ORF 'Sommergespräche': Strategies, Images and Issues in Political TV Interviews 1981-2016 (OA edition)

Although political TV interviews can reveal a lot about the changing relationship between journalism and politics in media-centered democracies, respective knowledge in Austria is limited – especially during non-election times. Against this background, this project aims to generate insights about interviews' political agendas, actors’ specific conversation strategies and the staging of politics in a long-term comparison by an analysis of the format ORF "Sommergespräche" ("Summer Talks"), broadcast since 1981 by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation.

Following a static-dynamic approach with origins in linguistics, a quantitative content analysis was applied to all single statements from all 125 episodes broadcast between 1981 and 2016. To consider the changing role of media according to the "mediatization" thesis, the analysis also considered aspects of media logic, which have been identified as factors that shape agenda-setting strategies in related contexts. Based on this extensive material, the project aims to answer questions as the following: How successful are moderators and, in contrast, political guests in controlling the interview's agenda?