Political Communication and Interest Groups: Demystifying the Outside Lobby

Abstract

This panel enhances the understanding of the role of interest groups in the media by reuniting the interest group field with the field of political communication. Classic accounts such as Milbrath (1960), Laswell (1958) and Schattschneider (1960) recognized that the business of lobbying is a business of communication. Today, it seems that the communication perspective on interest group politics did not stand the test of time. This panel brings together a number of studies recognizing the communicative nature of interest group practices and the role of the media therein. The different contributions rely on theories (such as agenda-setting and framing theories) and methodological approaches (such as experiments and content analysis of media reports) prevalent in the field of political communication and apply them in studying the role of interest groups in the media. Our common thesis holds that the study of interest group politics and political communication will merit from further cross-fertilization and deeper integration.

Title	Details
The Persuasive Power of Protest. How protest features affect the calculations of political elites	View Paper Details
Trending to the Front Page: Does Interest Group Online Prominence Explain Offline Media Visibility?	View Paper Details
Business groups beyond quiet politics: going public, while keeping covert!	View Paper Details
Successful agenda-building? An analysis of foundations‘ issue ownership in national newspapers	View Paper Details
Appealing to the public or protecting the interests of members? How interest groups frame their policy demands in the news media	View Paper Details