Beyond Formal Power: How Central Roles in Political Networks are Related to Media Visibility

Vesa, Juho; Malkamäki, Arttu; Gronow, Antti; Wagner, Paul; Ylä-Anttila, Tuomas

Abstract

A recurring finding in communication studies is that political actors with formalinstitutional power are highly visible in the media. The relationship between informal power and media visibility remains less understood. This study examines whether central roles in networks of political collaboration—as indicators of informal power—are associated with increased visibility in mainstream news media. We hypothesize that organizations with central roles are more visible in the media because informal power increases their newsworthiness. Using social network methods and Bayesian regressions on survey and media data on organizations involved in climate policy in Finland, we find that central organizations with many collaboration partners receive more media coverage. Other central roles, such as brokerage or coalition leadership, are not associated with media visibility. This study advances knowledge of media visibility by showing that informal power is associated with media visibility, and that some power positions are more important than others.

Citation

Vesa, J., Malkamäki, A., Gronow, A., Wagner, P., & Ylä-Anttila, T. Beyond Formal Power: How Central Roles in Political Networks are Related to Media Visibility. Communication Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251343986

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jun 19, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 23, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 23, 2025
• Journal: Communication Research
• Print ISSN: 0093-6502
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-3810
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502251343986
• Keywords: media visibility, political actors, power, policy networks, news media