scholarly journals The People’s Champions? Populist Communication as a Contextually Dependent Political Strategy

2021 ◽  
pp. 107769902199864
Author(s):  
Iskander De Bruycker ◽  
Matthijs Rooduijn

This article conceives of populist communication as a contextually dependent political strategy. We bridge actor- and communication-centered approaches by arguing that the context of issues conditions the extent to which parties employ populist communication. We draw from a content analysis of 2,085 news stories in eight news media outlets and Eurobarometer data connected to 41 EU policy issues and analyze statements from 85 political parties. Our findings show that populist parties are more prone to express populism on salient and polarized issues. Issues important to civil society groups, in contrast, make non-populist parties more inclined to express such communication.

2020 ◽  
pp. 146144482095668
Author(s):  
Kim Borg ◽  
Jo Lindsay ◽  
Jim Curtis

Plastic reduction policies are important for addressing plastic pollution however, the success of such policies relies on establishing new social norms. This study advances knowledge on public expressions of social norms by exploring the interplay between news media and social media in response to a new environmental policy. It is the first study to explore this phenomenon with the explicit aim of identifying and comparing information related to social norms. A content analysis was conducted in relation to the 2018 Australian supermarket plastic bag ban. Results demonstrate how social norms related to a new policy are created, reinforced and expressed in the contemporary media landscape. The interaction between news media and social media offers a window into public expressions of social norms, where social media provides a platform for civic participation in a public and real-time environment in which users can challenge the dominant narrative presented by the news media.


1998 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mark Miller ◽  
Julie L. Andsager ◽  
Bonnie P. Riechert

Media coverage of presidential primaries is crucial to voters, and candidates often complain that news coverage fails to present their positions. This study used computerized content analysis to examine how the 1996 GOP presidential candidates framed themselves in press releases and how elite newspapers covered them. The analysis reveals that (1) candidate images were distinct in press releases and news stories; (2) candidate positions were represented differently in both; and (3) candidates were differentially successful in getting news media to reflect their positions. News media covered substantive concerns that were not included in candidate press releases.


10.28945/2544 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine K. Murphy

Content analysis of media coverage provided a setting for group work, critical thinking, research, and data analysis. The analysis was motivated by a series of news stories that had damaged the reputation of the local community. The question was whether local news coverage was negative toward the business community. A business class addressed the problem and found that articles that business would view as favorable predominated. Based on their research, the class formulated a public relations strategy. Although this setting is a business class, content analysis of news media would work in other classes that emphasize critical thinking and problem solving.


2020 ◽  
Vol V (IV) ◽  
pp. 86-93
Author(s):  
Shazia Ismail Toor

This research aims to explore the portrayal of political parties in the English newspapers of Pakistan during the general elections of 2008. The media's importance during the process of elections becomes manifold as it can frame the image of politicians and political parties. Comparative analysis of the leading political parties of Pakistan, including PPPP, PMLN and PTI, in the two English dailies - Dawn and The News was done. This paper examined the frequency and direction of editorials and front-page news stories that were published on leading political parties from 18th January 2008 to 18th March 2008. Along with the content analysis method, theoretical postulates of agenda-setting were employed to explore English newspapers' depiction of political parties during general elections 2008. Findings revealed that a maximum number of news and editorials were published on PPPP, but it was portrayed in a negative manner. The English print media adopted a supportive tilt towards PMLN by giving it a positive portrayal during the general election of 2008.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herman Wasserman ◽  
Wallace Chuma ◽  
Tanja Bosch ◽  
Chikezie E. Uzuegbunam ◽  
Rachel Flynn

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has led to unprecedented media coverage globally and in South Africa where, at the time of writing, over 20,000 people had died from the virus. This article explores how mainstream print media covered the COVID-19 pandemic during this time of crisis. The news media play a key role in keeping the public informed during such health crises and potentially shape citizens’ perceptions of the pandemic. Drawing on a content analysis of 681 front-page news stories across eleven English-language publications, we found that nearly half of the stories used an alarmist narrative, more than half of the stories had a negative tone, and most publications reported in an episodic rather than thematic manner. Most of the stories focused on impacts of the pandemic and included high levels of sensationalism. In addition, despite the alarmist and negative nature of the reporting, most of the front-page reports did not provide information about ways to limit the spread of the virus or attempt to counter misinformation about the pandemic, raising key issues about the roles and responsibilities of the South African media during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study shows that South African newspaper coverage of COVID-19 was largely negative, possibly to attract audience attention and increase market share, but that this alarmist coverage left little possibility for citizens’ individual agency and self-efficacy in navigating the pandemic.


Author(s):  
B. R. Ojebuyi ◽  
M.I. Lasisi ◽  
U.O. Ajetunmobi

Since the onset of the new coronavirus, the mass media, across the globe, have continued to draw special attention to the disease by adopting different pragmatic and rhetoric strategies. In Nigeria for instance, the news media have continued to draw people’s attention to the virus by using COVID-19 and coronavirus as synonymous lexical entities in the headlines of their news stories. These lexical choices are believed to have some influence on how the audience understand and seek information about the virus. However, existing studies in media and health communication have not copiously explored the relationship between the lexical choices by media to report the COVID-19 pandemic and people’s information-seeking behaviour about the virus. This study was, therefore, designed to investigate how Nigerian journalists used coronavirus and COVID-19 as the key terms to report the virus and how the pragma-semantic implicatures of the lexical choices influenced audience information-seeking behaviours. Pragmatic Acts and Information-Seeking theories were employed as the theoretical framework while online survey and content analysis were adopted as methods. Findings show that although Nigerian journalists used coronavirus (SD=2.090) more often than COVID-19 (SD=1.924) in the headlines, the audience employed COVID-19 (M=2.23, SD=.810) more than coronavirus (M=1.88, SD=.783) while searching information about the virus. Besides, journalists’ use of COVID-19 in the headlines to educate (Chi-square =37.615, df=11, P<.000), warn (Chi-square =26.153, df=11, P<.006), assess (Chi-square= 24.350, df=11, P<.011) and sensitise (Chi-square =24.262, df=11, P<.012) facilitated audience interest in seeking information about the virus than when coronavirus is used as a keyword in the headlines. The lexical choices made by journalists to report a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic have implications for citizens’ knowledge about the crisis.


Journalism ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1665-1683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Beckers ◽  
Andrea Masini ◽  
Julie Sevenans ◽  
Miriam van der Burg ◽  
Julie De Smedt ◽  
...  

In recent years, communication scholars have expressed concerns about the diversity of news media content. While we live in an era of ‘news abundance’ – the number of outlets and channels has increased enormously – the available news is argued to have become more of the same, but has it? As empirical evidence is lacking, this article verifies whether newspapers in Flanders (Belgium), over time, have indeed become less diverse in terms of the news stories they cover. Based on data from a longitudinal content analysis of nine Flemish newspapers at four points in time (1983, 1993, 2003, and 2013), it shows that (1) newspapers, in general, have not become more alike in terms of news stories; (2) newspapers with a similar profile (elite/popular) are less diverse than newspapers with dissimilar profiles; and (3) newspapers owned by the same media group (concentration of media ownership) are more alike than independently owned newspapers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan Miczo

Abstract This essay explores the news media’s portrayal of humor during the early phase of COVID-19-related lockdowns. Examining a collection of online news articles reveals the media tended to frame the issue as an ethical one (e.g., “is it okay to laugh at the coronavirus?”). After reviewing work on humor ethics, a qualitative content analysis of 20 news media articles is presented. Three issues from the news stories are identified, allowing comparison of the media’s claims against the ethical principles articulated. The essay concludes with a consideration of how news media’s coverage of humor fits within a broader pandemic narrative.


2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 276-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
John V. Kane

News media play a key role in communicating information about political parties to the American public. However, our understanding of how media depict relations between elites and the broader party coalitions remains limited. Moreover, while research suggests that forced exposure to such information can affect political attitudes, it remains unclear whether citizens are willing to selectively expose themselves to such communications. To address these two interrelated questions, this study first employs a content analysis to explore patterns in news coverage of inter- and intra-party relations throughout the Obama presidency. Next, two survey experiments investigate the degree to which such relations affect citizens’ self-exposure to such information. Taken together, the analyses uncover two important asymmetries. First, throughout Obama’s presidency, mass media depicted a Republican coalition virtually always against the president, yet substantial discord within the Democratic Party. Second, though partisans show no propensity to consume news depicting inparty unity (vs. disunity), both Republicans and Democrats exhibit a strong tendency to consume news stories depicting disunity in the outparty. Insofar as partisans’ self-exposure to such information is a necessary precondition for attitudinal and behavioral change, these findings have notable implications for how mass media stand to shape partisanship in the United States.


2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Van Camp

Abstract For many citizens, news media are the most important source of information about relevant political topics and actors. As a consequence, it is crucial to investigate who gains media coverage and why. Leaning on two classic news sourcing criteria, suitability and availability, we claim that issue owners can be seen as good news sources. By combining a content analysis of television news with data collected through a journalist survey, we investigate whether issue ownership is a determinant of political parties’ news coverage. Results confirm that issue ownership is a predictor of parties’ news coverage, even when controlling for ministerial competences.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document