Hybrid Salience: Examining the role of traditional and digital media in the rise of the Greek radical left

Abstract

This study examines agenda setting in the context of Greek politics while assessing constructs of salience evolving through new journalism trends and advances in digital media. Through an exploration of the rise of Alexis Tsipras and his party, SYRIZA, the authors investigate emerging indices of salience as predictors of public salience. Along with mainstream media salience and conventional public salience, the authors generate evidence on mediated trends and word-of-mouth salience. Although there is evidence of the evolving nature of salience derived from all indices under scrutiny, word-of-mouth salience registered as the most significant predictor of Tsipras’ public approval.