mass media to communicate electoral information, and also two effects propiciated by them (agenda-setting and framing).