This study is an investigation of how members of the Norwegian and the Swedish parliaments relate to and perceive their relationships with the media. Based on surveys conducted among members of the Norwegian Storting and the Swedish Riksdag, we find that male MPs have more frequent and somewhat less formal relationships with media and journalists compared with female MPs. The results also suggest that male MPs have adapted to the media and their logic more than female MPs. Female MPs also appear to be more critical towards the requirements imposed on politicians who want to get media exposure, compared with male MPs. Analysis reveals that gender differences are smaller among Swedish than Norwegian MPs.

A key concept in research on the media coverage of politics is the game or strategy frame. Contrasted with coverage of politics as issues, theframing of politics as a strategic game is marked by features such as winning and losing as the central concern and a focus on how candidates or parties are doing in opinion polls. The pervasiveness of such framing is, however, disputed since (1) the way in which the frames are conceptualized and operationalized differs significantly; and (2) while some use terms such as 'game frame' and 'strategy frame' as synonymous, others argue that there is a conceptual difference between them. Against this background, this article reviews research on the media's framing ofpolitics as a strategic game, what concepts have been used, and how they have been operationalized; and suggests a synthesis and ways of improving conceptual clarity and comparability in research on the media's use of strategy and/or game frames. © SAGE Publications 2011.

The transformation from low- to high-choice media environments has triggered concerns of rising inequalities in news media use. This concern has been buttressed by research showing that motivational factors have become more important predictors of news media use. Less attention has been paid to how changes in media environments have altered the impact of socioeconomic status on news media use. Hence, the purpose of this study is to investigate the changing impact of socioeconomic status on newspaper and television news consumption, empirically focussing on Sweden between 2000 and 2016. Among other things, results suggest that the impact of socioeconomic status on news media use has increased with respect to reading morning newspapers but decreased for reading tabloids and watching television news.

The growth of partisan news sources has raised concerns that people will increasingly select attitude-consistent information, which might lead to increasing political polarization. Thus far, there is limited research on the long-term mutual influences between selective exposure and political attitudes. To remedy this, this study investigates the reciprocal influences between selective exposure and political attitudes over several years, using a three-wave panel survey conducted in Sweden during 2014–2016. More specifically, we analyse how ideological selective exposure to both traditional and online news media influences citizens’ ideological leaning. Findings suggest that (1) people seek-out ideologically consistent print news and online news and (2) such attitude- consistent news exposure reinforces citizens’ ideological leaning over time. In practice, however, such reinforcement effects are hampered by (3) relatively low overall ideological selective exposure and a (4) significant degree of cross-cutting news exposure online. These findings are discussed in light of selective exposure theory and the reinforcing spirals model.

The growth of partisan news sources has raised concerns that people will increasingly select attitude-consistent information, which lead to increasing political polarization. Thus far, there is limited research on the long-term mutual influences between selective exposure and political attitudes. This study therefore investigates the reciprocal influences between selective exposure and political attitudes over several years, using a three-wave panel survey conducted in Sweden 2014–2016. More specifically, we analyse how ideological selective exposure to both traditional and online news media influences citizens’ ideological leaning. Findings suggest that (1) people seek-out ideologically consistent print news and online news, and (2) such attitude-consistent news exposure reinforces citizens’ ideological leaning over time. In practice, however, such reinforcement effects are hampered by (3) relatively low overall ideological selective exposure and a (4) significant degree of cross-cutting news exposure online. These findings are discussed in light of selective exposure theory and reinforcing spirals model.

The purpose of this study is to explore differences in television news format and news framing between the US and Sweden. The study focuses on the news programs broadcast by the top three television networks in the US and the top two public service channels and the leading commercial television channel in Sweden: CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and ABC World News, and Rapport, Aktuellt and TV4 Nyheterna, respectively. Using the most different systems design, the content analysis reveals significant differences between the two countries across a number of important variables: amount of domestic vs foreign news coverage, level of journalistic visibility, length of politicians' sound bites, attribution of responsibility and thematic vs episodic framing of the news. The discussion addresses the possible causes for these crosscultural differences as well as the potential implications for news audiences in both countries.

This study investigates the framing of the 2003 Iraq War in the elite newspapers in Sweden and the US, Dagens Nyheter and The New York Times. The content analysis revealed significant differences between the two papers: the military conflict frame was more common for the US war coverage while the responsibility and anti-war protest frames were more common for the Swedish war coverage. Both newspapers offered human interest stories and media self-references. The US newspaper, however, relied more heavily on official government and military sources. In addition, the tone of war coverage differed across the two nations, with Swedish reporting being more negative overall. Implications of the differences in war coverage as well as possible reasons rooted in the national media and political systems are discussed.

This study compares election news coverage in two different countries-Sweden and the United States, focusing on the use of the strategic game frame and the conflict frame and the association between these two frames and different types of news sources. The content analysis includes early evening newscasts from CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and ABC World News in the USA and Rapport, Aktuellt and TV4 Nyheterna inSweden. The findings show that the strategic game frame is used more frequently in the US coverage and is correlated with the use of media analysts and campaign operatives in both countries. Ordinary citizens as sources contribute to issue framing while domestic political actors tend to be associated with conflict framing. Differences in media framing between public and private media are also identified and discussed in the context of national political and media systems. © 2011 The Author(s).

The purpose of this study is to explore structural differences in television news format and news framing between the United States and Sweden. The study focuses on the top three television networks in the United States and the top two public service channels and the leading commercial television channels in Sweden: CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and ABC World News, and Rapport, Aktuellt and TV4 Nyheterna, respecively. The results of the content analysis reveal significant differences between the two countries across a number of important variables: amount of domestic versus foreign news coverage, level of journalistic visibility, length of politician’s sound bites, attribution of responsibility, and thematic versus episodic framing of the news. The discussion addresses the possible causes for these cross-cultural differences as well as the potential implications for news audiences in both countries.

This study investigated the framing of the Iraq War in the elite newspapers in Sweden and the USA during the offi cial war period, 20 March–1 May 2003. The content analysis revealed signifi cant cross-cultural differences in the framing of the war in terms of tone, frames and use of sources. The differences in framing were consistent with the characteristics of the national political environment and foreign policy stances in each country.

Even though we live a global world cross-cultural comparisons of journalism practice remain rare. This study analyzed the use of sources in newspaper coverage in Sweden and the United States. Rather than focusing on one single event, the comparison utilizes data from three different events: the 2003 Iraq War, the 2002 national election in Sweden and the 2004 presidential election in the United States, and the 2005/2006 international controversy stemming from the publication of the Mohammad Cartoons. Some patterns across the three events emerged for the use of government officials, academic experts and citizens as sources but not for other types of sources. The findings are discussed in the context of news reporting and journalism within a distinct national political and media system.

While there is scholarly consensus regarding the importance of news sources, there are rather few comparative studies on how the media use sources. In addition, most of these focus mostly on the coverage of specific events, and are primarily based on print media. To go beyond these limitations and test the conditionality of source use, this study compares the use of sources in routine news coverage in television news in the United States and Sweden. The results show several differences in source use in Swedish and U.S. television news, but also a more complicated pattern of source use than anticipated. Most importantly, the results point towards the conditionality of source use depending on the type of news story and topic covered. The study warns against tendencies to generalize too far from single country-studies on source use or from comparative studies that are based on the media coverage of specific events or a single medium only.

While the majority of previous research suggests there are positive relationships between digital media use and political participation and knowledge, most studies have relied on cross-sectional surveys and have thus not been able to firmly establish the chain of causality. Also, there is little research investigating use of different forms of digital media and their relative effects on political participation and knowledge. This study examines (a) the effects of digital media use on political participation and knowledge and (b) whether different forms of digital media use affect people differently. Drawing on two representative panel surveys, the study demonstrates that there are only weak effects of digital media use on political learning, but that the use of some digital media forms has appreciable effects on political participation.

To understand public opinion about immigration in Europe, one has to understand the media’s role in it. We present a literature review on research on media discourse on immigration and their effects. Despite differences in the way immigration and migrant groups are represented in European media, we can observe common patterns. Migrants are generally under-represented and shown as delinquents or criminals. Although, media framing differs based on specific migrant groups the discourse is focusing on, immigration coverage is often negative and conflict-centred. Frequent exposure to such media messages leads to negative attitudes towards migration, may activate stereotypical cognitions of migrant groups, and even influence vote choice. In addition to discussing these issues in depth, the present review also focuses on comparative findings.

In a time when freedom of movement is being challenged by an increasing number of European Union member states, and where immigration has been dominating public debate for the past years, this study investigates the effect of media framing (i.e., frame salience and frame sentiment) of migration news on individuals’ attitudes about free movement. Findings indicate that the salience of specific frames (i.e., labor market and security) as well as sentiment, positively influence free movement attitudes of citizens. However, there are country-specific differences. The importance of our findings for our understanding of media effects on policy preferences, as well as for comparative media effects research, are discussed.

This study examines the supply of political information programming across thirteen European broadcast systems over three decades. The cross-national and cross-temporal design traces the composition and development of political information environments with regard to the amount and placement of news and current affairs programs on the largest public and private television channels. It finds that the televisual information environments of Israel and Norway offer the most advantageous opportunity structure for informed citizenship because of their high levels of airtime and a diverse scheduling strategy. The study contributes to political communication research by establishing "political information environments" as a theoretically and empirically grounded concept that informs and supplements the comparison of "media systems." If developed further, it could provide an information-rich, easy-to-measure macro-unit for future comparative research. © The Author(s) 2012.

One key trend changing political environments across advanced industrial democracies is increasing electoral volatility. Despite extensive research, at the individual level we still know relatively little about the mechanisms behind electoral volatility during election campaigns (intra-election volatility). This includes the impact of political knowledge and political news exposure. Against this background and based on a four-wave panel study in the context of the 2014 Swedish national election, the purpose of this paper is to investigate (a) patterns of intra-election volatility and the impact of (b) political knowledge and (c) political news exposure on patterns of electoral volatility. Distinguishing between party alienation, crystallization, wavering, reinforcement, and conversion, among other things, findings show some effects from offline political news exposure on patterns of electoral volatility but none from stored or acquired political knowledge. 

One key trend changing political environments across advanced industrial democracies is increasing electoral volatility. Despite extensive research, at the individual level we still know relatively little about the mechanisms behind electoral volatility during election campaigns, including the impact of political knowledge. Against this background and based on a four-wave panel study in the context of the 2014 Swedish national election, the purpose of this paper is to investigate (a) patterns of intra-election volatility and the impact of (b) political knowledge on patterns of electoral volatility. Distinguishing between party alienation, crystallization, wavering, reinforcement, and conversion, among other things, findings show some effects from political knowledge on patterns of electoral volatility but only for acquired political knowledge.

Flodvågskatastrofen i Sydostasien på annandagen den 26 december 2004 var

en av de värsta naturkatastroferna i modern tid. Den drabbade också Sverige

hårt, eftersom många svenskar semestrade i Thailand vid tiden för katastrofen.

Den svenska krisberedskapen sattes på prov – ett prov som många anser att

den inte klarade av.

Det framgår av denna rapport, som undersöker allmänhetens åsikter om och

förtroende för myndigheter, politiska organ och ledare samt medier, och hur

allmänheten själv uppfattar att dess åsikter och förtroendebedömningar har

påverkats av flodvågskatastrofen. Rapporten bygger på en riksrepresentativ

telefonintervjuundersökning och en fokusgruppsundersökning. Resultaten

visar att den svenska allmänheten är kritisk – inte minst mot regeringen med

Göran Persson i spetsen och mot utrikesdepartementet under ledning av Laila

Freivalds. Medierna anses dock i huvudsak ha skött sin bevakning väl, och allmänheten

uppger också ett högre förtroende för journalister än för politiker.

Although populist communication has become pervasive throughout Europe, many important questions on its political consequences remain unanswered. First, previous research has neglected the differential effects of populist communication on the Left and Right. Second, internationally comparative studies are missing. Finally, previous research mostly studied attitudinal outcomes, neglecting behavioral effects. To address these key issues, this paper draws on a unique, extensive, and comparative experiment in sixteen European countries (N = 15,412) to test the effects of populist communication on political engagement. The findings show that anti-elitist populism has the strongest mobilizing effects, and anti-immigrant messages have the strongest demobilizing effects. Moreover, national conditions such as the level of unemployment and the electoral success of the populist Left and Right condition the impact of populist communication. These findings provide important insights into the persuasiveness of populist messages spread throughout the European continent.

This article investigates how media use differs across age groups- and whether this matters for people's inclination to participate politically. More specifically, the study investigates the impact of social media use for political purposes and of attention to political news in traditional media, on political interest and offline political participation. The findings, based on a four-wave panel study conducted during the 2010 Swedish national election campaign, show (1) clear differences in media use between age groups and (2) that both political social media use and attention to political news in traditional media increase political engagement over time. Thus, this study suggests that frequent social media use among young citizens can function as a leveller in terms of motivating political participation.

This article investigates how media use differs across age groups- and whether this matters for people's inclination to participate politically. More specifically, the study investigates the impact of social media use for political purposes and of attention to political news in traditional media, on political interest and offline political participation. The findings, based on a four-wave panel study conducted during the 2010 Swedish national election campaign, show (1) clear differences in media use between age groups and (2) that both political social media use and attention to political news in traditional media increase political engagement over time. Thus, this study suggests that frequent social media use among young citizens can function as a leveller in terms of motivating political participation.

This article investigates how media use among young citizens differs from older generations, and whether this matters for their inclination to participate politically. More specifically, this study investigates the causal impact of social media use and attention to political news in traditional media, on political interest and offline political participation. The findings, based on a four-wave panel study conducted during the 2010 Swedish national election campaign, show a) clear differences in media use between age groups, and b) that both political social media use and attention to political news in traditional media increase political engagement. The results also indicate that both types of media use have a causal impact on political interest and offline participation. Thus, this study suggests that frequent social media use among young citizens can function as a leveller in terms of motivating political participation.

This article investigates how media use among young citizens differs from older generations, and whether this matters for their inclination to participate politically. More specifically, this study investigates the causal impact of social media use and attention to political news in traditional media, on political interest and offline political participation. The findings, based on a four-wave panel study conducted during the 2010 Swedish national election campaign, show a) clear differences in media use between age groups, and b) that both political social media use and attention to political news in traditional media increase political engagement. The results also indicate that both types of media use have a causal impact on political interest and offline participation. Thus, this study suggests that frequent social media use among young citizens can function as a leveller in terms of motivating political participation.