New Perspectives in Studies of American Governance Phase IIA

Abstract The digital media environment tests the capacity of journalists to cover Congress, o?ering new mechanisms for coverage but demanding real me updates in a digital-?rst environment. The rela onships that foster the informa on exchange in Congress increasingly occur over social media or text message, and a er a global pandemic that further strained in- person connec ons, those digital connec ons are further reinforced. Congressional reporters are asked to do more to meet the informa on exchange, but in addi on to content development, journalists are also incen vized to develop a digital brand for themselves and build cache as a poli cal in?uencer. Journalists fuel and react to the narra ves coming out of Congress, while adap ng to a world where their power comes from followers rather than proximity. This project overs a mul -disciplinary approach, bridging communica on, journalism, and poli cal science, to consider the dynamics of the digital informa on exchange in Congress. This project, with support from the New Perspec ves grant program, will o?er an important and new perspec ve about how journalists in?uence the daily dialogue in Congress and what that means for how informa on is shared in a poli cal, hybrid media system. This project is important because it o?ers a novel approach to the unfolding crisis of communica on in Congress, relying on the experiences of those at the front lines of this informa on exchange, to detail how social media has fostered a permanent brand of rapid response that tests capacity of reporters and journalists in Congress. A series of semi-structured interviews with journalists reveals how repor ng norms have changed due to digital trends and how poli cal journalists are both the gatekeepers of informa on and partners in the informa on exchange. The demands of digital media place new constraints on the capacity of lawmakers, sta?, and journalists to func on, fundamentally altering congressional opera ons by increasing the velocity of informa on. When the crisis never ceases, how Congress responds has implica ons for what issues get addressed and the diversity of voices that get heard.