Election Coverage - New Directions for Public Broadcasting

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that public broadcasters in Europe have traditionally approached and covered election campaigns in a cautious and reactive way, often adhering to the official party agendas. Based on interviews, newsroom observations and content-analytic indicators, the 1998 national and 1999 European election campaign coverage of the Dutch public broadcaster was investigated. Newsroom observations and interviews with reporters and news executives revealed an increasingly proactive and selective editorial approach to election campaigns. The analyses showed that the two elections were approached similarly, but given different priority in the news. The content analysis showed a decrease in the amount of election coverage and a more analytic and interpretative journalistic spin on election stories compared to earlier elections. The implications of the results are discussed in the light of changes in political communication and the increasingly competitive environments in which public broadcasters are challenged to operate.