Hybrid journal * Containing 2 Open Access article(s) in this issue * ISSN (Print) 1940-1612 - ISSN (Online) 1940-1620 Published by Sage Publications[1099 journals]
Authors:Ana S. Cardenal, Carlos Aguilar-Paredes, Carol Galais, Mario Pérez-Montoro Abstract: The International Journal of Press/Politics, Ahead of Print. This paper analyzes the role of different origins to news media in selective exposure. We rely on a unique web-tracking online dataset from Spain to identify points of access to news outlets and study the influence of direct navigation and news-referred platforms (i.e., from Facebook and Google) on selective exposure. We also explore cross-level interactions between origins to news and political interest and ideology. We find that direct navigation increases selective exposure while Google reduces it. We also find that the relationship between origins to news and selective exposure is strongly moderated by ideology, suggesting that search engines and social media are not content neutral. Our findings suggest a rather complex picture regarding selective exposure online. Citation: The International Journal of Press/Politics PubDate: 2019-07-26T09:40:18Z DOI: 10.1177/1940161219862988
Authors:Edina Strikovic, Toni G. L. A. van der Meer, Emma van der Goot, Linda Bos, Rens Vliegenthart Abstract: The International Journal of Press/Politics, Ahead of Print. This study investigates the role of public opinion for members of parliaments (MPs) in a time in which communication about the will of “the People” is high on the political agenda. By means of face-to-face elite interviews with Dutch MPs, we explore who politicians perceive as “the People,” how they assess “the will of the People,” and how this translates into their communication strategies. We find that MPs distinguish between listening to individual opinion, to understand what topics are at the forefront of “the People’s” minds, and taking political action considering a more general public. MPs are divided in their acceptance of the term “the People”—some find it useful, while others voice concerns over its antipluralistic implications. We find evidence of populist communication strategies in the form of references to public opinion across the political spectrum. Political communication is used for political marketing and to connect to the electorate. We conclude that Dutch MPs are not becoming more populist across the political spectrum, but rather that there is a tendency toward personalization and authenticity in political communication, which makes “normal” political communication appear more populist. Citation: The International Journal of Press/Politics PubDate: 2019-07-22T09:10:32Z DOI: 10.1177/1940161219864297
Authors:Erik Gahner Larsen, Zoltán Fazekas Abstract: The International Journal of Press/Politics, Ahead of Print. Although political polls show stability over short periods of time, most media coverage of polls highlights recurrent changes in the political competition. We present evidence for a snowball effect where small and insignificant changes in polls end up in the media coverage as stories about changes. To demonstrate this process, we rely on the full population of political polls in Denmark and a combination of human coding and supervised machine learning of more than four thousand news articles. Through these steps, we show how a horserace coverage of polls about change can rest on a foundation of stability. Citation: The International Journal of Press/Politics PubDate: 2019-07-22T09:10:13Z DOI: 10.1177/1940161219864295
Authors:Andrea Ceron, Sergio Splendore, Thomas Hanitzsch, Neil Thurman Abstract: The International Journal of Press/Politics, Ahead of Print. Political economy suggests that media owners try to influence the process of media production by providing career incentives to like-minded journalists and adjusting the level of professional autonomy granted to them. Accordingly, we analyze whether the political distance between editors and journalists (i.e., reporters) affects the careers of journalists in terms of rank and salary, as well as their perceived professional autonomy. We hypothesize that editors reward and allow freedom to journalists whose political viewpoints coincide more precisely with their own. Political proximity to editors should lead to a better salary and rank for reporters and to a stronger perception of editorial autonomy among reporters. We tested our hypotheses through statistical analysis using data from the Worlds of Journalism Study. We analyzed the answers of 3,087 journalists interviewed between 2012 and 2016 in six European countries: Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The results support our hypotheses. The analysis reveals a polarization of media outlet editors, and robust results were achieved via a measure of political proximity that takes into account the particular influence of left-leaning and right-leaning editors. Such partisan leaning, however, seems less relevant in countries belonging to Hallin and Mancini’s Atlantic model. Citation: The International Journal of Press/Politics PubDate: 2019-07-17T08:59:33Z DOI: 10.1177/1940161219862489
Authors:Jeroen Jonkman, Mark Boukes, Rens Vliegenthart Abstract: The International Journal of Press/Politics, Ahead of Print. This study provides a longitudinal, cross-national account of the relationship between negative news coverage and consumer confidence across all twenty-eight European Union (EU) member states for the period 2005–2017. We rely on an extensive data set of international news agency coverage and a range of economic indicators retrieved from Eurostat. Employing fixed-effects pooled time series and multilevel models, we demonstrate that negative news coverage is negatively associated with consumer confidence, generally. Confirming our hypotheses grounded in media system dependency theory, more specifically, this association was stronger for the sociotropic attribute of consumer confidence than its egocentric attribute. Moreover, the association weakened under circumstances where unemployment was rising as well as in those countries that faced the most severe consequences of the financial crisis. Altogether, news coverage matters especially when people are affected less directly by the consequences of economic downturn. Citation: The International Journal of Press/Politics PubDate: 2019-07-09T12:07:57Z DOI: 10.1177/1940161219858704
Authors:Joan Balcells, Albert Padró-Solanet Abstract: The International Journal of Press/Politics, Ahead of Print. The effect of social media as a potential sphere for public deliberation still remains unclear. For some analysts, social media can create a vibrant space for political discussion, whereas others believe they do not provide the right conditions for meaningful interaction and could even have negative effects on public opinion by, for instance, fostering communication within isolated enclaves. Focusing on the debate surrounding Catalonia’s secession, this article analyses the interaction on Twitter between the opposite sides of this divisive political issue. Carefully based on a nonbiased random sampling procedure, we describe Twitter conversations through network and content analyses, using both indicators of the structure of conversations and opinion diversity. Remarkably, we find that Twitter users cross lines of difference and interact with people holding opposing views. Through a regression analysis, we show that the level of reciprocity, understood as repeated interaction and measured by the depth of the conversation, is explained by heterogeneity and associated with a higher involvement of the pro-independence side. However, if heterogeneity is combined with extremism, the development of longer conversations is severely cut. Overall, this article points toward the actual use of social media as a space for cross-cutting communication and debate despite strong disagreement. Citation: The International Journal of Press/Politics PubDate: 2019-07-05T08:23:05Z DOI: 10.1177/1940161219858687
Authors:Danielle K. Kilgo, Summer Harlow Abstract: The International Journal of Press/Politics, Ahead of Print. News coverage is fundamental to a protest’s viability, but research suggests media negatively portray protests and protesters that challenge the status quo (a pattern known as the protest paradigm). This study questions the validity of those claims within the context of digital newspaper coverage, interrogating how topic and region shape coverage. Using a content analysis of coverage from sixteen newspapers in various U.S. market types and regions, this research examines framing and sourcing features in articles about protests. Results suggest media coverage of protests centered on racial issues (discrimination of Indigenous people and anti-Black racism) follows more of a delegitimizing pattern than stories about protests related to immigrants’ rights, health, and environment. A model to understand news coverage of protest based on a hierarchy of social struggle is proposed. Citation: The International Journal of Press/Politics PubDate: 2019-06-19T12:37:07Z DOI: 10.1177/1940161219853517