- Journalists' decisions on which stories to cover determine what issues receive political attention, as nearly all parliamentary questions reference news articles.
- Without media coverage, an issue is effectively invisible to politics, making journalists crucial gatekeepers who often don't realize the extent of their influence.
- There is a chicken-and-egg problem: reporting on new topics requires courage and effort, but ignoring them leaves potential problems in the dark.
- A case study involving the EU child porn scanner shows that sustained journalistic engagement can force political action, even if the final story doesn't air.
- Topic selection is often ad-hoc and risk-averse, with journalists reluctant to be the first to cover something new.
- The author argues that journalists should be supported in making conscious choices about what to cover, and should recognize that their role inherently involves activism by deciding where to shine a light.