Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Information and Arena: The Dual Function of the News Media for Political Elites

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
How Political Actors Use the Media

Abstract

How do individual politicians use the news media to reach their political goals? The authors argue that this question can be best addressed by using an actor-centered, functional approach. The chapter develops the “Information & Arena” model to distinguish two essential functions the mass media have for political elites. The media are a source of information and politicians can profit from the momentum generated by media information. The media also are an arena elites need access to in order to promote themselves and their issues. These two functions offer certain politicians a structural advantage over others and are relevant for the power struggle among political elites. A systematic functional account allows comparison of the role of the media across politicians and political systems.

This chapter draws strongly on a paper published earlier by the two authors: Van Aelst, Peter, and Stefaan Walgrave. 2016. “Information and Arena. The Dual Function of the News Media for Political Elites.” Journal of Communication 66 (3): 496–518. doi:10.1111/jcom.12229.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Altheide, D., & Snow, R. P. (1979). Media logic. Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumgartner, F., & Jones, B. (2014). The politics of information. Problem definition and the course of public policy in America. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, L. (1996). News. The politics of illusion (3rd ed.). New York: Longman Publishers USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, L., & Entman, R. (2001). Mediated politics: Communication in the future of democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1981). Politicians and the press: An essay on role relationships. In D. D. Nimmo & K. R. Sanders (Eds.), Handbook of political communication (pp. 467–493). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonafont, L. C., & Baumgartner, F. R. (2013). Newspaper attention and policy activities in Spain. Journal of Public Policy, 33(1), 65–88. doi:10.1017/S0143814X12000219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, R. (2010). The media and the policy process. A policy centric approach. In K. Voltmer & S. Koch-Baumgarten (Eds.), Public policy and mass media: The interplay of mass communication and political decision making (pp. 127–142). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Budge, I., & Farlie, D. (1983). Explaining and predicting elections. London: Allen & Urwin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chong, D., & Druckman, J. N. (2013). Counterframing effects. The Journal of Politics, 75(1), 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cobb, R. W., & Elder, C. D. (1981). Communication and public policy. In D. S. Nimmo & K. R. (Eds.), Handbook of political communication (pp. 391–416). Beverly Hills: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, T. E. (1989). Making laws & making news. Media strategies in the US house of representatives. Washington, DC: The Brookings Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, T. E. (2005). Governing with the news: The news media as a political institution (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, A. (2007). Investigating journalist influences on political issue agendas at Westminster. Political Communication, 24(2), 181–199.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Druckman, J. N., & Parkin, M. (2005). The impact of media bias: How editorial slant affects voters. Journal of Politics, 67(4), 1030–1049. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2508.2005.00349.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, G. C., & Wood, D. (1999). Who influences whom? The president, congress and the media. American Political Science Review, 93(2), 327–344.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eissler, R., Russell, A., & Jones, B. D. (2014). New avenues for the study of agenda setting. Policy Studies Journal, 42, S71–S86. doi:10.1111/psj.12048.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elmelund-Præstekær, C., & Wien, C. (2008). What’s the fuss about? The interplay of media hypes and politics. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 13(3), 247–266. doi:10.1177/1940161208319292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Entman, R. M. (2003). Cascading activation: Contesting the White House’s frame after 9/11. Political Communication, 20, 415–432. doi:10.1080/10584600390244176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esser, F., & Strömbäck, J. (2014). A paradigm in the making: Lessons for the future of mediatization research. In J. Strömbäck & F. Esser (Eds.), Mediatization of politics: Understanding the transformation of Western democracies (pp. 223–242). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Galtung, J., & Ruge, M. (1965). The structure of foreign news. Journal of Peace Research, 2, 64–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gans, H. J. (1979). Deciding what’s news: A Study of CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News. New York: Pantheon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graber, D. A. (2009). Mass media and American politics. Washington, D.C.: CQ Press (Sage).

    Google Scholar 

  • Green-Pedersen, C., & Mortensen, P. (2009). Who sets the agenda and who responds to it in the Danish parliament? A new model of issue competition and agenda-setting. European Journal of Political Research, 49(2), 257–280. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.2009.01897.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Green-Pedersen, C., & Stubager, R. (2010). The political conditionality of mass media influence. When do parties follow mass media attention? British Journal of Political Science, 40(3), 663–677. doi:10.1017/S0007123410000037.

  • Hänggli, R., & Kriesi, H. (2010). Political framing strategies and their impact on media framing in a Swiss direct-democratic campaign. Political Communication, 27(2), 141–157. doi:10.1080/10584600903501484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hänggli, R., & Kriesi, H. (2012). Frame construction and frame promotion (strategic framing choices). American Behavioral Scientist, 56(3), 260–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herbst, S. (1998). Reading public opinion: How political actors view the democratic process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess, S. (1984). The government/press connection. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, E., Blumler, J. G., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). Uses and gratifications research. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 37(4), 509–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, E., Haas, H., & Gurevitch, M. (1973). On the use of the mass media for important things. American Sociological Review, 38(2), 164–181.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kernell, S. (2007). Going public. New strategies of presidential leadership (4th ed.). Washington, DC: CQ Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kingdon, J. W. (1984). Agendas, alternatives and public policies. New York: Harper Collins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kunelius, R., & Reunanen, E. (2012). Media in political power: A Parsonian view on the differentiated mediatization of Finnish decision makers. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 17, 68–76. doi:10.1177/1940161211424207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landerer, N. (2013). Rethinking the logics: A conceptual framework for the mediatization of politics. Communication Theory, 23(3), 239–258. doi:10.1111/comt.12013.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lasswell, H. D. (1948). The structure and function of communication in society. The communication of ideas, 37, 215–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lengauer, G., Donges, P., & Plasser, F. (2014). Media power in politics. In B. Pfetsch (Ed.), Political communication cultures in Europe. Attitudes of political actors and journalists in nine countries (pp. 171–195). Basingstoke: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linsky, M. (1986). Impact: How the press affects federal policymaking. New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manheim, J. (1998). The news shapers: Strategic communication as a third force in News making. In D. Graber, D. McQuali, & Norris (Eds.), The politics of news and the news of politics. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marcinkowski, F., & Steiner, A. (2014). Mediatization and political autonomy: A systems approach. In J. Strömbäck & F. Esser (Eds.), Mediatization of politics: Understanding the transformation of Western democracies (pp. 74–89). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Nimmo, D. (1964). Newsgathering in Washington. A study in political communication. New York: Atherton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Neill, D., & Harcup, T. (2009). News values and selectivity. In K. Wahl-Jorgensen & T. Hanitzsch (Eds.), The Handbook of Journalism Studies, (pp. 161–174). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrocik, J. R. (1996). Issue ownership in presidential elections, with a 1980 case study. American Journal of Political Science, 40(3), 825–850.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pritchard, D. (1992). The news media and public policy agendas. In D. Kennamer (Ed.), Public opinion, the press and public policy (pp. 103–112). Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Protess, D., Cook, F. L., Doppelt, J. C., Ettema, J. S., Gordon, M. T., Leff, D. R., et al. (1991). The journalism of outrage: Investigate reporting and agenda building in America. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reich, Z. (2008). The anatomy of leaks. Tracing the path of unauthorized disclosure in the Israeli press. Journalism, 9, 555–581.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schudson, M. (2002). The news media as political institutions. Annual Review of Political Science, 5(1), 249–269. doi:10.1146/annurev.polisci.5.111201.115816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sellers, P. J. (2000). Manipulating the message in the US congress. The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 5(1), 22–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sellers, P. (2010). Cycles of Spin. Strategic communication in the US congress. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sellers, P. J., & Schaffner, B. N. (2007). Winning coverage in the US Senate. Political Communication, 24, 377–391. doi:10.1080/10584600701641516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shehata, A., & Strömbäck, J. (2014). Mediation of political realities: Media as crucial sources of information. In J. Strömbäck & F. Esser (Eds.), Mediatization of Politics: Understanding the Transformation of Western democracies, (pp. 93–113). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sigal, L. V. (1973). Reporters and officials: The organization and politics of newsmaking. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soroka, S. N. (2002). Issue attributes and agenda-setting by media, the public, and policymakers in Canada. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 14(3), 264–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sparrow, B. H. (2006). A research agenda for an institutional media. Political Communication, 23(2), 145–157.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strömbäck, J. (2008). Four phases of mediatization: An analysis of the mediatization of politics. International Journal of Press Politics, 13(3), 228–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thesen, G. (2013). When good news is scarce and bad news is good: Government responsibilities and opposition possibilities in political agenda-setting. European Journal of Political Research, 52(3), 364–389. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6765.2012.02075.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thesen, G. (2014). Political agenda setting as mediatized politics? Media-politics interactions from a party and issue competition perspective. The International Journal of Press/Politics, 19(2), 181–201. doi:10.1177/1940161213515756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tresch, A. (2009). Politicians in the media: Determinants of legislators’ presence and prominence in Swiss newspapers. International Journal of Press/Politics, 14(1), 67–90. doi:10.1177/1940161208323266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Aelst, P., Brants, K., Van Praag, P., De Vreese, C., Nuytemans, M., & Van Dalen, A. (2008). The fourth estate as superpower? An empirical study on perceptions of media power in Belgium and the Netherlands. Journalism Studies, 9(4), 494–511. doi:10.1080/14616700802114134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Aelst, P., Sheafer, T., Hubé, N., & Papathanassopoulos, S. (2017). Personalization. In C. H. De Vreese, F. Esser, & D. Hopmann (Eds.), Comparing Political Journalism (pp. 112–130). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Aelst, P., & Walgrave, S. (2011). Minimal or massive? The political agenda setting power of the mass media according to different methods. International Journal of Press Politics, 16(3), 295–313. doi:10.1177/1940161211406727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Pas, D. (2014). Making hay while the sun shines. Do parties only respond to media attention when the framing is right? The International Journal of Press/Politics, 19(1), 42–65. doi:10.1177/1940161213508207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Noije, L., Oegema, D., & Kleinnijenhuis, J. (2008). Loss of parliamentary control due to mediatization and Europeanization: A longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of agenda building in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. British Journal of Political Science, 38(3), 455–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vliegenthart, R., & Walgrave, S. (2011a). Content matters. The dynamics of parliamentary questioning in Belgium and Denmark. Comparative Political Studies, 44(8), 1031–1059.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vliegenthart, R., & Walgrave, S. (2011b). When the media matter for politics: Partisan moderators of mass media influence on parliament in Belgium, 1993–2000. Party Politics, 17(3), 321–342. doi:10.1177/1354068810366016.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vos, D. (2014). Which politicians pass the news gates and why? Explaining inconsistencies in research on news coverage of individual politicians. International Journal of Communication, 8, 2438–2461.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walgrave, S., Soroka, S., & Nuytemans, M. (2008). The mass media’s political agenda-setting power. A longitudinal analysis of media, parliament and government in Belgium (1993–2000). Comparative Political Studies, 41(6), 814–836.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walgrave, S., & Van Aelst, P. (2006). The contingency of the mass media’s political agenda-setting power. Towards a preliminary theory. Journal of Communication, 56(1), 88–109. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00005.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, M., Jones, B. D., & Baumgartner, F. R. (2013). A failure to communicate: Agenda setting in media and policy studies. Political Communication, 30(2), 175–192. doi:10.1080/10584609.2012.737419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfsfeld, G. (2011). Making sense of media & politics. Five principles of political communication. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium

    Peter Van Aelst & Stefaan Walgrave

Authors
  1. Peter Van Aelst
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stefaan Walgrave
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium

    Peter Van Aelst

  2. Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium

    Stefaan Walgrave

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Van Aelst, P., Walgrave, S. (2017). Information and Arena: The Dual Function of the News Media for Political Elites. In: Van Aelst, P., Walgrave, S. (eds) How Political Actors Use the Media. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60249-3_1

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation