European Parliamentary Election 1979: The Impact of Mass Media

This enquiry into the role of broadcasting in the first direct elections to the European Parliament was a Community-wide project focusing on three levels of the political communications process. (Investigations were carried out in 8 EC countries, i.e. Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, France, the German Federal Republic, Hol- land, Ireland and Italy): #1) The efforts made by political parties and broadcasting organizations. For both types of organization the main research instrument was a series of interviews with key personnel employing both a standardized questionnaire and ad hoc questioning on policy decisions taken with regard to the European campaign, motivations, commit- ments, problems, techniques, etc. 2) The project re- corded and coded to an agreed format for analysis all material broadcast on the European Community during the period of the election campaigns and during sample periods in the four preceding months. 3) Information was collected on voter-audience reactions to the campaigns. This took two forms: in a number of countries national surveys incorporating pre-election and post-election waves (and in some cases employing panels of respondents) were carried out in order to evaluate the local impact of campaigns. But at an early stage it was recognized that a comparative research instru- ment would be an essential component of the project's attempts to record reactions to the elections, and funding was therefore sought to commission a post-election survey. #Financial constraints inevitably restricted the scope of the survey, but a strategy and a questionnaire emerged from the joint efforts of the eight national teams involved in the enquiry (see the list of primary investigators). The survey was designed to examine six key questions: #1) To what extent were voters interested and involved in the elections? Did they follow the campaign? In the view of the voters, did any specific themes emerge from the election? #2) Through which channels did they receive information? In particular, how did broadcasting fit into the total context of interpersonal, partisan, and media communications. #3) How was media coverage of the campaign evaluated by voters both in terms of quantity and quality? Did it clarify or enliven, or was it confusing or dull? #4) Did the election generate a recognized issue agenda? Were the issues common across the Community or specific to national campaigns? #5) How did people vote? What influenced their choices? Were the choices perceived as being made on European or domestic grounds? #6) What was the relationship between responses to the elec- tion and opinions on the European Community? How was the impor- tance and relevance of the European Parliament evaluated? #In charge of the international co-ordination of the enquiry were Jay G. Blumler, Centre of Television Research, Leeds and A.D. Fox, IIC - the International Institute of Communication, London