Agencies in the news? Public agencies' media evaluations in a low-trust context

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Peci, Alketa
• 署名单位: Getulio Vargas Foundation
• 刊物名称: GOVERNANCE-AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF POLICY ADMINISTRATION AND INSTITUTIONS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0952-1895
• DOI: 10.1111/gove.12579
• 发表日期: 2021
• 关键词: Reputation; ACCOUNTABILITY; COMMUNICATION; institutions; CORRUPTION; attention; IMPACT; POLICY; DRUG

摘要

Bureaucratic reputations are largely shaped by the media's evaluations of such agencies. However, the research overlooks how the media evaluates public agencies, particularly in low-trust contexts. Using inductive machine-learning techniques, we uncover the media's evaluations of Brazilian regulatory agencies based on more than 38,000 stories published within the last 20 years with the aim of exploring what drives their media evaluations and which reputational dimensions are privileged in the negative media coverage of regulatory agencies. We find different patterns of media evaluations that reflect a unique interplay of media logic, agency strategizing, and the quality of the policy context in which the agencies operate. However, even in a low-trust context, some agencies are able to build a favorable media reputation. In contrast, agencies with unfavorable media reputations are systematically questioned along many reputational dimensions and are subject to stronger negativity bias.