Media Visibility - Game-Changer Or Alternative?

This book draws upon a field research conducted with Brazilian and German members of the State and Federal Parliaments (MPs). It aims to compare communication strategies and electoral connections in both countries. The research found two basic kinds of politicians: (i) MPs who use national and regional media to communicate with voters, work in committees, deliver speeches at the House’s floor, but whose activities are not primarily concerned with district interests. (ii) MPs who heavily use the local broadcasting and print media, and whose activities focuses on delivering services and pork to constituencies. For both types, online politics and media visibility were not perceived as a "game-changer". As an instrument of political communication the Internet and social media emerged not as a globalizing force, but as a tool used and adapted to local political contexts.