Priming religion: The effects of religious issues in the news coverage on public attitudes towards European integration

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Malte Hinrichsen ◽  
Hajo Boomgaarden ◽  
Claes de Vreese ◽  
Wouter van der Brug ◽  
Sara Binzer Hobolt
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Public Support ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Media Priming ◽  
Religious Issues ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

AbstractReligion can affect public support for the European Union (EU). However, specifying the circumstances under which religion may become a stronger predictor of EU-support has so far been neglected. This article shows that the media play a role in this process and it is investigated to what extent the presence or absence of references to religious issues in EU news coverage primes people's religious attitudes to contribute to their evaluation of the EU. For this purpose, a content analysis of the amount of religious news items in EU coverage in German and Dutch newspapers between 1997 and 2007 was conducted. Two points in time were chosen — 1998, when only a small amount of religious news items appeared in EU coverage, and 2005, when religious items reached a peak. Eurobarometer data were used to test the media priming proposition. The findings show that an increasing religious dimension in media coverage about the EU primes a linkage between religious and political considerations and thus influences the strength of the impact of religion on attitudes towards the EU.

Explaining Public Support for the Use of Military Force: The Impact of Reference Point Framing and Prospective Decision Making

2011 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Héctor Perla
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Reference Point ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Public Support ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThis article examines the determinants of public support for the use of military force. It puts forward a Framing Theory of Policy Objectives (FTPO), which contends that public support for military engagements depends on the public's perception of the policy's objective. However, it is difficult for the public to judge a policy's objective because they cannot directly observe a policy's true intention and influential political actors offer competing frames to define it. This framing contestation, carried out through the media, sets the public's decision-making reference point and determines whether the policy is perceived as seeking to avoid losses or to achieve gains. The FTPO predicts that support will increase when the public perceives policies as seeking to prevent losses and decrease when the public judges policies to be seeking gains. I operationalize and test the theory using content analysis of national news coverage and opinion polls of U.S. intervention in Central America during the 1980s. These framing effects are found to hold regardless of positive or negative valence of media coverage.

The Influence of Political Events on Attitudes Towards the European Union

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 621-634 ◽  
Author(s):  
HOLLI A. SEMETKO ◽  
WOUTER VAN DER BRUG ◽  
PATTI M. VALKENBURG
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Panel Study ◽  
Control Variable ◽  
Political Knowledge ◽  
Scaling Analysis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

This two-wave panel study was designed to investigate the effects of the media coverage leading up to and including an important European Union event (a summit meeting of EU leaders) on citizens’ attitudes towards the EU and European integration. A random sample of 817 citizens in the Netherlands was surveyed one month before the Amsterdam Summit in June 1997 and three days after it had ended. Two types of attitudes towards Europe were distinguished by scaling analysis: (a) national–pragmatic attitudes towards the EU and (b) supranational–idealistic attitudes towards the EU. Results indicated that supranational–idealistic attitudes were influenced positively as a result of the media coverage related to the summit, whereas national–pragmatic attitudes did not show a significant change. A control variable, attitudes towards immigrants, which was included to detect possible testing effects, showed no change. Effects of the summit’s media coverage were in the same direction across all levels of political knowledge and political attentiveness. When predicting change in supranational–idealistic attitudes, controlling for the original attitude and political knowledge, those who were most attentive to politics were more strongly influenced. These findings challenge traditional views of the impact of knowledge, attention and interest on attitude change.

scholarly journals CONQUERING MEDIA COVERAGE: The use of battle metaphors in hospital foundation communications and it's impact on news coverage

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Public Action ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Patient Families ◽  
The Media ◽  
Setting Theory ◽  
The Impact

Battle terminology such as “fight,” “conquer,” and “hero” and imagery that compares doctors and patients to superheroes, soldiers and athletes have become increasingly prevalent in hospital foundation communications. The use of these metaphors has been highly controversial. While some audiences have praised foundation campaigns that use this type of messaging for emphasizing the strength of patients and hospital staff, encouraging patient families, and motivating patients to be resilient, others argue that these campaigns marginalize those who are unable to overcome their health conditions, positioning them as failures or losers. While the use of battle metaphors in hospital communications has been a heated topic in online discussion, little is known about the impact of this language on the media coverage and financial support that they generate for hospitals. This paper presents a multimodal discourse analysis of the communications of six hospital foundations in Toronto, Canada followed by a quantitative and sentiment analysis of the media coverage each foundation has received within the last fiscal year. The aim of this paper is to determine if there is a relationship between the use of battle metaphors in hospital foundation communications and the amount and sentiment of media coverage. According to agenda setting theory, media coverage has a palpable impact on public action. Therefore, the findings of this research may assist hospital foundations in developing useful communications practices they can employ to increase media exposure and, consequently, attract more donations to support their institutions.

Czech Public Opinion on Turkey's Accession to the EU: An Analysis through the Lenses of Sociological and Discursive Institutionalism*

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-95
Author(s):  
Pelin Ayan Musil
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Discursive Institutionalism ◽  
The Czech Republic ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Eu

While Turkey lacks significant levels of public support from the Czech Republic in its EU bid, the existing studies of European public opinion on the question of Turkey do not bring any reasonable explanation as to why this can be so. To shed light on this problem, this article offers an analytical framework derived from sociological and discursive institutionalism. First, it shows that the historical/cultural context in the Czech Republic has created an informal institution built around the norms of “othering” Muslim societies like Turkey (sociological institutionalism). Second, based on the media coverage of selected political issues from Turkey between 2005 and 2010, it argues that this institution both enables and constrains the “discursive ability” of the media in communicating these issues to its audience (discursive institutionalism). Since the media—as a political actor—mostly acts to maintain this institution and does not critically debate it, the public opinion of Turkey as the “cultural other” remains as a dominant perception. The official support of the political elite for Turkey's accession to the EU does not countervail the media influence, as this support is often not conveyed to the Czech public agenda.

Political actors’ access to the media agenda

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-161
Author(s):  
Anna M. Palau ◽  
Miquel Ansemil
Keyword(s):  
Trade Unions ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The Media ◽  
Credit Claiming ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
The Eu

Abstract This article explores to what extent the euro crisis brought about unprecedented attention to the European Union (EU) and if so with what consequences on the media visibility of different political actors in Spain. Drawing on a database of more than 27,000 stories published in the most read Spanish newspaper from 2004 to 2012, we demonstrate that following the outbreak of the crisis, executive elites receive more media coverage than social movements, trade unions, and challenger parties critical with EU policies and decisions. The media coverage of EU affairs, however, is not business as usual. Executive elites receive disproportionate media attention but they are no longer presented using the EU following credit-claiming strategies. Our results also indicate that the media are not passive actors that respond to institutional determinants but might be actively involved in the process of giving some actors more visibility in public debates on EU affairs.

scholarly journals Public Opinion in Europe toward the European Union

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zuzana Ringlerova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Review Articles ◽  
Eu Policies ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) is a supranational political system that unites more than twenty-five European countries. European integration began to facilitate economic cooperation. Over time, it evolved into both an economic and political union. The progress in European integration accelerated in the 1980s and the 1990s. As a result, the European Union was established in 1993 and assumed more political power. The process of establishing the European Union was slowed by the results of a referendum in Denmark, which at first did not approve the treaty establishing the EU. This referendum made it clear that public support for European integration could no longer be taken for granted and that public attitudes toward the EU are crucial for the European Union’s future development. In other words, the era of permissive consensus ended and it became clear that public opinion has become a powerful force in the development of European integration. Since then, public opinion has had a clear influence on the direction of European integration in a number of ways. Examples of this influence include the rejection of the single European currency in Sweden, the failure of the Constitution for Europe, and, most notably, the United Kingdom’s decision to exit the EU. Public opinion has influenced European politics in other ways as well. For example, national political elites, acting at the European level, are constrained in their decisions by public opinion at home. The importance of understanding public opinion toward the EU has given rise to a lively research program. In their quest to understand citizens’ attitudes toward the EU, researchers first had to conceptualize the key concepts in this field, in particular the meaning of public support for the EU. Following this, scholars began to investigate why people support or oppose the European Union, which became the most widely studied topic in this field. In addition, studies have examined public support for specific European policies, determinants of voting in EU-related referendums, public support for EU membership in countries outside the EU, and the extent to which public opinion matters for policymaking in the EU. All these topics are included in this annotated bibliography. The section devoted to General Introductions and Review Articles lists review articles and textbook chapters that provide a quick overview of the topic as a whole. The next section, What Is Public Support for the EU and How Do We Explain It?, digs deeper into the concept of public support for the EU, asking how the concept is defined and what explains support for the EU. The following three sections deal with public opinion toward specific EU policies (Public Opinion toward Specific EU Policies), public support for the EU in nonmember states (Public Support for the EU in Candidate Countries and Other Nonmember States), and the question of public opinion’s influence on policymaking in the EU (Does Public Opinion Matter for Policymaking in the EU?). The second-to-last section is devoted to referendums on European matters (Referendums: Explaining the People’s Vote, Explaining Brexit). The last section (Data Sources) looks at data sources that can be used in the study of public attitudes toward the EU.

scholarly journals The Role of Public Support for Innovativeness in SMEs Across European Countries and Sectors of Economic Activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 4143
Author(s):  
Wojciech Grabowski ◽  
Anna Staszewska-Bystrova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Community Innovation Survey ◽  
Innovation Activities ◽  
Policy Mixes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Innovation Support ◽  
The Eu

The paper investigates the impact of public support for innovation activities on adoption of different innovation strategies and propensities to introduce product, process, organizational and marketing innovations in European small and medium enterprises. In estimating these effects, country and sectoral heterogeneities are taken into account. Effectiveness of alternative policy mixes is also evaluated. The analysis is based on a multivariate, multi-stage econometric model and data from the Community Innovation Survey 2014. It is found that innovation support is utilized differently by newer and older members of the European Union, with the former investing mainly in acquisition of machinery, equipment, software, buildings, knowledge and trainings and the latter directing aid, to a larger extent, to research and development and introduction of innovations. The results also indicate various effectiveness of support from alternative institutional sources. Aid from the EU is more beneficial for manufacturing, while national and local support is more effective in older EU countries than newer members of the European Union and services sector. Using various but not all types of policy mixes is estimated to increase the chances of innovating. It is concluded that innovation support might not be optimally used in newer members of the EU and that better coordination of aid from the EU and national institutions could lead to improved economic results.

scholarly journals EU transfers and Euroscepticism: can’t buy me love?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Borin ◽  
Elisa Macchi ◽  
Michele Mancini
Keyword(s):  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Economic Effect ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Cohesion Policy ◽  
Redistributive Policies ◽  
Political Preferences ◽  
Show Evidence ◽  
The Eu

Abstract The future of an institution, such as the European Union, ultimately depends on people’s support. This paper investigates whether EU redistributive policies have improved public attitudes towards European integration, both in terms of public opinion and political preferences. We focus on Cohesion Policy funds, whose allocation allows us to single out these effects by means of a regression discontinuity approach. The results show that EU transfers have mitigated the rise of Eurosceptical attitudes and reduced political consensus for anti-EU parties. The effects are homogeneous across different socio-economic groups, including the most disadvantaged ones. The improvement in public support for the EU does not appear to be exclusively a spillover of the positive economic effect of funding; we show evidence suggesting the existence of a ‘reciprocity-effect’ channel, i.e. citizens in recipient regions recognize the beneficial role of the EU as the source of funding.

scholarly journals Brexit’s impact on Spanish media discourse: news coverage and audience reaction on Twitter

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis-Miguel Pedrero-Esteban ◽  
Ana Pérez-Escoda ◽  
María-José Establés
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
The European Union ◽  
International Scope ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Social networks have become the transforming axes of communication and, therefore, extensions of journalistic activity. Although they are exposed to the dissemination of fake news and hoaxes that fuel tension and damage the health of democracy, they are also propitious spaces to legitimize the media in their responsibility to disseminate rigorous, truthful, and verified information. This research study analyzes the informative discourse on Twitter of the most relevant press, radio, and television outlets in Spain with respect to the formalization of Brexit, i.e., the definitive exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Based on a qualitative methodology, from a sample of 52,188 tweets, the 646 messages about this process, published between December 15, 2020, and January 15, 2021, categorized according to the tags and content distributed on this social network, are analyzed. The work allows the recognition of this discourse, to address its effects in the economic, political, educational, and sports areas. In general, negative language is identified when presenting the repercussions of the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU, especially for Spain. Some media outlets show no interest in the international scope of the process and focus only on the national one. However, most of the messages on Brexit have a pro-European slant, albeit generating little social noise (mainly retweets), with the exception of some users concerned about issues related to the status of Gibraltar, racism, or stereotypes of tourists from the UK.

scholarly journals CONQUERING MEDIA COVERAGE: The use of battle metaphors in hospital foundation communications and it's impact on news coverage

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Media Coverage ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Public Action ◽  
Multimodal Discourse ◽  
Patient Families ◽  
The Media ◽  
Setting Theory ◽  
The Impact

Battle terminology such as “fight,” “conquer,” and “hero” and imagery that compares doctors and patients to superheroes, soldiers and athletes have become increasingly prevalent in hospital foundation communications. The use of these metaphors has been highly controversial. While some audiences have praised foundation campaigns that use this type of messaging for emphasizing the strength of patients and hospital staff, encouraging patient families, and motivating patients to be resilient, others argue that these campaigns marginalize those who are unable to overcome their health conditions, positioning them as failures or losers. While the use of battle metaphors in hospital communications has been a heated topic in online discussion, little is known about the impact of this language on the media coverage and financial support that they generate for hospitals. This paper presents a multimodal discourse analysis of the communications of six hospital foundations in Toronto, Canada followed by a quantitative and sentiment analysis of the media coverage each foundation has received within the last fiscal year. The aim of this paper is to determine if there is a relationship between the use of battle metaphors in hospital foundation communications and the amount and sentiment of media coverage. According to agenda setting theory, media coverage has a palpable impact on public action. Therefore, the findings of this research may assist hospital foundations in developing useful communications practices they can employ to increase media exposure and, consequently, attract more donations to support their institutions.

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