Campanhas eleitorais e cobertura mediática: abordagens teóricas e contributos para a compreens？o das intera？？es entre política e media

this theoretical article approaches the influences politics and electoral campaigns experience due to media coverage. electoral campaigns are privileged moments in a democracy, where efforts are made to convey messages and persuade through political communication. the media are, in mediatized societies, the main source of information for most of the voters, but more than just mere neutral vehicles, they influence political messages. two levels of media influence are taken into account, a first related with the ways of campaigning and messages' dissemination, and a second related with voters, in the construction of images and the perceptions voters have of politics and in electoral behavior.