Political commentary is the expression of opinions and analysis regarding political events or issues in society. This form of communication can take many forms, from the letters section of newspapers to talk shows on television and internet-based chat rooms. Its purpose is to influence public perception and provoke discussion of social issues. Throughout history, commentary has been used in a variety of media platforms: visual art such as graffiti, photography documenting humanitarian crises, literature expressing social injustices, music like rap addressing racial discrimination, and even scientific research analyzing time series.
The rise of commentary as a feature of contemporary media has a number of different explanations. In the most advanced democratic societies, declining trust in traditional journalistic sources has encouraged a more critical role for reporters and a shift toward a commentative and interpretive style of reporting. Additionally, structural changes in the media industry have led to a reduction in the amount of traditional news coverage available, creating more space for opinion pieces.
When assessing political commentary it is important to distinguish between an empiricist/positivist approach and a constructivist/interpretive one. An empiricist/positivist approach focuses on discovering laws and establishing regularities in relationships such as that tax reduction leads to increased social inequality, while a constructivist/interpretive approach would focus on exploring the context which gave rise to these relations. This would include not only examining the impact of the tax regime but also looking at the ideas and social structures which influenced its creation.
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