Exploring Medium and Citizens Engagement: The State of Print Media versus Social Media Use for Political Communication and Information in Peshawar City of Pakistan

Abstract

The relationship of citizens, media, political parties and government is universal phenomenon in democratic societies and media is a major tool for communicating the messages and view point of political actors to the masses. Print media in Pakistan considers the effective medium of political communication and information for political parties, leaders, government and citizens while the
emergence of new media platforms, broadened this relationship and occupied a space alongside print media prevailing role in political communication. This study analyzed comparatively the effectiveness of print media and social media platforms in terms of political communication and information, its usage and gratification among citizens in the city of Peshawar at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. By applying “Uses and Gratification Theory”, the researchers conducted quantitative method of Thematic Content analysis and interviewed 20 citizens of Peshawar City to comparatively analyze the use of print media, Facebook and Twitter. The study found that comparing to Facebook and Twitter, citizens of Peshawar mostly fallow newspapers for political information and communication. Moreover, they rely more on print media in terms of political exposure authenticity, truthfulness and persuasion being using along with Facebook and Twitter.