The Economic and Social Review, Vol. 14, No. 2, January, 1983, pp. 137-152
T h e Media V i e w of the 1979
European Election Campaign
M A R Y J . K E L L Y *
University College, Dublin
Abstract: This paper argues that the television presentation of the first direct election to the European
Parliament in Ireland was more domestic in orientation than either the parties' own presentations on television or voter attitudes might have led one to expect. I t seeks to understand how this pattern of coverage emerged by examining the timing of the European election in Ireland; the pre-campaign newspaper speculation regarding the European elections and the extent of the press's subsequent agenda-setting functions; the programme formats within which the European election campaign was presented on R T E ; and finally the attitudes of broadcasters to this election and to the audience for European election programmes.
I I N T R O D U C T I O N
T
his paper looks at h o w the media, and i n particular television, defined the 1979 European election campaign i n I r e l a n d . I n d o i n g this i t draws on the results o f a nine-nation comparative research project i n t o broadcasting coverage o f the European elections.1 T h e research i n c l u d e d interviews w i t hsenior p a r t y campaign organisers and broadcasters, b o t h before and after the elections; videotaping and subsequently analysing all election news, current affairs, documentary programmes and p a r t y p o l i t i c a l broadcasts t r a n s m i t t e d o n television d u r i n g the campaign p e r i o d ; and carrying o u t a l i m i t e d piece o f audience research w i t h , i n I r e l a n d , a n a t i o n a l sample o f 1,276.
The paper examines and attempts t o answer a question highlighted b y the comparative content analysis o f programme coverage. W h y d i d the coverage
•This nine-nation comparative project was initiated and financially subsidised by the Institute of Com munications, London. As director of the Irish project I am grateful both to the political parties for their time, and to R T E for their financial subsidy to the research, their willingness to grant me "observer" status at meetings of the European Election Steering Group which monitored and co-ordinated broad casting coverage of the election, and their co-operation in interviewing.
1. For a report of some of the comparative findings see Television in the European Parliamentary
in I r e l a n d t e n d t o raise and discuss themes and issues w h i c h drew o n a Euro pean frame o f reference less frequently than i n any other EEC c o u n t r y ? (Schulz, 1 9 8 2 , p p . 279-282) Such a lack o f emphasis does riot appear simply to " r e f l e c t " a higher degree o f ethnocentrism among the I r i s h electorate i n general, relative t o other European voters. Responses t o the post-election sample survey i n d i c a t e d t h a t the I r i s h electorate, w h e n responding t o questions regarding their a t t i t u d e t o the E E C , held views about Europe and the Euro pean elections w h i c h placed t h e m i n a m i d d l e p o s i t i o n relative t o other European countries (Table 1).
A n e x p l a n a t i o n o f the domestic i n the Irish coverage must thus be sought somewhere other t h a n i n assumptions regarding the greater provincialism o f I r i s h voters or their negative attitudes t o Europe. I t is argued i n this paper t h a t i t may be better u n d e r s t o o d b y examining four factors: the t i m i n g o f the European election i n I r e l a n d ; the pre-carripaign newspaper speculation regarding the European elections and the extent o f its sub sequent agenda-setting functions; the programme formats w i t h i n w h i c h the European election campaign was presented o n R T E ; and finally the attitudes o f broadcasters t o this election and t o the audience for European election programmes.
E x a m i n i n g h o w television covers election campaigns is tance i f we are adequately t o understand the dynamics
voter behaviour and m o b i l i s a t i o n . I t is perhaps indicative! o f the power o f election television i n I r e l a n d t h a t heavy viewing o f television coverage o f the European elections was f o u n d t o be significant i n increasing the voters' willingness t o t u r n o u t t o vote o n June 7. T h e other most i m p o r t a n t factors c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t u r n - o u t were f o u n d t o be: being a p a r t y partisan,2 being
of central i m p o r -iof c o n t e m p o r a r y
years o f age (see f o u n d t o be par-interested i n the European elections, and being over 45
K e l l y ( 1 9 8 3 ) f o r details). Heavy television viewing was
t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t i n increasing t u r n - o u t among those w h o stated they had been o n l y marginally interested or disinterested i n the European elections. I t is perhaps o f interest t o note t h a t , w h i l s t w a t c h i n g the television coverage o f the elections c o n t r i b u t e d t o an increased tendency t o vote, having being canvassed d i d n o t , nor d i d reading p a r t y election literature (ibid).
I l l T H E T I M I N G O F T H E E L E C T I O N
" A s l o n g as the n a t i o n a l parties are the same parties p u t t i n g f o r w a r d can didates for the European election, i t is very l i k e l y t h a t the election result w i l l
T a b l e 1: Attitudes to the EEC among national electorates
Ireland France Denmark
Great
Britain Netherlands Italy Germany Belgium
% very or quite interested
in the E u r o p e a n E l e c t i o n s 3 3 39 39 30 3 6 2 9 4 6 2 6
% w h o feel o w n c o u n t r y ' s
m e m b e r s h i p o f the E E C
is a g o o d thing 5 6 4 9 38 37 5 2 75 5 9 51
% w h o feel that the move
m e n t towards the unifi c a t i o n o f E u r o p e s h o u l d
be speeded up 29 3 4 7 2 3 2 4 6 4 4 2 32
% w h o t h i n k the E u r o p e a n P a r l i a m e n t w i l l have at
least s o m e effect on their
lives 4 9 4 5 4 9 5 2 31 5 7 4 3 29
be taken as a test o f p a r t y s t r e n g t h . " (Siune ( 1 9 8 2 ) ) . I n Ireland this s i t u a t i o n was c o m p o u n d e d b y the fact t h a t the Euro-election came at the m i d - t e r m p o i n t i n the n a t i o n a l election cycle, and was thus l i k e l y t o be contested strongly b y the o p p o s i t i o n o n an anti-government platfo'rm (see R e i f and S c h m i t t , 1 9 8 0 , p p . 9-10). Moreover, the EEC elections coincided w i t h local government elections, w h i c h a r e;t r a d i t i o n a l l y seen as a "te^st" o f the govern
m e n t . Being at such a p o i n t i n the n a t i o n a l election cycle u n d o u b t e d l y m o t i v a t e d parties t o organise and r u n vigorous campaigns. Indeed, f r o m p a r t y responses t o interviews before the elections, an index o f p a r t y m o t i v a t i o n so t o organise was developed w h i c h placed Irelandjat the t o p o f the list, f o l l o w e d b y France (see Brants etal., 1 9 8 2 , p p . 121-132). Other dynamics m a y also stimulate campaign organisers. A c o m m i t m e n t t o Europe appeared t o be the m a i n s t i m u l a n t i n Germany, w h i c h f o l l o w e d n e x t o n the list, and significant p o l i t i c a l debate regarding membership o f the EEC, the m a i n s t i m u l a n t i n D e n m a r k w h i c h w a s . f o u r t h .
T o r e t u r n t o the campaign i n I r e l a n d , I r i s h parties, especially at the early stages o f the campaign, d i d n o t confine themselves t o domestic issues o n l y . T h e y also h i g h l i g h t e d as possible election issues alliances w i t h European groups and the future powers o f the European Parliament — although as n o t e d b e l o w , b o t h newspaper and television journalists had a tendency t o question the c r e d i b i l i t y o f these as "issues". Indeed, the dontent analysis o f the television coverage o f the election indicated t h a t politicians tended t o raise and discuss themes drawing o n a European frame o f reference more frequently than d i d journalists'. I n this analysis, each theme raised was categorised according t o whether i t was treated w i t h i n aj p u r e l y or m a i n l y domestic perspective, p u r e l y or m a i n l y European perspective, or i n a m i x e d m a n n e r .3 I t was f o u n d that w h e n politicians spoke they framed 56 per cent
of the themes they raised w i t h i n a domestic c o n t e x t butjjournalists d i d so for 7 1 per cent o f the themes t h e y raised (Siune, 1 9 8 1 , p . 113). F u r t h e r m o r e i t was also f o u n d that p a r t y p o l i t i c a l broadcasts were rather less domestically o r i e n t e d t h a n broadcaster-generated programmes (see Table 2 ) .
I n explaining the domestic o r i e n t a t i o n o f the television coverage, the t i m i n g o f the election thus seems t o be b u t part o f the story. Political parties were apparently m o r e w i l l i n g t o raise and discuss issues \ v i t h i n a European frame o f reference, especially i n p a r t y p o l i t i c a l broadcasts over w h i c h they had f u l l c o n t r o l , t h a n were journalists. The other part o f the explanation, i t
T a b l e 2: Domestic/European orientation in themes raised on television
Party political broadcasts Broadcaster-generated programmes Fianna
Fail
Fine
Gael Labour Total* News
Constituency Profiles
Studio
Discussions Total** Per cent
D o m e s t i c 6 3 38 28 5 0 77 77 4 3 69
M i x e d 14 31 20 20 9 9 13 12
O r i e n t e d
to E E C 2 2 32 51 30 14 13 4 3 20
T o t a l 9 9 101 9 9 100 1 0 0 9 9 9 9 101 T o t a l n o . 1 9 6 117 8 2 4 1 3 385 6 7 4 2 5 4 1,750
* I n c l u d e s T h e W o r k e r s ' Party's b r o a d c a s t .
* * I n c l u d e s Count Down to Europe a n d World Week programmes t r a n s m i t t e d d u r i n g the c a m p a i g n .
is argued b e l o w , is the power o f the media t o select and define, t o highlight certain aspects o f the election and t o play d o w n others.
I l l S E T T I N G T H E A G E N D A
Research i n t o the influence o f the media o n US Presidential elections has suggested that the media, and especially newspapers, c o n t r i b u t e t o setting the voters' agenda i n terms o f the tenor o f the elections, election issues and candidate images, although this varies at different times over the election campaign, as w e l l as according t o different types o f issues and differences among voters (Weaver et al., 1 9 8 1 ; Patterson, 1980). E l e c t i o n coverage o n television, i t is further argued, tends t o respond t o , and be influenced b y , the agenda o f newspapers as f o r m u l a t e d and organised early i n the campaign
(Weaver et al., 1 9 8 1 ) . T h e agenda o f politicians, however, m a y be somewhat different f r o m t h a t presented b y the media, as media themes and issues t e n d t o be selected according t o j o u r n a l i s t i c norms and assessments as t o audience interests (Patterson, 1980).
142 T H E E C O N O M I C A N D S O C I A L R E V I E W '
i
the d i s t r i b u t i o n o f domestic p a r t y power, a p a r t y contiest, a p o t e n t i a l l y " n e w s w o r t h y " event i n w h i c h the stakes m i g h t be assessed and the o u t c o m e speculated o n i n terms o f domestic p a r t y politics. T h e domestic scene was thus presented as m o r e w o r t h y o f a t t e n t i o n , m o r e " r e a l " ! and presumably more interesting t o the audience, t h a n the " p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t y " o f Europe. A consequence o f this d e f i n i t i o n was t h a t European issues tjended t o be mar ginalised, t o be defined as p a r t y ploys i n the election game, rather than as having any substance i n themselves.
Thus, l o n g before the television coverage o f the European elections had got under w a y , p o l i t i c a l correspondents i n the press hadjset the domestic parameters for this campaign. As the Sunday Independent correspondent n o t e d o n January 14, 1979, having first speculated o n the possible share-out o f seats:
There is l i t t l e d o u b t however, that domestic p o l i t i c a l considerations w i l l h o l d the k e y , i f o n l y because o n every key EEC matter . . . the parties here h o l d p r e t t y i d e n t i c a l views. O f course there w i l l be some attempts at p o l i t i c a l p o i n t scoring b y the parties (regarding E u r o p a r t y alliances) . . .
Again the p o l i t i c a l correspondent i n the Irish Press (January 18, 1 9 7 9 ) , o u t l i n e d a domestic scenario:
T h e o p p o s i t i o n parties w i l l be w o r k i n g o n the assumption t h a t Fianna Fail's p o p u l a r i t y o f 18 m o n t h s ago w i l l n o t be sustained and that the reaction t o w h a t is expected t o be a t o u g h budget ne|xt m o n t h and t o the recent decision t o phase p u t the f o o d subsidies w i l l be reflected i n a
change i n the v o t i n g p a t t e r n . j
By A p r i l , these definitions had become a self-fulfilling prophecy:
On June 7, b o t h [ o p p o s i t i o n ] parties w i l l be able t o test whether or not the economy and other troubles o f the government have started a w i n d o f change. A weakening o f the government's 1977 level o f p o p u l a r i t y w i l l be indicated; i n Fianna Fail getting feWer t h a n 9 o f the seats i n the Euro-Parliament, or i f they cannot h o l d o n t o , or w i n , con t r o l o f key local authorities. [Irish Independent, A p r i l 23, 1979).
T a b l e 3: Themes presented in newspapers and on television
Press Independent Times Television * Per cent
E l e c t i o n campaign 2 8 . 0 2 4 . 7 2 4 . 5 2 8 . 8
P a r t y p o l i t i c a l matters 6.3 8.7 5.8 1 1 . 9
Ideas regarding E u r o p e a n e c o n o m i c
a n d p o l i t i c a l d e v e l o p m e n t 5.8 3.8 7.6 8.2 E u r o p e a n P a r l i a m e n t / I n s t i t u t i o n s 6.2 6.5 8.4 9.5 E u r o p e a n p a r t y alliances 4.9 2.8 3.0 6.0
E c o n o m i c 23.1 2 9 . 8 2 3 . 3 19.7
A g r i c u l t u r e 6.8 5.4 6.0 7.3
E n e r g y 5.8 6.3 5.9 1.1
S o c i a l a n d o t h e r issues 14.3 12.0 15.7 7.4
T o t a l % 1 0 0 . 2 1 0 0 . 0 1 0 0 . 2 9 9 . 9
T o t a l n o . 1,325 1,120 1,546 1,750
Correlation Matrix
(Spearman's R h o ) Independent Times Television
Press + 0 . 8 7 + 0 . 7 2 + 0 . 6 2
Independent + 0 . 7 5 + 0 . 7 3
Times + 0 . 6 7
* Broadcaster-generated p r o g r a m m e s o n l y .
I V T E L E V I S I O N E L E C T I O N P R O G R A M M E S
and constituencies, was t o be l i m i t e d t o news and current affairs programmes o n R T E 1. B y A p r i l 1979, the great m a j o r i t y o f the Irish broadcasters inter viewed (12 o f the 15) expected the R T E coverage t o be p r i m a r i l y national i n focus (see Table 4 ) .
T h e m a i n o u t c o m e o f this consensus — b o t h regarding the need for general election t y p e controls to ensure balance and the domestic thrust o f the election coverage — was, i n programme terms, the usage o f t r a d i t i o n a l and customary general election formats for the presentation o f the European elections. These i n c l u d e d : innews,'an election news desk and f i l m e d coverage o f leaders' t o u r s ; i n current affairs, the constituency profile and studio discussion. T h e more European oriented programmes Count Down to
Europe and World Week4" were riot allowed, due to election coverage pro
cedures, t o cover the Irish p o l i t i c a l scene and were transmitted b y the less
frequently viewed R T E 2. I T r a d i t i o n a l formats produced t r a d i t i o n a l content — more staid and less
e x c i t i n g t h a n a general election, and indeeed "a b i t o f a j y a w n " as some broadcasters saw i t . T h e election news desk concentrated on reporting party electioneering a c t i v i t y around the c o u n t r y , selecting comments from candi dates' speeches, especially i f peppered w i t h inter-party conflict and accusa t i o n s . A l o n g w i t h constituency profiles, i t tended t o be very domestic i n emphasis, as can be seen f r o m Table 2 above.
The constituency profiles concentrated o n local party! campaigns, the face-to-face i n t e r a c t i o n o f candidates and voters at the hustings, speculated
T a b l e 4: Broadcasters' expectations regarding the national or European focus of election
coverage
Ireland Great
Britain Italy France Germany
Other EEC Countries
Total
j Per cent
P r i m a r i l y n a t i o n a l 80 78 47 31 4 17 33 P r i m a r i l y E u r o p e a n 7 4 18 2 8 6 3 2 4 31
B o t h 13 9 2 4 2 2 25 5 2 25
N e i t h e r / o t h e r
-
8 !10
20 9 7 10
T o t a l % 1 0 0 9 9 9 9 101 101 101 9 9
T o t a l n o . 15 2 3 38 36 57 29 198
at the possible o u t c o m e o f the election, and assessed voter disinterest and the domestic nature o f the campaign. T h e election news desk a n d constituency profile d i d perhaps accurately reflect the fact t h a t the personalism, localism and clientelism o f I r i s h local p o l i t i c s and electioneering m a y n o t be the most fertile g r o u n d for an internationalist perspective. Canvassing and the hand shake o n the doorstep, a m u c h m o r e prevalent electioneering f o r m i n the I r i s h elections t h a n elsewhere,5 is certainly n o t t r a d i t i o n a l l y the most con
ducive f o r u m for raising European issues. As the media never failed t o remark: " w h a t w i t h r u b b i s h o n the door step, a p e t r o l shortage . . . " T h e studio discussions appeared t o offer a more congenial f o r u m . Politicians, w h e n given the o p p o r t u n i t y t o debate European issues, f o u n d l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t y i n d o i n g so. T h u s , w h i l e 77 per cent o f the themes discussed i n news and constituency profiles were p u r e l y or m a i n l y domestic i n o r i e n t a t i o n , this was so for o n l y 43 per cent o f the themes raised i n studio discussions.
T h e t r e n d i n early newspaper speculation about the election, suggesting t h a t European issues were b u t " p a r t y p l o y s " t o "steer" the public's a t t e n t i o n away f r o m the " r e a l " , i.e., domestic, issues, also emerged i n b o t h j o u r n a l i s t s ' and p o l i t i c i a n s ' comments o n television. As a p o l i t i c a l correspondent stated f r o m the election news desk: " T h e campaign is n o w at its peak w i t h almost n o a t t e m p t any longer t o disguise the fact that the central issues are almost exclusively domestic ones." A p a r t i c u l a r l y extreme example o f such sugges t i o n was i n the i n f o r m a t i o n programme w h i c h i n t r o d u c e d the Frontline coverage. This began w i t h the EEC b a l l o t - b o x advertisements for the European Parliament w i t h the presenter's voice-over stating:
A l l over the EEC ads l i k e this t r y t o d r u m up election fever for w h a t many see as one o f the non-events o f the year. As a challenge for the advertising trade t o persuade electorates the European Parliament is w o r t h v o t i n g for . . .
T h e questioning o f the " p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t y " o f the European elections pervaded the subsequent discussion, w i t h a " v o x p o p " chorus t o echo the presenter's i n t e r p r e t a t i o n :
Presenter: So perhaps the big sell campaign is paying o f f — or is it? Vox Pop: I d o n ' t k n o w a t h i n g about t h e m .
Farcical.
K n o w damn all about i t .
T h e presenter distanced and questioned the possibility o f European issues as
j
he i n t r o d u c e d each such issue:
! — / / there are EEC issues in this election . . .
— A n o t h e r apparent sparring p o i n t is the friends the Irish parties sit w i t h i n the European Parliament . . . j — . . . slight p a r t y differences [regarding C A P ] could be made an
issue . . .
Commentators were n o t alone i n questioning the " r e a l i t y " o f European issues. O p p o s i t i o n parties were quite w i l l i n g t o take up j this early media d e f i n i t i o n , as the f o l l o w i n g extract f r o m a studio discussion jshows:
Chairperson: A l a n Dukes, what is y o u r come back o n this one [ t h e
Fianna Fail claim made b y R. Brugha t h a t the extension o f European Parliamentary powers b y Fine Gael w o u l d damage Irish interests b y c u t t i n g across Irish sovereignty and giving the socialists i n the Parli ament t o o m u c h power regarding C A P ] ?
Dukes: Well I t h i n k that this issue is being raised p a r t l y as a smoke
screen. We saw o n the f i l m [ T h e Leinster Constituency Profile] t h a t the m a i n issues t h a t are i n people's minds are the national issues. T h e y are talking about the p e t r o l s i t u a t i o n , talking about the postal strike . . .
Chair: Yes, b u t we're t a l k i n g about the extension o f j powers. N o w , i n
fact is Fine Gael c o m m i t t e d and h o w far do y o u want t o go?
Dukes: O n the extension o f powers for the European Parliament . . .
V B R O A D C A S T E R A T T I T U D E S A N D T H E A U D I E N C E
Despite overall agreement, or at least acquiescence, among broadcasters as t o h o w this election w o u l d be covered — i.e., w i t h i n t r a d i t i o n a l formats and w i t h a m a i n l y domestic emphasis — interviews w i t h broadcasters indicated t h a t there was, i n fact, m u c h ambivalence among t h e m regarding h o w best t o cover the European elections. M a n y felt t h a t their p u b l i c service respon sibilities obliged t h e m t o cover an event w h i c h they perceived as lacking b o t h "newsworthiness" and intrinsic audience interest. This jambivalence was f o u n d t o be due more frequently t o their perception o f the audience and its needs and interests, than t o the p r o j e c t i o n o f their o w n personal attitudes regarding Europe. I n d e e d , broadcasters were f o u n d i n o u r research t o favour the speeding up o f European i n t e g r a t i o n (50 per cent) morje frequently t h a n the p o p u l a t i o n i n general (29 per c e n t ) . I n these attitudes t o Europe, broadcasters were d i r e c t l y comparable t o similarly highly
respon-favourably disposed towards the EEC.
Y e t broadcasters d i d n o t at all push the European perspective i n their programmes. T h e i r decisions i n this respect tended t o be related t o t h e i r views o f the audience rather t h a n their o w n personal interests. T h e y foresaw coverage o f the European elections as involving four m a i n problems — and after the elections few felt t h a t these had been c o m p l e t e l y resolved. One p r o b l e m was the level o f voter/audience interest. A second was the percep t i o n that the electorate were defining the elections as a national/domestic event due, some felt, to insular attitudes and the nature o f Irish p o l i t i c a l c u l t u r e . A t h i r d p r o b l e m was the level o f voter i n f o r m a t i o n regarding Europe and the fact t h a t direct didactic programmes were t h o u g h t neither t o be very effective nor l i k e l y t o h o l d the interest o f the audience. The final p r o b l e m was h o w t o present the role and powers o f the European Parliament itself. These powers were n o t seen as very extensive and y e t voters were being asked t o come o u t t o vote. I n this s i t u a t i o n i t was considered q u i t e a delicate task t o get j u s t t h a t right balance between i n f o r m i n g the p u b l i c o n the one hand, and o n the other possibly over-glamorising the European Parliament and engaging i n propaganda favouring Europe.
As w e l l as this rather general ambivalence among broadcasters, there were also t w o relatively distinct broadcaster groups h o l d i n g different attitudes o n the need for more " i n f o r m a t i v e " p r o g r a m m i n g o n Europe. T h e first, and i n r e l a t i o n t o the European elections the more i m p o r t a n t g r o u p , as t h e y made overall decisions regarding broadcasting coverage, were senior executive and e d i t o r i a l staff. These broadcasters felt t h a t while there was some need for i n f o r m a t i o n programmes, care had t o be taken regarding " o v e r - k i l l " , t h a t many members o f the audience, for example farmers, already k n e w o f the i m p o r t a n c e o f European matters and their relevance t o their lives, and t h a t t o o m u c h coverage w h i c h preached at the audience w o u l d simply t u r n viewers o f f . A somewhat different approach was taken b y the producers and pre senters i n t e r v i e w e d . T h e y felt t h a t many viewers d i d n o t at all k n o w h o w the EEC influenced t h e i r lives, t h a t there was need for m o r e extensive program m i n g , i n general, o n European matters h i g h l i g h t i n g h o w m u c h membership influences everyone's lives, and, w h i l e broadcasters should n o t take a p r o - or anti-EEC stand, more adequate r e p o r t i n g o f EEC affairs w o u l d itself generate greater interest i n Europe.
The audience survey i n d i c a t e d t h a t , i n their perception o f audience, b o t h broadcaster groups m i g h t paradoxically be correct, b u t focusing o n , or t a k i n g as their reference g r o u p , different audience segments. T h e survey highlighted significant differences i n attitudes t o Europe among different social-class and gender groups. Those w h o held the most positive a t t i t u d e t o Europe and w h o most frequently felt t h a t the European Parliament was o f relevance and w o u l d influence t h e i r lives were upper m i d d l e class respondents, large farmers
( b o t h 63 per cent) and males ( 5 6 per cent). O n the c o n t r a r y , b n l y 38 per cent o f the u n s k i l l e d and semi-skilled, and 45 per cent o f w o m e n , felt the European Parliament was i n any w a y relevant t o their lives. T h u s , w i t h regard t o broadcaster attitudes t o the European elections i t was n o t soj m u c h t h a t " t o o m a n y messages failed t o reach t h e m " f r o m a large and changing electorate, as Farrell (1978) has stated o f media coverage — and miscalculation — o f the 1977 elections, b u t rather t h a t divergent and conflictual messages were
being received. i Differences i n extent o f interest i n European matters ampng various class
and gender groups may indeed c o n t i n u e t o be a p r o b l e m for broadcasters. These differences were again apparent w h e n respondents >|vho had seen at least some o f the election coverage o n television (69 per cent) were asked t o assess the adequacy o f the a m o u n t o f t i m e given t o the European elections o n television. F o r t y - s i x per cent o f these respondents stated they felt the a m o u n t o f coverage was " a b o u t r i g h t " , w h i l e 13 per cent stated that there had n o t been enough coverage. Together these t w o categories c o n s t i t u t e d w h a t m i g h t be seen as a relatively positive and interested group. The remain ing 40 per cent stated t h a t there had either been "far t o o m u c h " or a " b i t t o o m u c h " coverage, thus c o n s t i t u t i n g a relatively more luke-warm and dis interested g r o u p . A m o n g the most interested and positive o f the viewers were: males (66 per cent i n contrast w i t h 52 per cent o f females), those w i t h third-level education (73 per cent i n contrast w i t h 40 per cent o f those w h o had left school at 14), and those i n upper m i d d l e class occupations and large farmers ( b o t h 65 per cent i n contrast w i t h 51 per cent o f the semi-skilled and u n s k i l l e d respondents w h o had seen some o f the coverage).
V I D I S C U S S I O N
This paper has been concerned t o analyse the p u b l i c d e f i n i t i o n o f a new and unprecedented event: w h o i n this instance defined w h a t the " p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t y " o f the European elections " r e a l l y " was? What fac'tors c o n t r i b u t e d t o the domestic d e f i n i t i o n so evident i n the Irish coverage? T o w h a t extent and i n w h a t ways d i d the media, p o l i t i c a l groups and the electorate influence this d e f i n i t i o n ?
p o l i t i c a l i d i o m i n w h i c h t o speculate and " r e p o r t " a b o u t this election, and i n terms o f w h i c h the " r e a l i t y " o f European issues and policies m i g h t be questioned. These parameters and this i d i o m were taken up i n television coverage o f the election campaign and increasingly came to dominate the p o l i t i c a l debate.
The decision b y broadcasters to use general election programme formats tended t o increase ethnocentric tendencies i n election coverage. This was especially so i n constituency profiles w i t h their b u i l t - i n localistic and per-sonalistic biases, and i n the election news desk, geared up t o highlighting elections as national p a r t y contests. A t t i t u d e s among broadcasters to the European election coverage, reflecting differences among various audience segments, were ambivalent and p o t e n t i a l l y divisive. N o d o u b t i n such a s i t u a t i o n , t r i e d and tested election programmes, accepted norms o f "balanced coverage", and k n o w n audience interest i n existing election formats pro vided an easy passage — and perhaps even a "successful" one in terms o f c o n t r i b u t i n g t o t u r n o u t .
Three questions are raised i n this article w h i c h clearly require further research. A l l concern the n o t i o n o f "agenda-setting". One is the process whereby newspaper and television agendas tend to converge. A second is the relationship between media agendas and those o f politicians. A t h i r d is the question o f the agenda-setting effects o f media coverage o n the electorate.
The evidence o f this paper indicated a high level o f convergence between newspaper and television agendas i n coverage o f the European elections, as w e l l as an early and c o n t i n u i n g consensus among press and T V personnel regarding its essentially domestic thrust. However, the w h o l e interactive relationship between journalists f r o m different media, as w e l l as t h a t between journalists and politicians might w e l l be f r u i t f u l l y investigated in greater d e p t h . What are the dynamics o f agenda-setting between various media and between media and politicians, and i n what contexts does i t tend t o flourish? I t m i g h t be expected that the c o n t e x t i n w h i c h Irish journalists w o r k — the very l i m i t e d number o f such central gatekeepers as p o l i t i c a l correspondents as w e l l as the lack o f strong inter-media or inter-party ide ological differences — w o u l d offer a p a r t i c u l a r l y conducive c o n t e x t for the establishment o f media-political consensus.
The idea o f a s y m b i o t i c , interdependent and consensual relationship between politicians and the media and a tendency for t h e i r agendas t o inter act c l o s e l y i s n o t , o f course, new (see Farrell, 1 9 7 8 ; Whale, 1977; Schlesinger,
The research o n the European election coverage i n I r e l a n d suggested t h a t there were some such variations i n emphasis i n media and p a r t y agendas, especially i n terms o f the greater willingness o f politicians than journalists t o raise and discuss themes w i t h i n a broader European c o n t e x t . L o o k i n g at US Presidential elections, Patterson ( 1 9 8 0 , p p . 31-42) has argued t h a t differences occur between media and p o l i t i c a l agendas because o f the tendency o f p o l i t i c a l parties t o prefer "diffuse issues" w h i c h define b r o a d p o l i c y approaches and general goals, and w h i c h appeal t o the greatest number o f voters (e.g., "stabilising the e c o n o m y " ) , w h i l e the media t e n d t o p r e f e l highly specific issues over w h i c h there are i n t e r - p a r t y differences and c o n f l i c t . These can be r a p i d l y summed u p — ideally i n a p i t h y headline phrase — and w h i c h do n o t require detailed explanations. Instead o f focusing o n the diffuse p o l i c y issues o f the p o l i t i c a l parties, news journalists t e n d , he argues, to focus o n specific "clear-cut" campaign issues (e.g., the immediate d i f f i c u l t i e s ' o f a p a r t y , cam paign mistakes and incidents and the responses o f other parties t o these) thus constructing "news stories" and developing "news angles" w h i c h f i t j o u r n a l i s t i c norms as t o i m m e d i a c y , the administrative, | t i m e and space
requirements o f p r i n t and television news; as w e l l as the supposed interests o f their audiences.6 I t w o u l d thus appear t h a t neither convergence n o r d i
vergence between media and p a r t y agendas can be assumed b u t that we need detailed investigation i n specific situations, as w e l l as greater understanding o f the social contexts w h i c h t e n d t o support or i n h i b i t j these processes. Gans ( 1 9 8 0 , p . 81) has n o t e d t h a t the inter-relationships between politicians, news organisations, journalists and audiences should be seen, n o t so m u c h as a f u n c t i o n a l l y inter-related system w i t h a pre-defined o u t c o m e , b u t as "tugs o f w a r " w i t h different interests a t t e m p t i n g t o exercise and establish their power and t h e i r d e f i n i t i o n o f the s i t u a t i o n .
The final question is the influence o f media agendas o n the audience. This question requires a more elaborate research design than was financially feasible i n this study. I t requires a panel o f respondents interviewed peri odically d u r i n g the campaign, over w h i c h t i m e changing media agendas are also examined and consequent changing audience agendas — i f any — analysed. I t m i g h t be expected t h a t i n the European elections, a high media profile i n the pre-campaign p e r i o d for European aspects j o f the election m i g h t have been p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t i n placing this perspective o n the electors' agenda. Weaver et al., ( 1 9 8 1 ) have f o u n d t h a t newspapers t e n d to be i n f l u e n t i a l i n placing " u n o b t r u s i v e " issues (i.e., those o f w h i c h electors have no direct experience, u n l i k e " o b t r u s i v e " or bread-and-butter issues) o n the voters' agenda i n this early p e r i o d . This is i n line w i t h m u c h other media
research w h i c h suggests t h a t the media are i n f l u e n t i a l i n setting the agenda regarding areas o f knowledge about w h i c h individuals do n o t have direct personal or social experience. This w h o l e area o f agenda-setting indeed requires m u c h further investigation i f we are t o begin t o understand the dynamics l i n k i n g p a r t y campaigns, media coverage and audience response i n t h a t central c o n t e m p o r a r y p h e n o m e n o n o f "media elections".
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