Social media channels, particularly Twitter/X, played a significant role as information platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. As journalists are crucial actors on that platform, an analysis of the content and tone of their tweets during the pandemic can reveal the role they played in shaping public understanding of this public health crisis. Our analysis focuses on Germany where the government enforced relatively strict anti-COVID-19 measures and where strong opposition to these measures emerged outside the mainstream media. We analyzed almost 10.000 tweets of 247 journalists of mainstream media during a 14-month-period. To shed light on journalists' watchdog versus collaborative role orientation, computational methods were used to extract themes and tone in their pandemic-related tweets. Furthermore, network analysis was utilized to identify influential actors in journalists' interactions with experts and other users on Twitter. The findings revealed that journalists tweeted most about topics like the economy, protests, and Chancellor Merkel's ability to implement a restrictive containment policy. As demonstrated by the network analysis, journalists frequently interacted with cabinet members and pro-government experts on Twitter during the pandemic. The analysis also revealed that some tweets were characterized by an anti-protest and anti-lockdown tone, but these came from different groups of journalists.

Striving for discourse or propagating partisan narratives? The tweeting behavior of members of parliament in the first ˈpost-Merkelˈ election campaign.

This paper examines to what extent 425 members of the German Bundestag (MPs) put their parties’ narratives first in their tweets in the run-up to the general election of 2021. My guiding hypothesis is that MPs in general but especially from the green party and the populist AfD, located at opposite poles of the political spectrum, propagate partisan narratives in terms of themes and frames rather than seeking inter partisan discourse or promoting personal views (e.g., Enli & Skogerbø 2013, Himelboim et al. 2013). The analysis focuses on MPs’ tweeting behavior between 1 July and 31 August, examining more than 20K tweets. Each MP tweeted on average 48.6 times during this period. First, the paper will employ a Structural Topic Model (STM) to show the themes MPs tweeted about and the factors that predicted these themes. Regarding the predictors, the analysis will compare the influence of party affiliation, individual account, and real-world events. The STM, which is currently being computed, will thus show to what extent party narratives influenced the themes about which MPs tweeted.Second, the paper examines how MPs polarize the debate by framing certain topics along a partisan narrative by using ideologically loaded terminology to convey key ideas (e.g., Milizia 2010). This was tested for a flooding caused by heavy rainfall that devastated a region on July 14-15. The results of a Keyness analysis of tweets mentioning this event show that green MPs framed the event as a compelling argument for climate action, while populist MPs framed it as a case of instrumentalizing the plight of the people affected. I expect that STM, and Keyness analyses for other salient topics will further corroborate the working hypothesis.

This paper examines journalistic role performance in coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on a content analysis of newspaper, television, radio and online news in 37 countries. We test a set of hypotheses derived from two perspectives on the role of journalism in health crises. Mediatization theories assume that news media tend to sensationalize or to politicize health crises. A contrasting perspective holds that journalists shift toward more deferential and cooperative stances toward health and political authorities in a health crisis, attempting to mobilize the public to act according to the best science. Hypotheses derived from these perspectives are tested using the standard measures of journalistic roles developed by the Journalistic Role Performance Project. Results show that the deference/cooperation/consensus perspective is better supported, with media moving away from the Watchdog and Infotainment, and toward performance of the Service and Civic roles. We also explore differences in the pattern by country.

This study explores politicians' subjective views of the mediatisation of politics and the implication it has for their satisfaction with democracy. Based on previous research, we hypothesise a negative effect of their perception of media influence on their evaluation of the news media's performance as a public informant. These perceptions directly and indirectly influence politicians' satisfaction with democracy. The relationships were tested with a Structural Equation Model (SEM) based on comparative survey data from politicians in seven democracies (Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland). Results show that a strong influence runs from politicians' perception of the media's performance as regards public information to their satisfaction with the functioning of democracy. This influence is stable across countries. The SEM thus may provide a good explanation for why some politicians attack legacy media and excessively use social media to communicate with voters. Results also point to risks of media-driven democracies.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed journalistic practices and media roles in France and Germany.

Analysis: As part of the Journalistic Role Performance Project (JRP), 9,438 articles published in France and Germany in 2020 were analyzed to determine trends in journalistic sources and the presence of six professional roles (watchdog, loyal facilitator, interventionist disseminator, service, infotainment, and civic) in news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusions and implications: Professional roles in French and German media production are similar despite the countries having distinct media systems. However, notable differences exist in terms of journalistic practices. German media are characterized by the use of sources to justify institutional decisions. In contrast, French journalistic content is less politicized with a focus on “health” sources.

Contexte : La pandémie de COVID-19 a transformé les pratiques journalistiques et les rôles des médias en France et en Allemagne.

Analyse : Dans le cadre du projet Journalistic Role Performance (JRP), 9 438 articles publiés en France et en Allemagne en 2020 ont été analysés afin de déterminer les caractéristiques des sources utilisées par les journalistes et, parmi ces derniers, la présence de six rôles professionnels (chien de garde, facilitateur loyal, disséminateur interventionniste, journaliste de service, fournisseur d’infodivertissement, et journaliste civique) dans la couverture médiatique de la pandémie de COVID-19.

Conclusions et implications : Les rôles professionnels dans la production médiatique française et allemande sont similaires, bien que les pays aient des systèmes médiatiques distincts. Cependant, des différences notables existent dans les pratiques journalistiques. Par exemple, les médias allemands se distinguent par leur utilisation de sources pour justifier des décisions institutionnelles. En revanche, le contenu journalistique français est moins politisé, mettant davantage l’accent sur des sources en soins de santé.

The emergence of the Hybrid Media System (Chadwick, 2017) has changed the actor constellations between political jour‐nalism, active members of the audience, and sources. How journalism responds to activism, pressure from politics, andemerging forms of connective action around news events is an important theme in journalism research. This thematic issuebrings together seven articles that look at these developments from different angles in a rapidly changing communicationecosystem. The focus is on journalistic authority and legitimacy, journalism and interpretive communities, and changesconcerning journalistic roles and practices.