Media coverage of corruption: the role of inter-media agenda setting in the context of media reporting on scandals

Abstract

The study focuses on two Slovak corruption cases, both well-documented and of similar social relevance, of which one did not receive any cross-media coverage. Moreover, the case of large-scale bribery was rather under-hyped in comparison to other major corruption scandals occurring in the country. The case of cronyism formed a typical example of extremely poor inter-media coverage of highly unfair and politicised cronyism. Through these cases, especially in the one in which the media failed to stimulate the creation of a full-blown scandal, the study further analyses the criteria and circumstances that determine the worthiness of a case for wide media coverage. The study on Slovakia is framed within theories of scandalous reporting and the theory of agenda setting and inter-media agenda setting role of the media, and supported by quantitative analysis of actual media coverage of the bribery case.

A Case-Specific Instance of Media Capture: the Gorilla Case of Slovakia

“…This is not to say that all of the media reported on all other large-scale corruption cases. The media is clearly selective in its reports on corruption (Školkay, 2016;Školkay, Ištoková, 2016). Yet this extremely significant case was initially ignored by the entire media (save for one partial and minor exception), 3 even though it later became one of the most discussed corruption cases.…”

“…This is another interesting dynamic of this case; the agenda-setting factor. It would be very useful to explore how many corruption stories failed to attract nation-wide coverage due to being published initially in media which were not agendasetting, especially when the inter-media agenda-setting function was rather low (see Školkay, Ištoková, 2016).…”

What does the murder of a journalist, and follow-up events, tell us about freedom of the press and politics in a European country?

“…Be that as it may, at mezzo level, Sikorski's (2017) meta-review research, in particular, revealed that structurally, in relation to ownership structures, partisanship of a news organisation and the competitive context tend to influence news coverage about political scandals. In general, the media neglect most corruption, providing selectively too little, and not too much scandal coverage (Entman, 2012;Školkay & Ištoková, 2016). Finally, at micro level, the collaborative role can turn into collusion among politicians and the media or a journalist (Školkay, 2016b).…”