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Exploring Some Antecedents of the Media's Framing of Election News: A Comparison of Swedish and Belgian Election News

Stromback, J., van Aelst, P. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:45:08 PDT

Despite the major importance of the news media’s election news coverage, there are still only a few cross-national studies on how the media cover elections. There are even fewer that include both newspapers and TV news and that probe possible antecedents of how the media frame politics in their election news. Against this background, this article compares the media framing of election news in two countries—Belgium and Sweden—that constitute highly similar cases and both belong to the democratic corporatist model of media and politics. The study focuses on the importance of media channels, media types, and commercialism as antecedents of the media’s framing of election news.

The Real Spiral of Cynicism? Symbiosis and Mistrust between Politicians and Journalists

Brants, K., de Vreese, C., Moller, J., van Praag, P. — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:45:07 PDT

The relationship among media, politicians, and the public has been studied a lot, especially how the media’s portrayal of politics affects people’s (cynical) attitudes. Scholars know little about the antecedent of this assumed spiral of cynicism: How cynical are politicians and journalists about each other and about politics? Based on a survey among Dutch politicians and political journalists, the research presented in this article tries to fill this gap. The results show that politicians are rather cynical about media and journalists, especially when they feel media are out to set the political agenda. Journalists are equally cynical about politicians as the latter are about themselves, but it is a relative cynicism since it is lower than that of the general public. Journalists are, however, convinced that most politicians are driven by what we call "media salacity," a drive to get journalists’ attention and coverage, a conviction shared, surprisingly, by the politicians themselves.

The Politicization of Private Persona: Exceptional Leaders or the New Rule? The Case of the United Kingdom and the Blair Effect

Langer, A. I. — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:35:42 PDT

This article investigates the extent and nature of the press coverage of the personal lives and personal qualities of contemporary British political leaders. In particular, it explores the legacy of the politicization of Blair’s private persona, or the Blair effect. Was Blair’s era a temporary anomaly, or did it have a transformative effect on the way that parties, politicians, and journalists conceive the role of the personal in public discourse and in the construction of a leader’s public persona? This research demonstrates that the degree of politicization of private persona still depends, to an important extent, on the personality of the leader and on the leader’s communication strategies, and that it is still possible to have a prime minister such as Gordon Brown, who tries to keep his personal life mostly private. But this is only part of the story. Blair’s era altered expectations about the role that the personal plays, and ought to play, in public discourse, and how much significance is given to it as a criterion of leadership evaluation.

Communication in China: Political Economy, Power, and Conflict

Thussu, D. K. — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 09:57:41 PST

The Pursuit of Public Journalism: Theory, Practice, and Criticism

Witt, L. — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:17:52 PST

The Decline of the Death Penalty and the Discovery of Innocence

Druckman, J. N. — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:17:52 PST

The Media in Latin America

Kodrich, K. — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:17:52 PST

Blogwars

Lowrey, W. — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:54:06 PDT