Analyzing the Position of Conventional and Modern Information-Communication Media in Utmost Public Participation

As technological advances continue to affect communicative and electronic media, most of the academic discussions on politics and social participation have undergone changes, and such concepts as electronic democracy has become the core of the related research. The present study aims to examine the impacts of conventional and new media on people’s turn-out in general elections.The research methodology in this study is descriptive-analytical. Public turn-out in general elections has been examined in terms of both old and new media. The subjects in this research consisted of 175 officials in charge of holding general elections, including individuals from different political parties and groups, journalists, provincial governor-generals, governors and head of constituents related to various elections in Tehran province over last years. The findings show that such tools as SMS, Internet and satellite advertisement, electronic voting and survey, electronic policy-making and legislating raise public awareness towards the country’s developments, bringing about a rise in the nation’s political understanding and paving the way for citizens’ utmost participation in elections.