Abstract

The 2013 Italian electoral campaign received extensive coverage from the media. How did entertainment media cover political actors and issues? Starting from the concepts of pop politics and politainment, this article examines two "products" of Italy's popular media culture: the "gossip magazine" Chi and the TV show Le invasioni barbariche. More specifically, attention is paid to the way in which the political actors' visibility is built and displayed by such media. Furthermore, it is shown that while the type of political communication that these outlets deliver can certainly be conceived of as "pop", it affects politicians in a way that does not always entirely comply with the "media logic".