Publication
Title
Members of parliament, equal competitors for media attention? An analysis of personal contacts between MPs and political journalists in five European countries
Author
Abstract
Power relations between politicians and journalists are often depicted as an ongoing tango with one actor leading the other. This study analyzes interactions between politicians and journalists not by posing the question of who leads whom, but rather by investigating which politicians are invited to dance in the first place, and which are better positioned to take the lead. Building upon theories and past research into pressgovernment relations, comparative politics, and an economic perspective on journalistsource relations, three groups of hypotheses on a personal, party, and political system level are derived and tested using a unique survey with members of parliament (MPs) in five democratic corporatist countries (Belgium, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Denmark). The results display a similar pattern in all five countries where parliamentary experience and institutional position increase the frequency of contacts that MPs have with journalists. While these party variables have a more modest influence on the frequency of contacts, it is also shown that there are clear differences between countries attributed to parliament size in general and higher inter-MP competition in particular.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Political communication. - London, 1992, currens
Publication
London : 2010
ISSN
1058-4609 [print]
1091-7675 [online]
DOI
10.1080/10584609.2010.496711
Volume/pages
27 :3 (2010) , p. 310-325
ISI
000280677500005
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 15.03.2011
Last edited 04.02.2023
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