Publication
Title
Agencies on the parliamentary radar : exploring the relations between media attention and parliamentary attention for public agencies using machine learning methods
Author
Abstract
The news media frame political debate about public agencies, and enable legislators with incomplete information to monitor and act upon agency (mal)performance. While studies show that the news media matters for parliamentary attention, the contingent nature of this relation has been understudied. Building on agenda‐setting theory, this study theorizes that the effect of newspaper coverage is contingent on the sentiment of coverage, the majority vs. opposition role of legislators, and the locus (committee vs. plenaries) of parliamentary questions. Supervised machine learning methods allow to code sentiment towards agencies in newspapers and parliament, after which a balanced panel relates these data to the questioning behavior of legislators in parliament over time. Results show that media attention for public agencies precedes parliamentary attention. Sentiment matters, as positive media attention, was related to (positive) parliamentary attention in the same month. Negative media attention had broader and more enduring influences on parliamentary questioning behavior.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Public administration / Royal Institute of Public Administration [London] - London, 1926, currens
Publication
London : Royal Institute of Public Administration , 2023
ISSN
0033-3298 [print]
1467-9299 [online]
DOI
10.1111/PADM.12963
Volume/pages
(2023) , p. 1-19
ISI
001067089900001
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
The author-created version that incorporates referee comments and is the accepted for publication version Available from 16.09.2024
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Reputation and Structural Reforms of Public Organizations: Explaining Temporal Dynamics.
Trust and distrust in multi-level governance: causes, dynamics, and effects (GOVTRUST).
Using Twitter as a public communication strategy: Can 140 characters reduce the Performance-Satisfaction Gap in the public sector?
Publication type
Subject
Law 
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 19.09.2023
Last edited 12.06.2024
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