Media coverage of politics
The political impact of media covering politics is an important issue. This important question has long gone unanswered mainly because an active press functions within collation and dissemination of information for voters and on corruption. MEDIA AND POLICY (The impact of mass media on public policy) was an EU-funded project that addressed this issue using the case of media coverage of United States Congressional elections. The effect of active press coverage was analysed in terms of voter information, actions of politicians and federal funds per capita. In addition, the work investigated how political institutions and economic outcomes influence health impacts of extreme weather. Mortality rates among the elderly and infants are an example. Detailed historical weather data was combined with socioeconomic data. This novel approach was also applied in successive studies. One such study involved measuring the bias in Chinese newspapers. This entailed the collection of a newspaper directory and content data. Results have been successful in identifying the effects of mass media on voter information, voter turnout, the effort and selection of politicians, and government policy. Additionally the effects of mass media on the length of criminal sentencing of United States judges were identified. The results have been disseminated via publications in economic journals and survey articles.
