Spanish think tanks: Longitudinal analysis of their presence in national and international media (2004-2018)

Abstract

The objective of this study is to explore the presence of Spanish think tanks in national and international media based on a quantitative analysis of content published on 70 think tanks over 15 years (2004-2018). The published content was obtained through Factiva®, a database from Dow Jones & Company, that provides access to more than 35,000 mass media around the world. The results suggest that the representation of think tanks in the media has gradually increased over the years, regardless of the economic cycle or political situation, quadrupling over the analyzed period. Moreover, an increase of the hegemony of a few think tanks in the grouping of messages on the public debate and their concentration in a few media and media agencies are confirmed.