A SWIFT change after Lisbon? The European Parliament's salience in the media

The case of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) has generated a heated discussion between the European Parliament, the Council, and the Commission concerning the data exchange via bank transfers between the EU and the US. However, although the case had attracted opponents and critics from within the European Parliament in discussions about both security policy and citizen rights since the disclosure of the SWIFT service in 2006, the issue became most salient in the European quality press at the time when the European legislature rejected an interim agreement in February 2010. The paper investigates the variation of media coverage over time by drawing on a comprehensive content analysis of quality newspapers in six EU countries as well as on interviews with the respective correspondents in Brussels. It argues that the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty is responsible for the Parliament’s greater visibility in the press – it gave the institution the power to veto the agreement. Yet, the study not only discovers variation over time but also across countries which is being related to the role of the national parliaments in the SWIFT debate suggesting some form of rivalry in the mediated public sphere exemplified by the German case. Despite being a single yet crucial case study, it has positive implications for the democratic deficit debate. Since the media hold the important function of transmitting news and information to Europe’s citizens their reportage could potentially lead to more public awareness of the EU and its representative body in the post-Lisbon era

European broadsheets pay regular attention to the European Parliament between EU elections

The European Parliament is often accused of being distant from EU citizens, both geographically, and in its decision making. Many have also accused it of lacking newsworthiness, but is this actually the case? Katjana Gattermann has closely examined broadsheet news coverage of the European Parliament. She finds that, while not independent from the domestic arena, there is a steady and predictable supply of news on the European Parliament, implying that it is a newsworthy and essential part of EU broadsheet coverage

News about the European Parliament: patterns and drivers of broadsheet coverage

This thesis is about broadsheet coverage of the European Parliament (EP). More precisely, it studies the amount and content of news referring to the EP as well as the professional attitudes of their producers. The main purpose of the thesis is to explain variation in the press coverage. Thereby it combines political communication research with the European integration literature discussing the legitimacy of the EP. It argues that cross-country and inter-temporal variation cannot be explained by factors internal to news production alone. Instead, national parliamentary traditions impact profoundly on the way EU parliamentary affairs are reported. The thesis employs a mixed-methods research design. It conducts a quantitative content analysis of 18 broadsheets published in six European countries – Ireland, the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria – over three time periods: one is a routine period of two years; the remaining two datasets are oriented at key issues and events over time. In total, 3956 newspaper articles are analysed. In addition, 18 in-depth interviews with the respective Brussels correspondents and a director at the EP Directorate-General for Communication complement the findings. While the EP receives regular coverage, the thesis finds that news are selected and presented according to the interest of the audience. Hence the domestic angle prevails in the news coverage and the EP’s own prominence and potential to generate conflict attract media attention more often when major issues are at stake. However, domestic relevance is not the only explanatory factor. While newsmakers also respond to varying levels of public support for EU membership, the thesis identifies national parliamentary traditions as a strong external driver of EP news coverage. Here, procedural characteristics and public expectations shape the amount and content of EP news as well as newsmakers’ attitudes – and more significantly so with the rising powers of the Parliament

What difference do Spitzenkandidaten make for European voters?

The Spitzenkandidaten process, which was first used in the 2014 European Parliament elections, is intended to boost voter awareness and participation. But does it live up to these aims? Drawing on a new study, Katjana Gattermann and Franziska Marquart find evidence that while the Spitzenkandidaten procedure itself might not influence electoral participation, individual candidates can still matter for voters’ choices

Newspapers focus on who MEPs are rather than on what they do in the European Parliament

For the European Parliament to confer legitimacy on the EU’s legislative process it is necessary for voters to be aware of the actions taken by MEPs. But how do newspapers cover the work of the Parliament? Based on a study of newspaper coverage of 302 MEPs, Katjana Gattermann and Sofia Vasilopoulou write that the visibility of individual politicians in the media is not greatly linked to their legislative activity, but instead to their wider profile in domestic politics. As such there is a potential motivation problem concerning MEPs with career ambitions in national politics, as they may benefit from spending less time in the Parliament

Does politicization matter for EU representation? : A comparison of four European Parliament elections

What is the effect of politicisation on EU representation? We empirically test two competing views through a focus on party-voter congruence, i.e. whether parties share the policy preferences of their voters. The first perspective expects that the process of politicisation –either through party or media contestation– would improve party-voter agreement. The second perspective argues that politicisation has not improved the supply of partisan debate with parties still not offering satisfactory options to voters who are primarily driven by protest-based considerations; and as such does not expect an effect. We analyse congruence on the left-right and pro-anti-EU dimensions, capturing questions related to EU policy and polity, respectively. Our examination of four European Parliament elections (1999-2014) and 341 parties across 53 electoral contexts points to the limited effect of politicisation upon representation. Our findings have significant implications for the study of EU politicisation and representation and open up avenues for future research

For a research agenda on negative politics

Published online: 30 December 2022This thematic issue deals with the “negative” side of politics, more specifically with dynamics of political aggressiveness and ideological opposition in voters and elites. Why do candidates “go negative” on their rivals? To what extent are voters entrenched into opposing camps parted by political tribalism? And are these dynamics related to the (dark) personality of candidates and the expression of emotions in voters? A series of contributions written by leading and emerging scholars provide novel and groundbreaking empirical evidence along three main lines: (a) the evolution, causes, and consequences of political attacks and incivility by political elites; (b) the drivers and dimensions of affective polarization and negative voting in the public; and (c) the dynamics of candidate’s personality and perceptions, the affective roots of attitudes and behaviors. This thematic issue aims at setting the stage for a new research agenda on negative politics, able to generate new insights by triangulating evidence and approaches from strands of literature that have mostly evolved on separate tracks

The role of candidate evaluations in the 2014 European Parliament elections: Towards the personalization of voting behaviour?

We study the personalization of voting behaviour in European Parliament elections. We argue that information from the media is crucial for providing linkages between candidates and voters. Moreover, we contend that candidates can serve as information short-cuts given the complexity of European Union politics. We use a four-wave Dutch panel survey and a media study that enable us to link evaluations of lead candidates, party preferences, and vote choice to exposure to news about these candidates. We show, firstly, that exposure to candidate news is a strong explanatory factor for candidate recognition. Secondly, we find that candidate evaluations positively affect party choice, albeit mainly for those voters who tend to be politically aware. Our research has implications for debates about the European Union’s accountability deficit

Online_Appendix_rev – Supplemental material for Mediated Personalization of Executive European Union Politics: Examining Patterns in the Broadsheet Coverage of the European Commission, 1992–2016

<p>Supplemental material, Online_Appendix_rev for Mediated Personalization of Executive European Union Politics: Examining Patterns in the Broadsheet Coverage of the European Commission, 1992–2016 by Katjana Gattermann in The International Journal of Press/Politics</p