ABSTRACT
Editors can only relate to an extremely small number of political actors every day, and even people who actively follow social media have a very limited amount of interest, time, and attention span. Journalists, the social media platforms, and active social media users have their own interests, and while some transformations can help political actors achieve some of their goals, other channels can be quite destructive to their cause. The various forms of media can also be powerful tools for pressuring politicians, government officials, or even other countries. While convincing members of public is often helpful, communicating with decision makers is often far more critical for achieving political goals. Major political events are still covered by every news organ and generate plenty of traffic on social media. If a growing number of people find themselves turning to online and offline sources to tell them what they want to hear, and if far fewer people find themselves “inadvertently” following current events.
