In political communication, echoing is a concept that refers to the phenomenon where media outlets use the language, frames, or arguments that were used by political leaders in their news coverage. The term is most commonly used in research that examines the relationship between government officials and the press. The use of echoing by the media reinforces the administration’s preferred framing of political issues[1] and research suggests that the use of echoing can reinforce the way political leaders want issues to be understood by the public.[2]
For example, if political elite consistently uses a particular phrase to describe a policy or national issue, news outlets may repeat that same phrase in their reporting. When echoing occurs, media outlets often use the same terminology or rhetorical framing in their coverage of an issue that was used in official speeches, press briefings, or policy communications.[1]
Theoretical background
The concept of echoing is connected to broader theories in political communications. The idea of the influence that political elites have on the media also includes agenda-setting and framing in addition to echoing and other theories. Some scholars have argued that political elites often intentionally attempt to shape public opinion through strategic communication, especially during major policy debates or national crises.[3] This often involves an array of influencing strategies, and as a result it is uncommon to see echoing by itself. These theories explain how political actors and media organizations influence the issues and perspectives that reach the public.
Research on political elite communication suggests that when political leaders repeatedly promote consistent messages, those messages often become popular in news reporting, through echoing, framing, agenda-setting, or other concepts. This phenomenon shows the influence of political elites over the communication system and reflects the close interaction between political elites and journalists in the modern media environment.[1]
Empirical research
Echoing has been documented in several studies on political communication in the United States. Studies analyzed presidential speeches, compared them to news coverage and results concluded that media outlets sometimes reproduce or reuse the key themes and language in those presidential speeches.[1] This shows uses of echoing and other theories in political communication.
For example, research examining the passage of the Patriot Act in 2001 found that communications from the U.S. presidential administration, combined with news coverage that utilized echoing with rhetoric from the administration, helped create an environment in the United States that encouraged rapid congressional approval of the legislation.[3] Scholars argue that this complicated relationship between political elites and the media reflects the broader influence elites have on narratives and public understanding of political issues through media.[4]
Longitudinal analyses of presidential addresses and media coverage suggest that echoing occurs consistently across decades, though the size of the effect varies depending on the political context and the level of journalistic scrutiny by society.[1]
Criticism and debate
Scholars continually debate whether echoing reflects media bias, structural constraints in journalism, or normal information flow between politicians and journalists. Some researchers argue that echoing may reduce the diversity of viewpoints in news coverage if journalists rely heavily on official sources. They state that when journalists repeat the language of political elites, it may limit critical scrutiny or alternative perspectives in media coverage.[2] Other scholars offer the idea that the effect of echoing is limited and that journalists still include competing perspectives in many cases despite the use of echoing.[1] Other scholars argue that echoing can occur simply because journalists rely on official sources and widely recognized political terminology when explaining complex policy issues to the public; echoing is simply a result of journalism and reporting on issues in a way that is understandable to the audience.[5]
Impact of social media
A new debate in the realm of echoing is being introduced due to the popularization of using social media as a political and news platform. The new discussions surrounding echoing and the rise of digital networks and social media focus on the fact that political messages can spread rapidly across multiple platforms and audiences and the impacts of that.
The introduction of social media into politics allows political elites to distribute their views, messages, and policy with increasing speed. This increases the likelihood that journalists will see these messages and quote or reference them in the news.[6] The fragmentation of the digital media landscape allows for increased repetition and amplification of partisan frames, thus making it possible for political content to spread quickly online. As a result of this, journalists rely more on the current circulating political language to help increase viewership when reporting on current issues.[6]
Another factor to consider is that political elites are now using social media specifically to influence constituents and voters. Campaigns specifically and strategically use social media to promote specific keywords and narratives, which then get reported through the echoing in the media.[7] Some political elites have their own social media accounts so that they can spread their own opinions and views on the political issues of the time.
Journalists monitor these channels constantly to stay up to date on the news-worthy content. This means that messaging from elites is entering the news cycle faster from social media than from the traditional media channels. The overall landscape of social media encourages speed, posting as fast as possible, breaking the news first, and this results in rapid repetition and amplification through echoing.[7]
As a whole, news organizations respond to trending political narratives, especially on digital platforms. Most of this originates from the political elite themselves, since they have social media presences.[8] As a result of digital and social platforms being so popular, when political leaders use them to push particular frames, rhetoric, or agendas on social media, these frames shape the language and frame that journalists use when covering that issue.[8] Social media acts as a bridge between political messaging and news reporting, because of this, the chances that the news uses the same rhetoric and echoes words of the political elite increases.[8]
Overall, social media accelerates the circulation of the political language of the elite, which makes it more likely that administration framing and terminology appear in news reporting.[6]
References
- Coe, Kevin; Bradshaw, Seth C. (2014). "Toward a Fuller Understanding of the Echoing Press: Presidential Addresses and the New York Times, 1933-2013: Presidential Addresses and the Echoing Press". Communication Theory. 24 (3): 272–290. doi:10.1111/comt.12037.
- Entman, Robert M. Projections of Power: Framing News, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy. Studies in Communication, Media, and Public Opinion. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
- Domke, David; Graham, Erica S.; Coe, Kevin; Lockett John, Sue; Coopman, Ted (2006). "Going Public as Political Strategy: The Bush Administration, an Echoing Press, and Passage of the Patriot Act". Political Communication. 23 (3): 291–312. doi:10.1080/10584600600808844. ISSN 1058-4609.
- Domke, David (2004). God Willing? Political Fundamentalism in the White House, the 'War on Terror' and the Echoing Press (1 ed.). Pluto Press. ISBN 978-0-7453-2306-0.
- Graber, Doris A. (1976). "Press and TV as Opinion Resources in Presidential Campaigns". The Public Opinion Quarterly. 40 (3): 285–303. ISSN 0033-362X.
- Iyengar, Shanto; Hahn, Kyu S (2009). "Red Media, Blue Media: Evidence of Ideological Selectivity in Media Use". Journal of Communication. 59 (1): 19–39. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2008.01402.x.
- Bimber, Bruce (2014-04-03). "Digital Media in the Obama Campaigns of 2008 and 2012: Adaptation to the Personalized Political Communication Environment". Journal of Information Technology & Politics. 11 (2): 130–150. doi:10.1080/19331681.2014.895691. ISSN 1933-1681.
- Boczkowski, Pablo J.; Mitchelstein, Eugenia (2013-11-08). The News Gap: When the Information Preferences of the Media and the Public Diverge. The MIT Press. doi:10.7551/mitpress/9780262019835.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-262-31818-1.