ABSTRACT
This examination reviews the changes which have occurred in the links between politics and the mass media in recent years in Italy. It should be stressed that such an analysis must be largely conjectural. Although empirical studies analysing media content are fairly numerous, there are very few touching upon the two areas which are essential for adequately reconstructing the events of the last decade, namely a vertical study, through panel data or comparable measures, of the evolution of public opinion, 1 or a study of the effects of the media on electoral behaviour. This analysis is divided into three sections. The first describes some of the changes which have occurred over the last few years in the links between mass media, the Italian public and the political system. The second presents the available empirical evidence on the effects of television on electoral behaviour. Finally, the third discusses various problems relating to the regulation of political communication in the mass media (the so-called par condicio – equal access regulation).
