2017/02/06 by Martin Haselmayer, Markus Wagner, Thomas M. Meyer · 4 citations
Social Sciences · #Media Influence and Politics #Media Studies and Communication #Social Media and Politics
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/10584609.2016.1265619
openalex publication_date 2017/02/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Parties try to shape media coverage in ways that are favorable to them, but what determines whether media outlets pick up and report on party messages? Based on content analyses of 1,496 party press releases and 6,512 media reports from the 2013 Austrian parliamentary election campaign, we show that media coverage of individual party messages is influenced not just by news factors, but also by partisan bias. The media are therefore more likely to report on messages from parties their readers favor. Importantly, this effect is greater rather than weaker when these messages have high news value. These findings have important implications for understanding the media's role in elections and representative democracies in general.