Digitization of Local Government Communication on the Example of the City of Poznań

Abstract

The role of media in the shaping of public opinion is indisputable. Media obtain information from a variety of sources. Therefore, it is very important to know which sources are used by media to create their content. The coverage of local media extends on the area of a municipality or a county, and the content concerns local issues that are of major interest to citizens. While examining the content of local media, it can be noted that its important part is related to the operation of local authorities. The city or municipal authorities attempt to influence the agenda followed by local media quite often. This article focuses on exerting the influence on the local media agenda by taking steps that stimulate journalists to develop news on specific topics. This is a lawful activity of the local administration, described as public relations or media relations. It comprises, among other things, the publishing of news on the city’s website, as analyzed in the article. Thus, the article has compared the content of poznan.pl with that of epoznan.pl, which is the most popular website of the city.