One of the most prominent personalities of contemporary Italian politics is Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Lega (League). Salvini is not only a popular politician: he can also be considered a celebrity. He became a recognizable character through his constant presence in the popular media and his habit of appearing in informal con- texts. Through an analysis of three of the main Italian gossip maga- zines (Chi, Oggi and Vanity Fair) between February 2017 and February 2018, we provide an overview of the coverage obtained by Salvini in the gossip press, in order to understand what type of celebrity emerges and how it contributed to conveying his political message. Our main hypothesis is that he has been able to appear both as a ‘super celebrity politician’ and as an ‘everyday celebrity politician’, meaning someone similar to ordinary people.
The representation of Matteo Salvini in gossip magazines: the ‘ordinary super leader’
M. Mazzoni
;R. Mincigrucci
2021
Abstract
One of the most prominent personalities of contemporary Italian politics is Matteo Salvini, the leader of the Lega (League). Salvini is not only a popular politician: he can also be considered a celebrity. He became a recognizable character through his constant presence in the popular media and his habit of appearing in informal con- texts. Through an analysis of three of the main Italian gossip maga- zines (Chi, Oggi and Vanity Fair) between February 2017 and February 2018, we provide an overview of the coverage obtained by Salvini in the gossip press, in order to understand what type of celebrity emerges and how it contributed to conveying his political message. Our main hypothesis is that he has been able to appear both as a ‘super celebrity politician’ and as an ‘everyday celebrity politician’, meaning someone similar to ordinary people.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
