Newspapers focus on who MEPs are rather than on what they do in the European Parliament

For the European Parliament to confer legitimacy on the EU’s legislative process it is necessary for voters to be aware of the actions taken by MEPs. But how do newspapers cover the work of the Parliament? Based on a study of newspaper coverage of 302 MEPs, Katjana Gattermann and Sofia Vasilopoulou write that the visibility of individual politicians in the media is not greatly linked to their legislative activity, but instead to their wider profile in domestic politics. As such there is a potential motivation problem concerning MEPs with career ambitions in national politics, as they may benefit from spending less time in the Parliament.