Abstract
Although the news media both reflect and shape public opinion, little is known about how they actually portray public opinion in an integrated manner. A large-scale content analysis of Flemish print and television news, comparing routine and election periods, shows that journalists mostly refer to only one public opinion portrayal in a news item. When more than one public opinion portrayal is present, it is mostly casual inferences used in combination with other portrayals. Regarding the diversity of viewpoints, public opinion is typically represented in a highly one-sided manner and does not reflect nuances in citizen viewpoints.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1250-1267 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journalism Practice |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the FWO (Research Foundation Flanders) under grant number 12Q2919N. The work of Kathleen Beckers was supported by a fellowship by the Belgian American Educational Foundation (B.A.E.F.).
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