INPUT / … / … / Media and Politics. How do they correlate?

Politics play a big role in public broadcasters’ programming. Not only does the existence of PSM depend on public money, they also have a duty to cover politics in the name of public interest. So night after night we hear about fights between government and opposition parties, political statements and talk shows, even the parliamentary debates are transmitted in some countries. They are all part of the daily coverage we are familiar with. However, all this is mostly the surface. When political cycles end, this is rarely analysed in depth and with perspective. In this session, two of the presented films use archive footage to analyse istorical moments from today’s point of view. Away from the spotlight and the current political situation, how different do these stories seem? Politicians become humans and look back on their lives up on the big stage. And why would local politicians in Germany let the media into their current active professional lives, with what effect? What role do the media themselves play in those political episodes? Finally we have to ask ourselves whether all this is leading to more transparency. Or are the media and politicians fated to remain in an eternal battle, ruled by the laws of PR, viewing figures, clicks and images?