Public Policy and the Mass Media: The Interplay of Mass Communication and Political Decision Making (Routledge ECPR Studies in European Political Science)

252 Pages·2010·4.25 MB·English

by  Katrin Voltmer

Public Policy and Mass Media
The mass media are playing an increasingly central role in modern political life
that expands beyond their traditional function as mediators between the world of
politics and the citizens.
This volume explores the extent and circumstances under which the media
affects public policy; whether the political impact of the media is confined to the
public representation of politics or whether their influence goes further to also
affect the substance of political decisions. It provides an in- depth understanding
of the conditions under which the media might, or might not, play a role in the
policy process and what the nature of their influence is.
Bringing together conceptual and methodological approaches from both polit-
ical science and communications studies, this book presents an interdisciplinary
perspective. It presents empirical evidence of the processes involved in the inter-
action between mass communication and policy and features case studies from
Western Europe and the United States and across different policy fields.
The book will be of interest to students of public policy, political communica-
tion and comparative politics.
Sigrid Koch-B aumgarten is Professor of Political Science at the Department of

Political Science, Philipps University Marburg, Germany. Her research focuses
on German and international industrial relations and its actors; new forms of
governance in the national and international arena; and the role of the media in
‘media democracy’. Katrin Voltmer is Senior Lecturer of Political Communi-
cation at the Institute of Communications Studies, University of Leeds, United
Kingdom. Her research interests include media influences on public opinion and
the policy process, the relationship between journalists and their news sources,
and the role of the media in democratic transitions. She is the editor of The Mass
Media and Political Communication in New Democracies (also published by
Routledge).
Routledge/ECPR studies in European political science
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45 The European Union’s Roles in 53 New Parties in Government
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forums 66 Public Policy and Mass Media
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Policy Change Edited by
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Public Policy and Mass
Media
The interplay of mass communication
and political decision making
Edited by Sigrid Koch- Baumgarten
and Katrin Voltmer
First published 2010
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
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This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010.
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collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.
© 2010 Sigrid Koch- Baumgarten and Katrin Voltmer for selection and
editorial matter; individual contributors, their contribution
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Public policy and the media: the interplay of mass communication and
political decision making/edited by Sigrid Koch-B aumgarten and Katrin
Voltmer.
p. cm. – (Routledge/ECPR studies in European political science)
Includes bibliographical referenc es and index.
1. Mass media–Political aspects. 2. Mass media–Social aspects. 3. Mass
media–Influence. 4. Communication in politics. I. Koch-B aumgarten,
Sigrid, 1955– II. Voltmer, Katrin.
P95.8.P85 2010
302.23–dc22 2009033333
ISBN 0-203-49199-8 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0-415-48546-0 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-85849-2 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-48546-3 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-85849-3 (ebk)
Contents
List of illustrations xi
Notes on contributors xiii
Series editor’s preface xvi
Preface xviii
1 Introduction: mass media and public policy – is there a link? 1
KATRIN VOLTMER AND SIGRID KOCH- BAUMGARTEN
PART I
Policy issues, agendas and the media 15
2 Public policy and the mass media: an information processing
approach 17
BRYAN D. JONES AND MICHELLE WOLFE

3 Do the media shape parties’ agenda preferences?
An empirical study of party manifestos in Belgium
(1987–2003) 44
STEFAAN WALGRAVE AND JONAS LEFEVERE
4 Closing the circle: a case study in the role of spin in the
policy cycle 65
NEIL T. GAVIN
5 Knowledge culture and power: biotechnology and the
popular press 86
PIETER MAESEELE AND DIMITRI SCHUURMAN