How do we speak of the EU - Narratives in newspaper coverage of the EU

Roesgaard, Lars ; Vikner, Thomas

4. term

Culture, Communication and Globalization, Master

2019

2019-05-30

93

Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan EU fremstilles i avisernes dækning i Storbritannien og Irland i perioden 2014-2018. Det spørger: Hvilke fortællinger om EU konstrueres, hvordan udvikler de sig over tid i de to medlemsstater, og hvordan relaterer de sig til hinanden? Med et fortolkende udgangspunkt, der ser medierne som centrale for offentlighedens opfattelser, analyserer studiet artikler fra de største aviser i hvert land – The Sun og Irish Independent. Ved hjælp af kvalitativ indholdsanalyse med en enkel fortællingsstruktur baseret på aktører, hændelser og et tidsligt aspekt identificeres 21 kernefortællinger: 7 store, 6 mellemstore og 8 mindre. De spænder fra migration (fx “Migration løses af EU”) og regler/standarder (fx “EU er standardsætter”) til EU-støttet udvikling (“Vi drager nytte af EU-finansieret udvikling”) og Brexit-konsekvenser (fx “UK vil drage fordel/ikke drage fordel af Brexit”). Frekvensen af disse fortællinger ændrer sig over tid; nogle er gennemgående, andre optræder kun i perioder. Seks fortællinger er unikke for de to lande (tre i hver). Irish Independent rummer flere forskellige fortællinger, mens de identificerede fortællinger forekommer oftere i The Sun. Samlet set peger analysen på markante nationale forskelle: EU fremstilles generelt mere positivt i irsk end i britisk dækning, tæt knyttet til hvordan EU konstitueres og karakteriseres som aktør. Der findes også binære relationer, hvor parvise fortællinger påvirker hinanden, hvilket peger på et narrativt landskab, der udvikler sig, men forbliver forankret omkring tilbagevendende nøgleemner.

This thesis examines how the European Union is portrayed in newspaper coverage in the United Kingdom and Ireland between 2014 and 2018. It asks which narratives about the EU are constructed, how these narratives evolve over time in the two member states, and how they relate to each other. Taking an interpretivist stance that views the media as central to public perceptions, the study analyzes articles from the largest newspapers in each country—The Sun and the Irish Independent. Using qualitative content analysis with a simple narrative structure based on actors, events, and a temporal dimension, it identifies 21 core narratives: 7 major, 6 medium, and 8 minor. These range from migration (e.g., “Migration issues are solved by the EU”) and rules/standards (e.g., “The EU acts as a standard setter”) to EU-funded development (“We benefit from EU funded development”) and Brexit outcomes (e.g., “The UK will benefit/will not benefit from Brexit”). The frequency of these narratives shifts over time; some persist throughout the period, while others appear only in parts of it. Six narratives are unique across the two countries (three in each). The Irish Independent features a greater variety of narratives, while the narratives identified in The Sun occur more frequently. Overall, the analysis suggests marked national differences: Irish coverage tends to portray the EU more positively than UK coverage, closely tied to how the EU is constituted and characterized as an actor. It also finds binary relationships in which paired narratives influence each other, pointing to a narrative landscape that evolves yet remains anchored around recurring key topics.

[This summary has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project (PDF)]

Narratives ; EU ; media ; Brexit ; Ireland ; UK ; News paper

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