Commentary, Political

Political commentary is a journalistic genre in press, radio, television, and Internet where journalists analyze or discuss current events. Political commentary often appears in news contexts but is also frequently in opinion sections in newspapers and in special programs or shows in broadcast media. Notably, it has become more common to see political commentaries by non-journalists, such as lobbyists and former politicians.

Political commentary has been an important aspect of political journalism in most democratic countries. Besides the informative role of providing political news and mirroring alternative political positions, the argumentative role of journalists to comment or analyze political developments has been widely acknowledged as a basic professional function and a necessary complement to objective reporting. Comparative studies of journalist perceptions of political commentary show that ...