Abstract

This article analyzes the role of the political «infotainment» prosumer on Internet. In the second half of the XX century, telecracy was the predominant one-way communication model that not only popularized politics but also transformed politics into entertainment or «politainment». The XXI century began with the conviction that the Internet would lead to a bidirectional communication model in which true dialogue between political power and citizens would emerge. This research explores a new field of study: Web 2.0 «politainment» and prosumers’ attitudes and actions within this new communication sphere. The objective of the study is to identify the kind of political content Internet users consume and produce. To achieve this, we made a case study of the political information produced and consumed on YouTube, and in particular of a speech given by Ana Botella, the Mayor of Madrid, before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in September 2013. The 40 most-watched videos on YouTube during the week of the Mayor’s appearance as well as those viewed in the month that followed have been analyzed, in addition to the 3,000 comments on these videos. The conclusion shows that the prosumption of «politainment» on Internet is characterized by massive consumption of information but passive reaction with regard to production and participation.

Abstract

The communication strategy developed on Twitter by the communication team La Cueva, of the political party Izquierda Unida, during the general elections of 2015 and 2016, achieved notoriety because of the language used and the followers and sympathizer’s participation. This article analyzes the tweets generated by the accounts of the party and the candidate Alberto Garzón during the two electoral campaigns, by combining frequency analysis, as a quantitative technique, and digital ethnography, as a qualitative technique. A confluence of factors, such as the visualization of the candidate’s private life and the admiration professed by the “garzoners” (Garzón’s supporters), both promoted by La Cueva, allows us to consider Alberto Garzón as an example of politician celebrity.