Der Ereignisbegriff in der Publizistikwissenschaft

This article wants to clarify the notion of »event«. It is based on the differentiation of two levels of action–the level of what is covered in the media, and the level of coverage. Action on one level affects the level it happens on, but it also affects the other level. Neither is coverage independent of the occurrence that is covered, nor is the occurrence that is being covered independent of coverage. The notions that are proposed are meant to demonstrate important interdependencies between the two levels of action and to make possible empirical analyses of the relation between coverage and the events covered. This relates to the comparison of the coverage of different media and to the change in the depiction of reality in one medium. The latter is shown for the coverage of German issues in three quality newspapers for the period from 1951 to 1995.