This book develops a new theoretical framework for studying the interaction between political parties, the news media and citizens. The model addresses how political actors develop and push different arguments in a debate, how the news media select and communicate these arguments, and how they ultimately influence citizens’ democratic decisions.

Part 1 Introduction and Methodology.- Chapter 1 Dialogue in the News Media.- Chapter 2 Origin of Dialogue: A Model of Frame Building.- Chapter 3 Research Design and Data.- Part 2. Empirical Outcomes.- Chapter 4 Frame Construction for the Media Input.- Chapter 5 Frame Promotion: Variation of the Strategic Framing Choices in Different Communication Channels and Over Time.- Chapter 6 Frame Edition.- Chapter 7 Flow of Frames.- Chapter 8 Role of Dialogue in Public Opinion Formation.- Part 3. Conclusion.- Chapter 9 Conclusion.

This book develops a new theoretical framework for studying the interaction between political parties, the news media and citizens. The model addresses how political actors develop and push different arguments in a debate, how the news media select and communicate these arguments, and how they ultimately influence citizens’ democratic decisions. The author promotes dialogue as a convincing concept for analyzing the quality of public debate and advances a series of arguments for why and how this concept helps improve our understanding of key processes in democracy. Based on a detailed analysis of rich empirical data collected from referendum campaigns in Switzerland, the book is relevant beyond the specific context and applicable to election campaigns and public debates more broadly. Regula Hänggli is a professor at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, specializing in political communication. She is also a member of the Center for Politics and Communication. Her work focuses on media and democracy, digitalization, and opinion formation.

“This book is a gem. It offers a genuinely exciting perspective on the roles of frames in democratic processes. It is authoritative, conceptual, empirically very rich, and asks fundamental questions. It will be of interest to scholars across political science, communication, and public opinion research.”(Claes de Vreese, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands)“One of the most perplexing questions for democracies is how to get different sides to engage one another. In this path-breaking book, Hänggli shows what it takes for such dialogue to occur and why the news media are critical in this process. She further shows how this plays out in direct democracy campaigns and how it affects outcomes. This is a must-read for those interested in political communication and democracy.” (James Druckman, Northwestern University, USA)“Focusing on dialogue between political actors in the news media, Hänggli offers an original approach to study how politicians and journalists frame political choices in ways that help citizens participate meaningfully in democracy. Speaking to concerns about quality of news, misinformation, and citizen competence, this timely book is a major contribution to political communication.” (Rune Slothuus, Aarhus University, Denmark)“Hänggli investigates a fundamental topic:  how elite rhetoric, through the presence or absence of dialogue, shapes citizens’ understanding of the policy options before them. This book is novel both for its comprehensive theoretical treatment of the framing process as well its rich content analyses of Swiss direct-democratic campaigns.(Jennifer Jerit, Stony Brook University, USA)“This is a refreshingly innovative conceptual and empirical contribution to the vast literature on political communications. Analyzing Swiss referendums, Hänggli shows how campaign dialogue is framed by the competing norms and interests of politicians, parties, and the media. Readers will gain valuable insights about theconditions promoting discussion, learning, and debate that are essential to the democratic process.” (Dennis Chong, University of Southern California and Northwestern University, USA)

Promotes dialogue as a convincing concept for studying the quality of public debate Develops an elaborated process model of framing that bridges different fields of study Considers the roles and influence of political actors and the news media in influencing citizens' political decisions