Mounting concern surrounds the influence of political actors on journalism, especially as media outlets face increasing financial pressures. These circumstances can give rise to instances of media capture, a mutually corrupting relationship between political actors and media organizations. However, empirical evidence substantiating such mechanisms and their consequences remains limited, particularly in the context of Western democracies. This chapter investigates a recent case in which a former Austrian chancellor allegedly colluded with a tabloid newspaper to receive better news coverage in exchange for increased ad placements by government institutions. We employ automated content analysis to investigate political news articles from seventeen prominent Austrian news outlets spanning 2012–2021 ( n = 222,659). Adopting a difference-in-differences approach, we find a substantial increase in media visibility of the former Austrian chancellor within the news outlet that is alleged to have received bribes, as well as a decrease in favorability for challenger candidates. Although this study does not aim to prove or disprove the involvement of specific political actors or media organizations in unethical or illegal activities, it introduces an innovative method for detecting unusual patterns in media reporting. Findings are discussed in the context of current threats to media independence and underscore the crucial need to protect journalistic integrity and ensure unbiased information for the public.

中文翻译：

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奥地利政治广告丑闻：“待售新闻”的模式


人们越来越担心政治行为者对新闻业的影响，尤其是在媒体机构面临越来越大的财务压力的情况下。这些情况可能导致媒体捕获的情况，即政治行为者和媒体组织之间的相互腐蚀关系。然而，证实这种机制及其后果的经验证据仍然有限，尤其是在西方民主国家的背景下。本章调查了最近的一个案件，其中一位奥地利前总理据称与一家小报勾结，以获得更好的新闻报道，以换取政府机构增加广告投放。我们采用自动内容分析来调查 2012 年至 2021 年间 17 家奥地利著名新闻媒体的政治新闻文章 （n = 222,659）。采用双重差分方法，我们发现奥地利前总理在涉嫌收受贿赂的新闻机构中的媒体知名度大幅提高，对挑战者候选人的好感度也有所下降。尽管本研究的目的不是证明或反驳特定政治行为者或媒体组织参与不道德或非法活动，但它引入了一种创新方法来检测媒体报道中的异常模式。研究结果在当前媒体独立性受到威胁的背景下进行了讨论，并强调了保护新闻诚信和确保为公众提供公正信息的迫切需要。