The role of legacy media and new media as the communication channel between the Maltese politicians and Maltese citizens

Abstract

This study identifies and discusses the uses and attitudes of legacy media and new media by Maltese politicians. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten Maltese politicians to explore this topic, which resulted in the in-depth analysis of the personal experience of each politician's use of the media. The interviewees where chosen from different parties, with varying experience in politics, and of different ages and gender so as to obtain a fair variety of subjects. The main points concluded are that, (1) all media is necessary for a politician's political communication, Facebook is the most frequently used media by Maltese politicians and citizens, (2) social media allows for two-way communication between politicians and people, thus aiding political communication between the two bodies, (3) a politician's political media activity may affect their profession and vice versa, (4) however, face-to-face communication is still preferred by Maltese people, who expect to be in close contact with their politicians, possibly due to the single transferable voting system in Malta.