Publication
Title
Blessing or curse for advocacy? How news media attention helps advocacy groups to achieve their policy goals
Author
Abstract
This article asks whether and under what circumstances a presence in news media debates helps advocacy groups to achieve their policy goals in European Union (EU) legislative politics. Common wisdom holds that lobbyists eschew the public spotlight and prefer to influence policymaking from behind the scenes. This perception contrasts with the literature on media and interest groups, which typically conceives of media attention as a crucial commodity for interest groups to influence policy decisions. This article unites these seemingly contrasting stances by arguing that media attention can be both a blessing and a curse for advocacy. The central argument posited is that media attention may improve or reduce advocacy groups chances of preference attainment depending on how advocacy groups frame their message in the news. The analyses draw from interviews with more than 200 policy practitioners and content analysis of 3,557 media statements connected to a sample of 125 EU policy proposals. The findings demonstrate that an advocacy groups media presence may improve preference attainment, but only when the advocacy group manages to frame its objectives in the news as aligned with the public interest.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Political communication. - London, 1992, currens
Publication
London : 2019
ISSN
1058-4609 [print]
1091-7675 [online]
DOI
10.1080/10584609.2018.1493007
Volume/pages
36 :1 (2019) , p. 103-126
ISI
000459595000005
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Law 
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 13.11.2018
Last edited 04.03.2024
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