Written by Christian Vaccari (Loughborough University), this chapter of A Political Science Experiment explores the following questions:

– What is the media?
– Why does the media matter in politics?
– Does the media exercise power itself — or does it bestow power upon different groups and individuals?
– How do people get their news now?
– How does political journalism vary around the world?
– What are the key characteristics of different types of news organizations?
– How does social media function?
– How prevalent is false information on social media, and does it affect the public?