In the light of the broader debate on the mediatization of politics, this study wants to better understand how the media perceptions and media behaviour of politicians are related to their appearances in the news. We opt for an innovative actor-centred approach to actually measure the views and actions of individual politicians. We combine surveys conducted with 142 Belgian representatives with data on politicians’ external communication behaviour and on their appearances in television news, newspapers and news websites. The results show that media behaviour is not so much related to beliefs of media importance. We do find a significant positive relationship between strategic media behaviour and media attention suggesting that politicians who put in more effort appear more often in various news media. However, this positive relationship depends on the specific form of strategic communication and the political position of the legislator. Our study adds to the mediatization literature by showing how and when politicians are successful in obtaining media attention. |
Search result: 17 articles
Article |
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Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 1 2021 |
Keywords | mediatization, politicians, news media, media perceptions, news management |
Authors | Pauline Ketelaars and Peter Van Aelst |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Research Note |
Campaigning Online and Offline: Different Ballgames?Presidentialization, Issue Attention and Negativity in Parties’ Facebook and Newspaper Ads in the 2019 Belgian General Elections |
Journal | Politics of the Low Countries, Issue 3 2020 |
Keywords | political advertising, Belgium, social media, newspapers, campaign |
Authors | Jonas Lefevere, Peter Van Aelst and Jeroen Peeters |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This Research Note investigates party advertising in newspapers and on social media (Facebook) during the 2019 general elections in Flanders, the largest region of Belgium. The 2019 elections saw a marked increase in the use of social media advertising by parties, whereas newspaper advertising saw a decline. Prior research that compares multiple types of advertising, particularly advertising on social and legacy media remains limited. As such, based on a quantitative content analysis we investigate not just the prevalence of party advertising on both types of media, but also compare the level of negativity, presidentialisation, and issue emphasis. Our analysis reveals substantial differences: we find that not only the type of advertisements varies across the platforms, but also that social media ads tend to be more negative. Finally, parties’ issue emphasis varies substantially as well, with different issues being emphasized in newspaper and Facebook advertisements. |
Article |
Twee handen op één buik?Hoe en waarom de mediatisering van de Vlaamse politiek en particratie hand in hand gaan |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 4 2018 |
Keywords | mediatisation, particracy, media logic |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst |
AbstractAuthor's information |
There is a growing consensus that politics have become mediatised. News media have become more independent and are more guided by their own routines and standards and less by what political actors deem important. However, this paper argues that this has not led to a decrease of the power of political parties. In Belgium, particracy and mediatisation seem to go hand in hand. There are mainly two reasons for this. Firstly, media attention focuses heavily on politicians with power and in that sense, media logic and party logic overlap. Secondly, parties have adjusted well to the media and their logic, among others by integrating journalists in the party organisation. We expect that social media will gradually become more important for politicians, but that this evolution too will change little to the central position of political parties in our democracy. |
Research Note |
Wat maakt partijcommunicatie nieuwswaardig?Een experimenteel onderzoek naar journalistieke nieuwsselectie |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 2 2016 |
Authors | Luzia Helfer and Peter Van Aelst |
Author's information |
Article |
Van de krant naar de Kamer en terug?Een studie naar media-aandacht als inspiratie voor en resultaat van het Nederlandse vragenuur |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 4 2015 |
Keywords | Question hour, media attention, parliamentary questions, newspaper coverage, content analysis |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst, Rosa van Santen, Lotte Melenhorst e.a. |
AbstractAuthor's information |
This study on the role of media attention for the Dutch question hour answers these questions: to what extent is media attention a source of inspiration for oral parliamentary questions? What explains the newsworthiness of these questions? And what explains the extent of media coverage for the questions posed during the question hour? To address this, we present a content analysis of oral parliamentary questions and related press coverage in five recent years. Results show first that oral questions are usually based on media attention for a topic. Concerns about media influence should however be nuanced: it is not necessarily the coverage itself, but also regularly a political statement that is the actual source of a parliamentary question. The media are thus an important ‘channel’ for the interaction between politicians. Second, our analysis shows that oral questions do not receive media attention naturally. Several news values help to explain the amount of news coverage that questions receive. ‘Surfing the wave’ of news attention for a topic in the days previous to the question hour seems to be the best way to generate media attention. |
Introduction |
Personalisering van de politiek: een multidimensioneel begrip |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 1 2015 |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst and Kees Aarts |
Author's information |
Research Note |
Parlementsleden als (on)gelijke concurrenten voor media-aandacht |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 4 2010 |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst, Adam Shehata and Arjen Van Dalen |
Author's information |
Essay |
Verkiezingscampagnes in België en NederlandVergelijkbare landen, verschillende campagnes? |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 3 2010 |
Authors | Philip Van Praag and Peter Van Aelst |
Author's information |
Symposium |
De kwaliteit van de politieke verslaggeving in Nederland en België |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 3 2010 |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst, Herman van Gunsteren, Frits Bloemendaal e.a. |
Author's information |
Article |
Campagneonderzoek in België en Nederland: een beknopt overzicht |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 3 2010 |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst |
Author's information |
Symposium |
Politicologisch onderwijs in de Lage Landen; meer van hetzelfde of een paar apart? |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 2 2010 |
Authors | Kris Deschouwer, Peter Van Aelst, Sophie Vanhoonacker e.a. |
Author's information |
Symposium |
Politieke wetenschappers politiek betrokken? |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 4 2008 |
Authors | Philip van Praag, Peter Van Aelst, Ruud Koole e.a. |
Author's information |
Conclusion |
Hoe duurzaam is de heraangelegde Dorpsstraat?Lessen uit 8 oktober 2006 |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 1 2007 |
Authors | Johan Ackaert, Herwig Reynaert and Peter Van Aelst |
AbstractAuthor's information |
Although the 2006 local elections can hardly be described as ‘historical’, there is sufficient evidence to distinguish remarkable characteristics associated with this elections. For the first time in decades, turnout has been growing. This evolution can be explained by several factors. This article emphasizes besides the impact of changes in the electoral rules, transformations in demographic structure of the population and the stake of the elections the importance of the media campaign surrounding the elections. However, in spite of this (national) campaigns, there are more than enough indications that local politics keeps its local ‘nature’. Secondly, the 2006 elections were the first ones organised after the transfer of the responsibility for municipality legislation from the federal state to the regions. This means that each region designed its own local government architecture and electoral rules. Yet, in practice, the consequences of this transformations seem to be very limited. Thirdly, and particular in the Flemish region, ‘strong mayors’ arose from the ballot stations (with the Antwerp mayor as the most spectacular case). The consequences of this trend will in the future be the issue of a new debate concerning the relations between council, board of alderman and mayor. |
Introduction |
De strijd om de (heraangelegde) Dorpsstraat |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 1 2007 |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst, Herwig Reynaert and Johan Ackaert |
Author's information |
Article |
Het succes van ‘Patrick’. Op zoek naar bewijzen en verklaringen van het Janssens-effect in Antwerpen |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 1 2007 |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst and Michiel Nuytemans |
AbstractAuthor's information |
In discussing the results of the Belgian local elections of 8 October 2006 the media devoted most attention to Antwerp. Not only because it is Flanders biggest city, but especially because of the remarkable result of mayor Patrick Janssens and his socialist party (Sp.a-Spirit). They won over 35% of the votes and became the biggest party of the city, a position that was taken by the extreme right party for more than ten years. In this article we tried to map and explain the so called ‘Janssens-effect’. By analysing the election results and the data of an (inter-university) Internet panel we managed to prove that Patrick Janssens had a large share in the victory of his party. A lot of citizens of Antwerp that normally would not vote for the socialist party supported Janssens. To explain this personal success we suggested four plausible motives: the perceived qualities of Janssens as a mayor; his presidential campaign; the attention of and performance in the media; and finally the statement against extreme right. Our panel data suggest that a combination of these motives can explain the Janssens-effect. The appreciation for Janssens as a very capable mayor was present among the electorate long before the campaign started. This appreciation became the basis for his electoral success. The fact that many voters decided to switch to Janssens in the months and weeks before the election is related to his campaign and the media-attention it generated. The media strengthened the image of Antwerp as a polarised city. Especially the voters that changed their vote intention during the campaign were convinced that supporting Janssens was the most explicit signal against the extreme right image of their city. |
Article |
Politiek als One-Man-ShowOver de rol van kranten in de personalisering van de politiek |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 4 2003 |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst and Kristel Van Mierlo |
Abstract |
There seems a growing consensus on the personalisation of politics, meaning that not parties but more and more individual politicians have become the central actors in politics. The media, and especially television, are given a prominent role in this tendency towards 'candidate centred politics'. In this article we discuss the role of newspapers in this regard. Is there a more personalised and less party political way of reporting in the written press? On the basis of a longitudinal study (1958-1999) of two Flemish newspapers we found only a modest and gradual tendency towards a personalisation of politics. Political parties have not been removed to the backstage of political reporting and remain a dominant player in the written press. |
Article |
De 'Stille Revolutie' op straatBetogen in België in de jaren '90 |
Journal | Res Publica, Issue 1 1999 |
Authors | Peter Van Aelst and Stefaan Walgrave |
Abstract |
All major post-Worldwar political conflicts that made up the face of Belgian polities, were accompagnied by massive protests and intensive demonstration waves. Analysis of newspapers coverage and of the gendarmerie archives confirms this for the nineties. The 1990-1997 period is marked by an increasing number of demonstrations and demonstrators. The disappearance of the ideological and cultural-linguistical actions was, on the one hand, made up for by the further rising of other issues (environmental, anti-racist, judicial, ...), and on the other hand by the near institutionalisation of very classic issues like education or employment, who both secured their place on the street. There is no ground to call the 1990's dull, on the contrary: the number of demonstrations grew steadily and, especially in Flanders, Inglehart's Silent Revolution of Postmaterialist values took to the streets. The wider acceptance of demonstrations as a means of actions, the growing political alienation, and the greater openness of the political system are presented as plausible explanations. |