Book excerpt: Journalists and presidents, hacks and spin doctors, media moguls and prime ministers: in New Zealand and around the world, politics and the media are deeply intertwined. Politics and the Media is the second edition of New Zealand’s leading introduction to the subject. The book introduces students to the rich literature on media and politics internationally, covering history, political economy and contemporary trends, and then analyses the particular shape of the media in New Zealand and its political role. This second edition features extensive coverage of the 2014 ‘Dirty Politics’ campaign, the increasing importance of online media, and updated material in all chapters.