Media Effects on Politicians
An Individual-Level Political Agenda-Setting Experiment
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12977421 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Luzia Helfer (0000-0002-9572-0320, Leiden University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 233-252 |
| Publication date | 2016-02-04 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The International Journal of Press/Politics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1940-1612 • E-ISSN: 1040-1620 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/1940161215627461 |
| OpenAlex | W2298160620 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 18 |
| References cited | 62 |
Media attention is a crucial factor determining what issues make it onto the political agenda. However, studies have also shown that this political agenda-setting effect is not automatic. The present study conceptualizes the media’s influence on politics as a function of the media message and the background of politicians and focuses on the moment a member of parliament (MP) learns about an issue through a news report. What aspects of a news report make politicians take action? And are some politicians more likely to take action than others? It introduces an innovative factorial survey experiment to isolate media effects by asking Swiss politicians ( N = 50) to evaluate fictional news reports. Analyses show that news reports on an issue their party owns covering a negative development published in a quality newspaper are more likely to lead to action. However, negative news mainly affects junior MPs. In contrast to previous studies, issue specialization of the MP does not have a significant effect. Findings are discussed in light of the role of the political system and the power of the media in politics
Action (physics · Advertising · Business · Epistemology · Function (biology · Media coverage · Media studies · News media · Newspaper · Parliament · Political action · Political communication · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Public relations · Quality (philosophy · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics
Do Politicians Knowingly Create Conflict to Gain Media Attention
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Short but Critical
Conducting quantitative studies with the participation of political elites
Too Powerful or Just Doing Their Job? Explaining Differences in Conceptions of Media Power Among Politicians and Journalists
Why politicians react to media coverage
Do media systems matter
The Media’s Informational Function in Political Agenda-Setting Processes
The impact of a STEM background on MPs’ legislative behaviour
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Juge ou oracle? L’influence d’un chroniqueur politique sur la vie parlementaire au Québec
Love is blind. Partisanship and perception of negative campaign messages in a multiparty system
On Behalf of the People
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Media Effects
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One concept, many interpretations
An Integrated Approach to Communication Theory and Research
Comparing Media Systems
Negativity in political news
Effects of News Coverage on Policy Attention and Actions
Framing European politics
The Effects of Negativity and Motivated Information Processing During a Political Campaign
News Values and Selectivity
Party Discipline and Parliamentary Government
Adjustment of issue positions based on network strategies in an election campaign
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Minimal or Massive? The Political Agenda-Setting Power of the Mass Media According to Different Methods
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Members of Parliament
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What Shapes the News around the World? How Journalists in Eighteen Countries Perceive Influences on Their Work
The Handbook of Journalism Studies
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The people behind the political headlines
The Real Spiral of Cynicism? Symbiosis and Mistrust between Politicians and Journalists
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The Contingency of the Mass Media's Political Agenda Setting Power
The president‐news media relationship
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The National News Media’s Effect on Congress
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The Impact of Investigative Reporting on Public Opinion and Policymaking Targeting Toxic Waste
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What Makes Party Messages Fit for Reporting? An Experimental Study of Journalistic News Selection
Causal Inference in Conjoint Analysis
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Bringing Parties Into Parliament
Party unity in parliamentary democracies
Part 1
When good news is scarce and bad news is good
Who sets the agenda and who responds to it in the Danish parliament? A new model of issue competition and agenda‐setting
Content Matters
The Mass Media's Political Agenda-Setting Power
Political Trust and Trustworthiness
Issue Ownership in Presidential Elections, with a 1980 Case Study
Issue Ownership and the Vote
Incentives to cultivate a personal vote
The Structure of Foreign News
Messages Received
Dynamic Representation
Spatial Models of Party Competition
Experimental Plans in Factorial Surveys
| Unique citing works | 18 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2017 - 2025 (9) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 18 |