Keyword – attention-based politics

Altheide, David L. – Merkovity, Norbert:

How Does Fear and Attention-Based Politics Help Donald Trump and Other Right-Wing Autocrats?

This paper is about how the campaigns of Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 transformed American politics and invigorated right-wing autocrats throughout the globe. Donald Trump took the politics of fear to a new level by promoting the fear of immigrants, especially Mexicans, while demonising Muslims and other groups. Many American citizens supported this fear with ballots even when protests started in the U.S. against hateful attacks or thousands died because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The relativisation of objective facts and the spread of false news have been included in the toolbox of autocratic leaders like Trump. We need to recognise the dynamics of this process and take decisive action against them. This study argues that after the Trump years, the widespread dissemination of media literacy should be promoted, in which academics should also be involved.

Keywords: attention-based politics, autocratic transition, autocratic politicians, Donald Trump, fake news, George Floyd, media logic, political communication, politics of fear, U.S. presidential election, U.S. media

Stumpf, Péter Bence – Szekeres, Tamás – Merkovity, Norbert:

Migrants during break time

The research presented in this paper examines the one-minute long news bulletins aired during the half-time breaks of the FIFA World Cup in 2018. The findings indicate that these news bulletins acted as a vehicle for the narratives of the government and were used to maximise the attention focused on the migration wave. The analysed cases show that reporting could serve political purposes both in terms of length and story selection. Although immigration was a prominent topic during the studied periods, it received even more airtime during the World Cup. It is beyond the reach of this study to analyse the effects of reporting on public opinion. However, the success of the Fidesz/KDNP party alliance in the 2018 legislative elections and the 2019 European elections suggests that this method of communication had been quite efficient, and the one-minute news blocks had served attention building purposes.

Keywords: attention-based politics, attention-building, FIFA World Cup, framing, immigration, migration, public service television, news programs, one-minute newscast, political communication