Third International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

This paper deals with two widely discussed (and polemical) concepts, populism and mediatization, and their role in the emergence of Podemos, a left-wing political party that irrupted in Spanish politics four years ago. Since its inception in 2014, Podemos was characterized as a “master” in political communication, and some of their leaders explicitly labeled the political movement as ‘populist’, following Ernesto Laclau’s approach. This case study discusses populism and proposes a working definition with historical perspective centering the debate on Laclau’s work On Populist Reason, among others scholars. Next, it argues about the concept of mediatization and its development in the political communication field in the last years. Also, this paper tries to understand how both concepts work together within a hybrid media system’s approach. To do so, I test the theoretical discussion by analyzing how Podemos was formed in the Spanish context. We study this through three broad dimensions: Spain’s multidimensional crisis since 2008, the transformation of the Spanish media system in the last decade and the analysis of Podemos’ key leaders comments and writings through primary and secondary sources. Finally, in a conclusions chapter, I present some findings, trends and questions about a relationship (populism and mediatization, a media logic and a political logic) that marks the way politics and media interact today.