Qualitative Political Communication| Backstage Media-Political Elite Negotiations: The Failure and Success of Government Pitch

Authors

  • Tine Ustad Figenschou University of Oslo
  • Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud University of Oslo, Norway

Keywords:

government–media relations, public administration, mediatization, immigration news, ethnography

Abstract

Media pressure on government and public administration has intensified radically in recent years. This article analyzes the behind-the-scenes processes of a strategic government pitch that aims to push the success and core values of Norwegian immigration policies in the media. The study brings attention to the complex and often conflicting demands on government officials engaged in proactive media strategies. It examines how the officials adapt to the news media logic, perceive the competition with other strategic actors, and simultaneously pay regard to the constraints inherent in a bureaucratic ethos. Based on extensive ethnographic fieldwork, the article illuminates how bureaucrats legitimize proactive strategies; the risks involved; and how these strategies modify the distinctive roles of political leaders and civil servants, challenging traditional bureaucratic values such as impartiality, neutrality, and loyalty.

Author Biographies

Tine Ustad Figenschou, University of Oslo

Research fellow, Department of Media and Communication, University of Oslo Associate fellow, Arab Media Centre, University of Westminster, UK

Kjersti Thorbjørnsrud, University of Oslo, Norway

Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Social Research

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Published

2015-06-01

Issue

Vol. 9 (2015)

Section

Special Sections

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