This study addresses two questions that are part of the larger debate on mediatized politics. First, we want to know to what extent the work of members of parliament is mediatized. Second, we want... Show moreThis study addresses two questions that are part of the larger debate on mediatized politics. First, we want to know to what extent the work of members of parliament is mediatized. Second, we want to know how the interaction between media and parliamentary politics is determined by the institutional context. To address these questions we present a content analysis of oral parliamentary questions (PQs) and press coverage in three West European countries: the Netherlands, France and Germany. This way we improve the insight in when and why specific political initiatives receive media attention, and if specific characteristics of these initiatives and the institutional context in which they are used increase the chance and amount thereof. Results from the regression analysis show that the most important factor in determining newsworthiness is the amount of media attention for a certain topic preceding the PQ. In addition, the analysis has shown that in the Netherlands and France voicing criticism towards a member of government in a PQ slightly increases the chances of getting covered by a newspaper. Finally, as expected, in the Netherlands the oral PQs are the most newsworthy, and in Germany the least, with France taking a middle position. Show less
