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The Spitzenkandidaten in the European Parliament Election Campaign Coverage 2014 in Germany, France, and the United Kingdom
[journal article]
Abstract Elections to the European Parliament are characterised by a steady decline in voter turnout. To tackle this problem, in 2014, several groups of the European Parliament nominated pan-European Spitzenkandidaten who were expected to
personalise the elections and mobilise European voters. Based on this... view more
Elections to the European Parliament are characterised by a steady decline in voter turnout. To tackle this problem, in 2014, several groups of the European Parliament nominated pan-European Spitzenkandidaten who were expected to
personalise the elections and mobilise European voters. Based on this development, this study analyses the media coverage of the 2014 EP elections with special focus on the role of the Spitzenkandidaten. A quantitative content analysis of European election campaign coverage in the opinion leading newspapers of three influential EU member states, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom was carried out. The results show large candidate- and country-specific differences
regarding the visibility and thematic coverage of the EP elections in general as well as the presentation of the Spitzenkandidaten. The Spitzenkandidaten were not very visible in either the German, French, or British newspaper coverage.
With respect to the presence and media personalisation of the Spitzenkandidaten, the newspaper coverage of the EP election does not demonstrate any mobilising effect and thus does not reflect the high expectations the European
Parliament attributed to the nomination of the Spitzenkandidaten. (author's abstract)... view less
Keywords
EU; European Parliament; parliamentary election; election to the European Parliament; election campaign; personalization; candidacy; nomination of candidates; European Commission; president; mobilization; election; reporting; newspaper; content analysis; Great Britain; Federal Republic of Germany; France; mass media
Classification
Political Process, Elections, Political Sociology, Political Culture
European Politics
Media Contents, Content Analysis
Document language
English
Publication Year
2016
Page/Pages
p. 23-36
Journal
Politics and Governance, 4 (2016) 1
Issue topic
How Different Were the European Elections of 2014?
ISSN
2183-2463
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed
Licence
Creative Commons - Attribution