Beyond Agenda-setting: Towards a better understanding of the power relationship between politicians and journalists

News media are a central player in contemporary western democracies. Yet their political influence is poorly understood and the ways politics and media interact require deeper investigation. Studies of the ways media set the political agenda have given insights into aspects of the relationship between media and politics. Problematically, however, this literature hardly ever treats the relationship as a reciprocal one, wherein both journalists and politicians influence one another. The aim of this project is to map out and explain how politicians and journalists interact and how they influence each other’s work. Using a comparative research design, we will study how the interactions between politicians and journalists are shaped by systemic and institutional factors related to both political institutions and media systems in different countries. Key questions to be addressed are: Under what circumstances do the news media influence political actors? And how often is the news determined by political pressure or spin? The project will look from different angles at the same negotiating process between politicians and journalists to enhance our understanding of the relationship and its consequences. To disentangle this political media complex the project consists of three subprojects: (1) a comparative large N-analysis of parliamentary questions and media content (2) a survey among political elites and journalists in three countries and (3) a number of in-depth case studies of the media’s role in the Dutch process of policy making. The broader aim of this study is to contribute to a theory that can explain why, when and how political actors influence and are influenced by the news media.  

This VIDI project (2011-2015) is financed by the Dutch Research council (NWO). It is coordinated by Peter Van Aelst in collaboration with Prof. Joop van Holsteyn and Prof. Rudy Andeweg from Leiden University. The researches on this project are Luzia Helfer, Rosa van Santen and Joeri Veen.