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Reporting the 2010 General Election: Old Media, New Media — Old Politics, New Politics

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Political Communication in Britain

Abstract

To say that the media are central to modern election campaigning may be axiomatic, but there are specific reasons why the media are particularly significant in British general elections. Britain still has a very unitary political system, only partially tempered by political devolution. It also has centralised and nationally orientated news media whose dominance is arguably increasing, as pressures on regional news broadcasting intensify and cost-cutting, conglomeration and falling circulation undermine the vitality of the local press. The coexistence of these factors is a recipe for a highly media-centred political culture.

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© 2011 David Deacon and Dominic Wring

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Deacon, D., Wring, D. (2011). Reporting the 2010 General Election: Old Media, New Media — Old Politics, New Politics. In: Wring, D., Mortimore, R., Atkinson, S. (eds) Political Communication in Britain. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230305045_18

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