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AbstractThis article provides an overview of the use of the framing concept in mass communication research. It focuses on the questions what a frame is and how it is measured, how variation in framing can be explained and what the effects of media framing are. Specific attention will be paid to the sociological origins of framing. The article concludes with recommendations for future research. It argues that a more systematic and conceptually precise measurement of framing is warranted and suggests how the scope of frame‐building and framing‐effects studies can be extended.

This article provides an analysis of Dutch election posters in the period from 1946 to 2006. Based on the literature on the professionalization of political communication, several hypotheses are formulated regarding changes in textual and visual elements of those posters. These hypotheses focus on over-time changes in the presence and prominence of the party leader and party logo's as well as references to specific political issues and ideology in these posters. In total, 225 posters for 23 parties in 19 elections are analyzed. Results reveal that changes in visual elements are in line with the hypotheses, with an increased use of party logo, an increasing presence and prominence of the party leader, and a decreasing focus on ideology. The textual parts of the posters, however, show no or opposite trends. The results call for a more nuanced scientific treatment of the consequences of the professionalization of political communication and demonstrate the necessity to analyze both visual and textual elements of political parties' communication.

To understand how youth act in the current media landscape and the growing opportunity structure for political participation, a more comprehensive approach in measuring news consumption and political participation is warranted. This study (1) examines the different types of political participation among youth based on engagement in various participatory activities, (2) examines how these different political participation repertoires are related to news media repertoires, and (3) explores the role of political knowledge, political efficacy, and personal background characteristics. Results from a survey of Dutch adolescents (N = 1,084; age 16–21 years) reveal four distinct repertoires of political participation, each largely overlapping with a similar news media repertoire. Findings suggest that youth are either inside the virtuous circle, with high levels of news consumption and political participation, or outside the virtuous circle, avoiding both news consumption and participatory activities. In the discussion we reflect on the importance of local news and community-based activities to draw youth into the virtuous circle.

Published online before print July 13, 2016 ; This article addresses the questions of whether and why political parties respond to media-covered street protests. To do so, it adopts an agenda-setting approach and traces issue attention in protest politics and parliament over several years in four West European countries (France, Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland). The article innovates in two ways. First, it does not treat the parties in parliament as a unitary actor but focuses on the responses of single parties. Second, partisan characteristics are introduced that might condition the effect of protest on parliamentary activity. More precisely, it assesses the explanatory power of ideological factors (left-right orientation and radicalism) and other factors related to issue competition between parties (opposition status, issue ownership and contagion). The results show that parties do respond to street protests in the news, and they are more likely to respond if they are in opposition and if their competitors have reacted to the issue. ; ERC POLCON project funded.