Når politik på Facebook bliver til politik i nyhedsmedierne - En specialeafhandling om de danske folketingspolitikeres statusopdateringers indflydelse på den politiske nyhedsformidling

摘要

This master’s thesis examines how, why and to what extent the parliamentary politicians’ status updates on Facebook are being used by the traditional news media. Facebook can be considered as a medium, which has gained a huge influence as a channel of communication for ordinary citizens, but also in a political communication context. At the same time Facebook can be characterized as a medium focused on personified communication. The thesis methodically consists of a quantitative content analysis of all texts referring to the Danish parliamentary politicians’ status updates in a two-year period from 15th of September 2011 until 15th of September 2013. The texts, which are the primary empirical data of this thesis, are from five major agenda setting Danish newspapers, their respective web counterparts and the news agency Ritzaus, where we chosen these media to be our main source of empirical data. The quantitative content analysis is supplemented by individual qualitative interviews with two politicians and six political reporters/journalists. The content analysis shows that the politicians’ status updates have been referred to in 1.998 texts during the two-year period, which is a limited amount compared to the total news production. A survey done in 2008, as a part of a research project, showed that in only one week 75.000 texts were published. Therefore the thesis concludes that politicians’ status updates from Facebook have a relatively limited influence on news media overall. Nevertheless the thesis also concludes that political journalists use Facebook as tool in the hunt for a good story or as an indicator in relations between the ongoing debates and the politicians’ stances. Furthermore the thesis reveals patterns when it comes to the use of Facebook as a source. All the examined media uses sources from Facebook, but it is mainly web media and Ritzau. When politicians’ status updates are refereed to, the news story is often about internal party issues, status updates using a sharp and boundary pushing rhetoric or the story is centred on person-focused policy issues rather than general politics. It is primarily a small group of politicians whose status updates are being referred to in the news media; politicians who have had a position as a top politician during the period of the study.