C.H. de Vreese

Europeanised politics - Europeanised media?

Europeanised politics – Europeanised media? European integration and political communication Holli A. Semetko a , Claes H. de Vreese b & Jochen Peter b a Professor and Chair of Audience and Public Opinion Research, Amsterdam School of Communications Research , University of Amsterdam b Ph.D. candidate in the international Ph.D. programme at the Amsterdam School of Communications Research , University of Amsterdam Published online: 03 Dec 2007.

The Dutch no to the EU constitution: Assessing the role of EU skepticism and the campaign

Abstract In June 2005 the Dutch electorate rejected the EU constitutional treaty in a national referendum. The current study, which focuses on vote choice and the campaign, draws on complementary explanations for referendum voting behavior. We investigated how attitudes towards the EU influenced the intention to vote No ahead of the campaign as well as the impact of the campaign and the media on the final vote. Therefore, we combined a media content analysis (n = 6,643) with panel survey data (n = 1,379). Results reveal that prior to the actual start of the campaign, existing skepticism towards the EU was the strongest determinant for the intention to vote No and served as a mediator for the influence of other relevant factors such as disapproval of the incumbent government, feelings of national identity and fear of globalization. During the campaign the referendum topic was highly visible in the news with a positive tone towards the Constitution. In this context, higher levels of exposure to referendum news increased the likelihood of voters to switch over to the Yes side.

Europhile Media and Eurosceptic Voting: Effects of News Media Coverage on Eurosceptic Voting in the 2009 European Parliamentary Elections

Extant research is not very specific about when the media matter for vote choice. In this study, we test multiple theories about the influences of the media on vote choice in 21 countries. The European Parliamentary (EP) election campaign offers a unique research context to test these influences. We rely on a two-wave panel survey conducted in 21 European Union (EU) member states, asking both vote intentions before the campaign and reported actual votes (among 14,000 voters). We link these data to media content data of campaign coverage between the two waves in these countries (37,000 coded news items). We conclude that media evaluations of the EU affect voting for Eurosceptic parties. On average, the more positive the evaluations of the EU a voter is exposed to, the less likely she or he is to cast a vote for a Eurosceptic party. In addition, our findings indicate that in countries where political parties have markedly different views on EU issues, the more a voter is exposed to framing of the EU in term...Extant research is not very specific about when the media matter for vote choice. In this study, we test multiple theories about the influences of the media on vote choice in 21 countries. The European Parliamentary (EP) election campaign offers a unique research context to test these influences. We rely on a two-wave panel survey conducted in 21 European Union (EU) member states, asking both vote intentions before the campaign and reported actual votes (among 14,000 voters). We link these data to media content data of campaign coverage between the two waves in these countries (37,000 coded news items). We conclude that media evaluations of the EU affect voting for Eurosceptic parties. On average, the more positive the evaluations of the EU a voter is exposed to, the less likely she or he is to cast a vote for a Eurosceptic party. In addition, our findings indicate that in countries where political parties have markedly different views on EU issues, the more a voter is exposed to framing of the EU in terms of benefits derived from membership in these countries, the less likely she or he is to cast a Eurosceptic vote. This suggests that the outcome of the 2009 EP elections was influenced by how the media covered EU-related news during the campaign.

Second-Rate Election Campaigning? An Analysis of Campaign Styles in European Parliamentary Elections

The literature on professionalization of political campaigns is strongly biased toward first-order (national) elections and the U.S. and U.K. contexts. This study expands that scope. Based on a survey of candidates for the 2004 European elections in eight European Union countries, we tested whether campaign efforts to mobilize voters were larger in countries with elite consensus on the issue of European integration than in countries with elite polarization. The results showed that campaigns in consensual electoral contexts in which political parties differ marginally on most issues of European integration were longer and involved more public meetings, more canvassing, and a more active use of Internet. The article concludes with a discussion of the campaign professionalization literature that does not apply universally.The literature on professionalization of political campaigns is strongly biased toward first-order (national) elections and the U.S. and U.K. contexts. This study expands that scope. Based on a survey of candidates for the 2004 European elections in eight European Union countries, we tested whether campaign efforts to mobilize voters were larger in countries with elite consensus on the issue of European integration than in countries with elite polarization. The results showed that campaigns in consensual electoral contexts in which political parties differ marginally on most issues of European integration were longer and involved more public meetings, more canvassing, and a more active use of Internet. The article concludes with a discussion of the campaign professionalization literature that does not apply universally.

Framing Serbia: the effects of news framing on public support for EU enlargement

One of the most important activities of the European Union (EU) has been widening the Union, that is, enlargement. Tapping to what extent and why EU citizens support future enlargement rounds has become a popular endeavour among researchers and EU officials. During recent years, a number of studies have indicated that public support for EU integration is likely to also depend on how the national news media portray the EU. Based on an experimental survey design, we test the effects of two news frames on support for future Serbian EU candidacy. We find that exposure to news frames has considerable impact on general understanding of Serbian EU candidacy, issue interpretation, and policy support. This effect is moderated by political knowledge. Knowledgeable participants were able to express their thoughts on Serbian EU candidacy more elaborately, whereas low-knowledge individuals were overall more susceptible to framing effects. We discuss the implications of our findings for current debates such as Euroskepticism and decreasing public support for EU integration.

Should We Worry About Filter Bubbles

Some fear that personalised communication can lead to information cocoons or filter bubbles. For instance, a personalised news website could give more prominence to conservative or liberal media items, based on the (assumed) political interests of the user. As a result, users may encounter only a limited range of political ideas. We synthesise empirical research on the extent and effects of self-selected personalisation, where people actively choose which content they receive, and pre-selected personalisation, where algorithms personalise content for users without any deliberate user choice. We conclude that at present there is little empirical evidence that warrants any worries about filter bubbles.

Predicting Health: The Interplay Between Interpersonal Communication and Health Campaigns

The present study experimentally investigated the interplay between interpersonal communication and health message exposure in relation to alcohol consumption intentions. Participants were 174 students who took part in a study on the effects of an antialcohol message. At baseline, the authors assessed intention to refrain from binge drinking. At the second wave (2 weeks later), participants were assigned to the conditions of a 2 (antialcohol message or no-alcohol message) × 2 (alcohol conversation or control conversation) between-subjects design, after which intention was again assessed. Results showed that when participants talked about alcohol (instead of the control topic) and were not exposed to an antialcohol message, they were less inclined to refrain from binge drinking, an effect that was not visible when participants talked about alcohol after viewing an antialcohol message. These findings suggest that health campaign exposure moderates the influence of interpersonal communication on health variables.

Public Support for Referendums: The Role of the Media

Previous research is unclear about which citizens support the use of referendums and how a referendum campaign can affect support for direct democracy. This study investigates, first, the factors that determine support for referendums and, second, the role of the campaign in changing support. This is done in the context of the 2005 Dutch EU Constitution referendum. A media content analysis of national media (N = 6,370) is combined with panel survey data (N = 1,008). The results suggest that those who felt more politically disaffected were more supportive of referendums. Furthermore, higher levels of exposure to tabloid style campaign news led to increased approval of referendums. In a second step, the mechanism behind this effect was tested using an experiment (N = 580). When exposed to negative tabloid style news about a referendum proposal, opponents perceive the assumed consequences as more of a threat. This threat perception increased their support for a referendum on the issue at stake as a means to prevent the proposal. The article concludes with a discussion about the conditions under which a dynamic like this is likely to unfold and when alternative explanations for referendum support apply.

Context, elites, media and public opinion in referendums: Why campaigns really matter

Direct democracy is popular. Across the world referendums and citizen initiatives are an increasingly important means of enacting or preventing legislation. This book argues and demonstrates why campaigns in referendums are important and how they matter for changes in public opinion, political participation, and voters’ choice to say Yes or No. In a referendum campaign, in contrast to a general election campaign where political parties provide relatively clear-cut information cues for voters, the information cues from political parties are often ambiguous. For example, parties may be internally divided over the referendum issue, political parties from opposite sides of the ideological left–right spectrum may form unusual coalitions in referendums, and referendums may also give rise to new parties or movements and thereby reshaping the party system (de Vreese and Semetko, 2004; de Vreese, 2006).

A mixed report: The effects of strategic and substantive news content on political cynicism and voting

Abstract This article examines the effects of strategic and substantive news on political cynicism, turnout intention and voter uncertainty, drawing on two experiments (n = 451, 18–25 year-olds). We found that among less politically knowledgeable citizens, all news mobilizes, but strategic news also induces cynicism. For the more knowledgeable citizens, we found that the combination of strategic and substantive news yields slightly less cynicism and that substantive news makes these citizens reconsider their voting choice. Overall, we only found favorable or neutral effects among the more knowledgeable, while we found both favorable and unfavorable effects among the less knowledgeable. The implications for news effects research are discussed.