Reading ‘The People’s Choice’ in its 70th anniversary: from ‘opinion leaders’ to ‘digital influencers’

This paper outlines some aspects of Lazarsfeld, Berelson and Gaudet’s book “The People’s Choice”, published in 1948. The aim is to discuss the actuality of some key concepts of the book, especially the notions of “opinion leader”, “personal influence” and “two-step flow” in the context of current discussions on the Epistemology of Communication. The contextualization of the book in its historical and epistemological background allows us to observe at least three aspects: (1) the contemporary validity of the notion of “influence” as an analytical category; (2) the place of social media in the formation of opinion; and (3) the idea of “opinion leader” or “influencer” in the flow of opinions of society. These elements are discussed from the appropriation of the book in the Theories of Communication.

Keywords
Communication Theory; Two-Step Flow; Epistemology; Lazarsfeld