Die Fernsehberichterstattung über die Arbeitslosigkeit und ihr Einfluss auf wahlrelevante Vorstellungen der Bevölkerung — eine Zeitreihenanalyse 1994–1998

There is a considerable amount of evidence suggesting that voters’ political preferences are influenced by domestic economic conditions. This paper examines the assumption that the connection between a specific economic development — unemployment — and the public’s voting preferences are mediated by the way in which television news cover unemployment. Using a time series analysis approach (August 1994–September 1998), it is shown that the media follow negative conditions in the labor market more closely than they follow positive conditions. Although television coverage fails to exert a direct effect on voting preferences for mainstream and radical parties, it does affect voting intentions independently and indirectly through its impact on the public’s perceptions of candidates, party competences and the perceived importance of unemployment as a national problem.