Mediation of Italian Politics and the Marketing of Leaders' Private Lives

The article explores the relationship between media and politics in different periods of the Italian democracy. The first part of the analysis focuses on the unresolved deficit of autonomy that has affected the media's relationship with the political sphere—restraining journalistic scrutiny of politicians' public and private lives. Starting from this framework, the second part examines the more recent mediation of politics with reference to two correlated processes. On one hand the changes that have affected both journalistic practices and political leaders' communication strategies are considered, on the other hand the emerging marketing of leaders' personal lives is highlighted, reflecting on the implications that the shifting boundaries between the public and private spheres brings.