Abstract

Recent research concerning alternative media has provided some insight concerning the increasing role of those media in mainstream political communication. In this study, we conducted interviews with key leaders in local level Democratic and Republican Parties in the United States Midwest. These were the individuals who chaired the parties and executive committees, maintained the social and interactive media platforms for the parties, and managed high-profile campaigns. Our interviews revealed that there were leaders in the community who made use of alternative media in some ways. What is more, we found that there were key individuals across both parties who included alternative media content in their political work, or included links or content from such media in their social media feeds. Such findings demonstrate the increasing fusion of activist and mainstream politics, which hold important implications for political communication in that Midwestern county.

摘要

最近有关替代媒体的研究提供了一些关于这些媒体在主流政治传播中日益增强的作用的见解。在这项研究中，我们对美国中西部地方民主党和共和党的主要领导人进行了采访。这些人担任政党和执行委员会的主席，维护政党的社交和互动媒体平台，并管理高调的活动。我们的采访显示，社区中有些领导人以某种方式利用了另类媒体。更重要的是，我们发现双方都有一些关键人物在他们的政治工作中包含了另类媒体内容，或者在他们的社交媒体源中包含了来自此类媒体的链接或内容。