In this paper we explore how citizens’ knowledge about political parties and party competition influences party preferences. In the comparative electoral behavior literature, there is a demonstrated link between these preferences and the supply alternatives. For example, in systems that foster extreme parties, voters develop stronger attachments (Bowler, Lanoue, and Savoie 1994). We argue that the news media play an important role in translating the electoral supply of party alternatives to citizens and that where news media cues are stronger (i.e. more salient or more partisan) citizens will be able to place parties more correctly or, at least, with less doubt. Hence, electoral choice based on ideological or issue proximity become more likely.
We examine these expectations in the context of European Parliamentary elections. Specifically, we test how the visibility of Europe in the news (both in terms of topics and actors) affects the ability of citizens to place parties on the issue of European integration. Using data from the 1999, 2004 and 2009 European Election Study we combine estimates of visibility of European news from the media content studies with the post-election surveys where respondents are asked to place themselves and parties on a European integrations scale.
