ABSTRACT
Political communication as a research field is going through major changes, both in terms of scope and method. The research design briefly outlined above also caters to the aim and scope of this volume, namely to shed light on the structures, functions, and challenges that characterize political communication online. This book provides hinges on four key terms: namely, visuality, multi-modality, political communication, and online communication. The rapid infusion of amateur or semi-professional content into online communication channels necessitates a comprehensive media-analytical tool box. However, transferring answers across media is not an option, particularly with the booming development that we see in online communication technologies. Any discussion of online communication has to first consider the history of the Internet's development as a medium. Computer-mediated communication (CMC) is an essential part of our understanding of online communication processes.
