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This study is a cross-national comparative content analysis of the coverage of European Union politics in British, Danish, Dutch, French, and German television news. The study identifies key characteristics of the coverage and investigates influences shaping the coverage. In the majority of countries studied, EU politics was marginally represented in national television news. EU officials, too, were absent in the news. However, if the EU was covered, EU politics was more prominently presented than other political news. Three influences were found to positively contribute to the amount and prominence of EU news: it was more prominent in public broadcasting news programs, in countries with higher levels of public satisfaction with democracy, and during periods around EU summits. The visibility of EU officials in television news was highest in public news programs. The findings suggest that, with EU coverage being of limited visibility and without protagonists, the Europeanization of television news coverage is more an illusion than reality.

This study is a cross-national comparative content analysis of the coverage of European Union politics in British, Danish, Dutch, French, & German television news. The study identifies key characteristics of the coverage & investigates influences shaping the coverage. In the majority of countries studied, EU politics was marginally represented in national television news. EU officials, too, were absent in the news. However, if the EU was covered, EU politics was more prominently presented than other political news. Three influences were found to positively contribute to the amount & prominence of EU news: it was more prominent in public broadcasting news programs, in countries with higher levels of public satisfaction with democracy, & during periods around EU summits. The visibility of EU officials in television news was highest in public news programs. The findings suggest that, with EU coverage being of limited visibility & without protagonists, the Europeanization of television news coverage is more an illusion than reality. 3 Tables, 1 Appendix, 36 References. [Reprinted by permission of Sage Publications Inc., copyright 2004 by the President and the Fellows of Harvard College.]

This study investigates how the information environment in the Danish 2000 euro referendum campaign served to crystallize opinion on the issue within the context of a number of other hypothesized influences on the vote, based on previous studies of referendum voting. Our data include a nationally representative two-wave panel survey & a content analysis of news coverage during the referendum campaign. We develop a weighted measure of exposure to news on public & private television channels, that takes into account the volume & tone of the coverage toward the YES & NO campaigns, & using this we find that exposure to public television news significantly influences vote choice when controlling for other predictors. We also find varied levels of support for hypotheses concerning the influence of other key variables such as ideology, economic evaluations, government approval, & issue-specific contextual variables. The findings emphasize the importance of considering the information environment during referendum campaigns. 2 Tables, 1 Appendix, 56 References. Adapted from the source document.

This study is a cross-national comparative investigation of (1) similarities & differences between nominal & thematic public agenda diversity both within & between countries; (2) potential general predictors of the two types of agenda diversity; & (3) the relationship between the agenda diversity of TV news & nominal & thematic public agenda diversity. Drawing on representative, identical surveys conducted at the same time in Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, & the UK, we found that nominal agenda diversity was higher than thematic agenda diversity within the various countries. Between countries, both nominal & thematic agenda diversity varied considerably. Neither demographic variables nor media exposure & attention measures nor political interest turned out to be general predictors of the two types of agenda diversity in all of the countries. However, the number of TV news outlets watched had a positive impact on both nominal & thematic agenda diversity in all countries except France. Linking content analysis of TV news in each country to survey data, a positive relationship between news agenda diversity & public agenda diversity was found only for Denmark. Based on the findings, we suggest that the investigation of public agenda diversity should be rethought to enhance our understanding of public agenda diversity in particular & agenda setting in general. 3 Tables, 1 Appendix, 30 References. Adapted from the source document.

This study investigates the effects of exposure to strategic news coverage on political cynicism and campaign evaluations using a nationally representative two-wave panel study and a content analysis of the national news media coverage of the 2000 Danish referendum campaign on the introduction of the euro. The study shows (a) voters were generally cynical about the referendum campaign, (b) the level of political cynicism and negativity about the campaign increased during the campaign, and (c) exposure to news that reported about the campaign in terms of strategy contributed to an increase in political cynicism and negative campaign evaluations. Turnout, however, remained high, suggesting that strategic news coverage and political cynicism in the campaign did not diminish mobilization. The study suggests that the conclusions of previous research about the link between news, cynicism, and participation in U.S. elections need to be modified when other national and electoral contexts are considered.

Previous studies have focused on either media coverage of polls or on their effects. This study investigated the visibility & quality of news reporting of opinion polls & the public evaluations of polls in the context of the 2000 Danish referendum on the introduction of the euro. A content analysis of the news coverage showed that more than 33% of all news in the campaign referred to polls & that newspapers were significantly better than TV news in providing methodological information about the polls. Focus group interviews revealed that voters were dissatisfied with too many polls in the news & concerned about the possible influences of polls. Panel survey data substantiated this finding suggesting a broadly shared perception that the referendum campaign was dominated by polls. Voters who were frequently exposed to news about the referendum showed an increase in dissatisfaction with the dominance of polls during the campaign. Those who supported a more restrictive policy on the publication of polls in future campaigns included elderly voters, people dissatisfied with the campaign, & people who had cast their vote for the losing side. Results are discussed in the light of policy recommendations for the reporting of polls in campaigns. 5 Tables, 1 Appendix, 74 References. Adapted from the source document.

We still do not fully understand why attitudes toward the European Union differ among citizens. In this study, we turn to the Big Five personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism as antecedents of European Union attitudes. In a national survey, we focus on attitudes toward widening and deepening of the European Union, trust in European Union institutions, identification with the European Union and negative affect experienced toward the European Union. We theorize that the Big Five traits are heterogeneously associated with the different European Union attitudes. We confirm that the Big Five traits are indeed associated with some but not all European Union attitudes. Accordingly, personality is expected to shape how citizens' respond to changes in the institutional set-up of the European Union.