On Friday, June 20 at 3:00 pm, Roberta Bracciale – Full Professor of Media Sociology at the University of Pisa, Department of Political Science, and member of the ProStEUVa teaching staff – will deliver a PhD lecture on Istituzioni, media e comunicazione (Institutions, Media, and Communication) in Room IV at Palazzo La Sapienza, Pisa.
In the last few years, digitalization, mediatization, the COVID-19 pandemic, and increasing demands for transparency and accountability have fundamentally reshaped the relationship between institutions, the media, and citizens. The styles and strategies of both institutional and political communication have evolved rapidly, enabling public administrations, political leaders, and constitutional safeguard institutions to tailor their messages and diversify the ways they engage with the public: political leaders communicate with their constituency with Facebook, Instagram, and X, shaping public debate, mobilising support, and strengthening their personal image; the President of the Republic and the Constitutional Court issue official messages through institutional websites and online platforms, and even local mayors resort to social media to provide real-time updates and interact directly with citizens. Yet the strategies and goals behind these forms of communication vary widely.
Against this background, the lecture will explore how institutional communication is evolving in response to digital innovation, rising public expectations, and the growing influence of media logic on institutional behaviour. Attention will be given to the shifting balance between political and institutional messaging, the role of those who manage public communication, and the challenges that arise when institutions speak in the same spaces – and often with the same tools – as political actors. Drawing from case studies and empirical research, Roberta Bracciale will reflect on how digital platforms are reshaping the ways institutions communicate and therefore the dynamics between legitimacy, trust, and accountability in democratic governance.
The seminar is part of the doctoral programme in Theory of fundamental rights, Constitutional Justice, Comparative Law, Law and Religion, and is open to all PhD students. The event will be introduced and chaired by Prof. Angioletta Sperti of the University of Pisa, who is also ProStEUVa coordinator.
Download the event flyer here.
