Publication
Title
How politicians' attitudes and goals moderate political agenda setting by the media
Author
Abstract
The media's role in shaping the priorities of politicians, known as political agenda setting, is usually examined at the institutional level. However, individual politicians' goals and attitudes are also expected to shape their level of responsiveness to the media. This study is the first to explore how individual politicians' goals and motivations moderate their real-life level of responsiveness to the media. We examine this by using a unique sample of 197 incumbent politicians in three countries (Belgium, Canada, and Israel) and an automated content analysis of parliamentary speeches (N = 45,574) and news articles (N = 412,112). We find that politicians who view themselves as a conduit of the public (delegates) are more responsive to the media than those acting on their own judgment (trustees). Politicians involved in many issues (generalists) are also more responsive than specialists. Finally, no association is found between politicians' negativity bias and their media responsiveness.
Language
English
Source (journal)
The international journal of press/politics. - Cambridge, Mass., 2008, currens
Publication
Cambridge, Mass. : 2017
ISSN
1940-1612 [print]
1940-1620 [online]
DOI
10.1177/1940161217723149
Volume/pages
22 :4 (2017) , p. 431-449
ISI
000418189200002
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Information-processing by individual political actors. The determinants of exposure, attention and action in a comparative perspective (INFOPOL).
Information-processing by individual political actors. The determinants of exposure, attention and action.
Publication type
Subject
Law 
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 08.02.2018
Last edited 09.10.2023
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