Thematization in Polish Current Affairs TV Programmes During 2014 European Election Campaign: Autopoiesis In Polish Media System

Tomasz Gackowski 1 *
More Detail
1 Warsaw University. Poland
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 5, Issue September 2015 - Special Issue, pp. 146-159. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/5697
OPEN ACCESS   1168 Views   793 Downloads   Published online: 01 Sep 2015
Download Full Text (PDF)

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to examine the quality of Polish public debate on the European Elections: in other words, how current affairs TV programmes tried to explain the complexity of issues concerning the European Union and the essence of the functioning of the European Parliament to the average viewer-voter. In the study, the methodology of qualitative and quantitative content analysis was implemented. The paper focuses on the phenomenon of thematization in the TV programmes covered in the study. Much attention in the discussions of the journalistic topics was given to such issues as the process and dynamics of a given campaign, the manner of its coverage by the media, and the polls. In this regard, the results of the study confirmed a strong autopoietic (definition of the Luhmann’s theory) and self-referential nature of the electoral discourse.

CITATION

Gackowski, T. (2015). Thematization in Polish Current Affairs TV Programmes During 2014 European Election Campaign: Autopoiesis In Polish Media System. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 5(September 2015 - Special Issue), 146-159. https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/5697

REFERENCES

  • Adam, S., & Maier, M., & Kaid, L.L. (2009), Codebook ofContent Coding: Strategies of Party Campaigns in the Context ofthe EP Elections. Berlin/Landau
  • Kovář, J. & Kovář, K. (2012), National or European? EP Election Campaign Themes in the News Media, “European Electoral Studies”, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 30-41.
  • Bechmann, G., Stehr, N. (2011), Niklas Luhmann’s Theory of the Mass Media, “Society”, March, vol. 48, iss. 2, pp. 142-147.
  • Bennett, W. L., Entman, R. M. (2001), Mediated politics: communication in the future of democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Berger, P. L. & Luckmann, T. (1966), The Social Construction of Reality. A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Alien Lane, London.
  • Blumler, J. G., ed. (1983), Communicating to Voters: Television in the First European Parliamentary Elections. London: Sage.
  • Bolin, G., (2014), Television Journalism, Politics, and Entertainment: Power and Autonomy in the Field of Television Journalism, "Television & New Media", May, Vol. 1,5 Issue 4, pp. 336-349.
  • Boyatzis, R. E. (1998), Transforming qualitative Information: thematic analysis and code deoelopment. London: Sage Publications.
  • Bourdieu, P. (1996), Sur la television, Liber-Raisons d'agir, Paris.
  • De Vrees, C. E., et al. (2011), Individual and contextual variation in EU issue voting: The role of political information. “Electoral Studies”. Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 16-28.
  • De Vrees, C. E. (2009): Second-Rate Election Campaigning? An Analysis of Campaign Styles in European Parliamentary Elections. “Journal of Political Marketing”. Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 7-19.
  • European Commission (1999-2007): Public Opinion in the European Union. Brussels: European Commission.
  • European Commission (2004): Flash Eurobarometer: Post European Elections 2004 Survey. Brussels: European Commission.
  • Ferrara, F., & Weishaupt, T. J. (2004), Get your Act Together: Party Performance in European Parliament Elections. “European Union Politics”. Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 283-306.
  • Freire, A., Teperoglou, E. (2007), European Elections and National Politics: Lessons from the "New" Southern European Democracies. “Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties”. Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 101-122.
  • Hjarvard, S. (2008), The mediatization of society: A theory of the media as agents of social and cultural change, “Nordicom Review”, vol 29, no. 2, pp. 105-134.
  • Hix, S., Marsh, M. (2007), Punishment or Protest? Understanding European Parliament Elections. “The Journal of Politics”. Vol. 69, No. 2, pp. 495-510.
  • Hollander, B. A., (2014), The Surprised Loser: The Role of Electoral Expectations and News Media Exposure in Satisfaction with Democracy, "Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly", December, Vol. 91 Issue 4, pp. 651-668.
  • Irwin, G. (1995), Second-order or Third-rate?—Issues in the Campaign for the Elections for the European Parliament 1994. “Electoral Studies”. Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 183-199.
  • Jalali, C., Silva, T. (2011): Everyone Ignores Europe? Party Campaigns and Media Coverage in the 2009 European Parliament Elections. In Maier, M., Strömback, J., Kaid, L. L., eds. Political Communication in European Parliamentary Elections. Farnham: Ashgate.
  • Kepplinger, H. M., & Maurer, M. (2000). Der Zwei-Stufen-Fluß der Massenkommunikation. Anmerkungen zu einer nie bewiesenen und längst überholten These der Wahlforschung. In: M. Klein, W. Jagodzinski, E. Mochmann & D. Ohr (Hrsg.), 50 Jahre Empirische Wahlforschung in Deutschland. Entwicklung, Befunde, Perspektiven, Daten. (pp. 444-464). Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag.
  • Koopmans, R. (2007), Who inhabits the European public sphere? Winners and losers, supporters and opponents in Europeanised political debates. “European Journal of Political Research”. Vol.46, No. 2, p. 183-210.
  • Kriesi, H. (2007), The Role of European Integration in National Election Campaigns. “European Union Politics”. Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 83-108.
  • Krippendorff, K. (1980), Content analysis. An introduction to its methodology, Beverly Hills: Sage.
  • Luhmann, N. (2000) [1996], The Reality of Mass Media, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
  • McCombs, M.E., & D.L. Shaw. (1993), The Evolution of Agenda-Setting Research: Twenty-Five Years in the Marketplace of Ideas. “Journal of Communication”. Vol. 43, No. 2, pp. 58-67.
  • Mair, P., & Thomassen, J. (2010): Political representation and government in the European Union. “Journal of European Public Policy”. Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 20-35.
  • Maturana, H. R. & Varela, F. J. (1987). The tree of knowledge: The biological roots of human understanding. Boston: Shambhala Publications.
  • Mingers, J. (2002), Can social systems be autopoietic? Assessing Luhmann's social theory, “The Editorial Board of The Sociological Review”, pp.279-299
  • Norris, P., Reif, K. (1997), Second-order elections. “European Journal of Political Research”. Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 109-124.
  • Peter, J., De Vreese, C. H. (2004): In Search of Europe: A Cross-National Comparative Study of the European Union in National Television News. “The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics”. Vol.9, No.4, pp.3-24.
  • Reif, K., & Schmitt, H. (1980): Nine Second-Order National Elections – A Conceptual Framework For the Analysis of European Elections Results. “European Journal of Political Research”. Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 3-44.
  • Reif, K. (1984), National Electoral cycles and European elections 1979 and 1984. “Electoral Studies”. Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 244-255.
  • Saxer, U (2007). Politik als Unterhaltung. Zum Wandel politischer Öffentlichkeit in der Mediengesellschaft. Konstanz: UVK.
  • Schuck, A. R. T., Vliegenthart, R., Boomgaarden, H. G., Elenbaas, M., Azrout, R., van Spanje, J., de Vreese, C. H., Explaining Campaign News Coverage: How Medium, Time, and Context Explain Variation in the Media Framing of the 2009 European Parliamentary Elections, “Journal of Political Marketing”, Vol. 12 Issue 1, pp. 8-28.
  • Semetko, H. M., & Valkenburg, P. M. (2000), Framing European politics: a content analysis of press and television news, “Journal of Communication”, June, Volume 50, Issue 2, pp. 93–109.
  • Strömback, J. & Shehata, A. (2010), Media malaise or a virtuous cirde? Exploring the causal relationships between news media exposure, political news attention and political interest.
  • Sula, P. (2014), The 2014 European Elections The Case of Poland, Studia Politica: Romanian Political Science Review, Vol. 14 Issue 3, pp. 395-406.
  • “European Journal of Political Research”. Vol.49, No. 5, pp. 575-597.
  • Tuman, J. S. (2008), Political Communication in American Campaigns, San Francisco: SAGE
  • Weber, T. (2007), Campaign Effects and Second-Order Cycles: A Top-Down Approach to European Parliament Elections. “European Union Politics”. Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 509-536.