Reporting on Political Acquaintances: Personal Interactions Between Political Journalists and Politicians as a Determinant of Media Coverage

Authors

  • Emma S. van der Goot University of Amsterdam
  • Toni G.L.A. van der Meer University of Amsterdam
  • Rens Vliegenthart University of Amsterdam

Keywords:

media coverage, journalists, politician-journalist contact

Abstract

To explain which politicians make it into the news, this study considers the influence of the personal interactions between political journalists and politicians. While theoretically plausible, there is little empirical evidence that the personal interactions between reporters and politicians are associated with news content. This study draws on a survey of political journalists combined with a content analysis of their newspaper articles to analyze how personal interactions with politicians and the background characteristics of journalists relate to their news-making. Overall, it is found that journalists report more often and more positively about politicians they have personal contact with and about those politicians who hold similar political views. Hence, personal interactions with journalists can be useful for politicians to attract (positive) media coverage.

Author Biographies

Emma S. van der Goot, University of Amsterdam

Emma S. van der Goot is a recent graduate of the Research Master in Social Sciences at the Univeristy of Amsterdam.

Toni G.L.A. van der Meer, University of Amsterdam

Toni G. L. A. van der Meer is an assistant professor at the Department of Corporate Communication of ASCoR, University of Amsterdam.

Rens Vliegenthart, University of Amsterdam

Rens Vliegenthart is a full professor of Media and Society at ASCoR at the Univeristy of Amsterdam.

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Published

2021-01-01

Issue

Vol. 15 (2021)

Section

Articles

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