Consequences of Politicians’ Perceptions of the News Media

Abstract

There is limited knowledge about why political actors are dissatisfied with journalism. This article attempts to answer this question by pointing to individual-level perceptual processes of politicians. We argue that part of politicians' unease with the media can be explained by the hostile media phenomenon (HMP). Originally developed in audience research, the HMP refers to a process by which highly involved individuals tend to perceive media coverage as biased against their own views. Based on a survey of politicians in three European countries, we demonstrate that the HMP also holds for political actors. More importantly, we show that the HMP makes politicians less likely to contact journalists and more likely to use conflict and drama to gain public attention. Finally, the HMP decreases politicians' trust in democracy by fostering the belief that the public is not adequately informed about political matters. Theoretical and societal consequences are discussed.

An Actor Approach to Mediatization

“…In their seminal study, Cohen et al (2008) found that perceptions of Israeli parliamentarians about media power positively affect their efforts to achieve media coverage. Matthes et al (2019) found a similar connection between perceptions and media behaviour. They showed that MPs (from Switzerland, Germany and Austria) who have more hostile perceptions of the media have less contacts with journalists.…”

“…Lengauer, Donges and Plasser 2014;Van Aelst and Walgrave 2011). However, the extent to which these perceptions are linked to their behaviour is much less clear (Cohen, Tsfati and Sheafer 2008;Matthes, Maurer and Arendt 2019). The second question focuses on the link between politicians' communication behaviour and media success: To what extent is strategic media behaviour connected to media appearances?…”

Fake news as a two-dimensional phenomenon: a framework and research agenda

“…This delegitimization impedes the public function of journalism, the nature of political discourse, and the democratic process in general (e.g. Matthes, Maurer, & Arendt, 2019;Pfetsch, 2004;Tsfati, 2014). This increasing political antagonism is also likely to have a direct effect on journalists' work.…”

Why Do Politicians Tweet? Extremists, Underdogs, and Opposing Parties as Political Tweeters

“…As Epstein (, pp. 122–123) put it, media gatekeeping “involves choosing and ordering the significant aspects of the data collected … some statements might be emphasized and highlighted; others, played down or omitted entirely.” Given the existence of such a media slant or bias, politicians who perceive media contents as “hostile” (i.e., biased against their own views) would be less likely to contact journalists to deliver their messages (Matthes, Maurer, & Arendt, ). It therefore follows that politicians whose ideological positions differ from the positions of news media would be more likely to rely on social media technologies.…”