scholarly journals Metaphors of corruption in the news media coverage of seven European countries

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxana Bratu ◽  
Iveta Kažoka

This article explores the symbolic dimension of corruption by looking at the metaphors employed to represent this phenomenon in the media across seven different European countries (France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom) over 10 years (2004–2014). It focuses on the media practices in evoking corruption-related metaphors and shows that corruption is a complex phenomenon with unclear boundaries, represented with the use of metaphorical devices that not only illuminate but also hide some of its attributes. The article identifies and analyses the metaphors of corruption by looking at their sources and target domains, as well as unpacking the contexts in which media evoke corruption-related metaphors.

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Walker ◽  
M. Sulyok

Abstract The current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic offers a unique opportunity to conduct an infodemiological study examining patterns in online searching activity about a specific disease and how this relates to news media within a specific country. Google Trends quantifies volumes of online activity. The relative search volume was obtained for ‘Coronavirus’, ‘handwashing’, ‘face mask’ and symptom related keywords, for the United Kingdom, from the date of the first confirmed case until numbers peaked in April. The relationship between online search traffic and confirmed case numbers was examined. Search volumes varied over time; peaks appear related to events in the progression of the epidemic which were reported in the media. Search activity on ‘Coronavirus’ correlated well against confirmed case number as did ‘face mask’ and symptom-related keywords. User-generated online data sources such as Google Trends may aid disease surveillance, being more responsive to changes in disease occurrence than traditional disease reporting. The relationship between media coverage and online searching activity is rarely examined, but may be driving online behavioural patterns.


Crisis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika E. Lynn-Green ◽  
Klaudia Jaźwińska ◽  
Adam L. Beckman ◽  
Stephen R. Latham

Abstract. Background: Healthcare workers are at elevated risk for suicide; though it has yet to be studied, this risk may be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. News media coverage of high-profile suicide is associated with an increased risk of subsequent suicides. No analysis has yet been published of US media practices for reporting on healthcare worker suicides during the pandemic. Aims: The researchers aimed to evaluate pandemic-era media practices by investigating adherence to best-practice suicide reporting guidelines in coverage of Dr. Lorna Breen's death. Methods: The researchers conducted a content analysis of all unique articles by top outlets reporting Dr. Breen's death between April 26 and 29, 2020, and scored them based on their adherence to the 15 best-practice suicide reporting guidelines. Results: Every media outlet violated an average of at least 5 of 15 suicide guidelines in reporting on Dr. Breen's death; some abided by as few as 2 of 15 recommended guidelines. Seven of 15 guidelines were adhered to by fewer than one third of articles. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, notably easy to include, appeared in only 75% of articles. Limitations: The researchers were limited to reviewing media coverage of one specific instance of COVID-era healthcare worker suicide, making these findings applicable as a prominent case study rather than forming a generalizable claim about suicide reporting during the pandemic or about reporting on healthcare suicides. Conclusion: These violations highlight a range of opportunities to improve suicide prevention in the media, which has a responsibility to ensure reporting does not exacerbate the risk of suicide. Improved adherence to these guidelines could reduce harm for healthcare workers during the pandemic.


2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Poole

This article examines data from a year-long project, ‘Muslims in the European Mediascape’, which explored the production and consumption of diversity issues in the United Kingdom and Germany. Here, I report on the findings from minority (predominantly Muslim) media producers and consumers in the United Kingdom; these findings demonstrate both the ambitions of the producers and the somewhat limited extent to which they are met among audiences. The research reveals a disconnect between producers and their target audiences in terms of the media consumption of those audiences, despite a similarity in their sociopolitical concerns. Perhaps more importantly, an analysis of participant discussions about media practices and life in the United Kingdom reveals more about the politics of representation and belonging in a period of considerable instability and change than it reveals about reported practices.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miklós Hajdu ◽  
Boróka Pápay ◽  
Zoltán Szántó ◽  
István János Tóth

The article presents and summarizes some results from extensive cross-national content analysis of media coverage of corruption. The authors examined a sample containing 12,742 articles published in France, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2013. A limited number of studies have been done thus far to reveal how the media deals with corruption cases in certain countries, and cross-national comparative analyses are exceedingly scarce. The core focus of the study is to reveal the significant differences in the corruption cases covered by the media according to the countries under analysis. We assume that some differences exist between the media coverage of corruption in the new and the old European Union member states and also that by classifying countries into groups based on their perception of the level of the corruption, some dissimilarities will be revealed between them. We conclude that the distinction between countries based on whether they are old or new European Union members does not wholly determine the nature of reporting on international or national corruption cases, for example, Italy was more similar to the old European Union member states in this sense. Considering the level of institutionalization of corruption cases, Italy appears to be more similar to the other old European Union members, but we should clarify that differences based on this feature of the cases are not clearly highlighted in the interaction model. However, if we use the variable perceptions of corruption to classify countries, we find that countries with a ‘cleaner’ environment (the United Kingdom, France) place more focus on reporting corruption cases in the international arena.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Whigham ◽  
Jack Black

This article critically examines print media discourses regarding the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. The forthcoming analysis examines the political symbolism of the Commonwealth Games with regard to the interlinkages between the British Empire, sport and the global political status of the United Kingdom. The article gives specific consideration to the United Kingdom’s declining global power as well as the interconnections between the 2014 Games and the Scottish independence referendum. Hechter’s ‘internal colonialism’ thesis, which portrays Scotland’s marginalised status within the United Kingdom, is drawn upon to critically explore the political symbolism of sport for Scottish nationalism. Discussion then focuses upon the extent to which the modern Commonwealth is symptomatic of the United Kingdom’s declining status as a global power. Finally, the existence of these narrative tropes in print media coverage of the Commonwealth Games is examined, allowing for critical reflections on the continuing interconnections between the media, sport, nationalism and post-imperial global politics.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 562-580
Author(s):  
Theng Theng Ong ◽  
Robert M. McKenzie

‘If it bleeds, it leads’, events characterised by fatalities, are likely to attract high levels of media coverage. This study adopts a multidisciplinary approach to investigate public discourses on the MH17 tragedy in Malaysia and the United Kingdom. First, corpus-based discourse analysis was employed to explore the construction of the Malaysian Airlines tragedy MH17 in four selected Malaysian and British newspapers. In addition, an attitudinal study examining 50 Malaysian and 50 UK nationals’ perceptions of the tragedy was conducted. Keywords analysis revealed an overall tendency for the news media to construct the air tragedy through classifications between ‘us’ and ‘others’. Specifically, important ‘Us’ (Malaysian elites) and non-important ‘Other’ (non-Malaysian) in the Malaysian newspapers, versus good ‘Us’ (the West) and evil ‘Others’ (Russia) in the British newspapers. The attitudinal analysis shows, for both the Malaysian and the UK respondents, the most salient associations with the MH17 tragedy related to ‘ conflicts’.


Sexual Health ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Martin ◽  
Shona Hilton ◽  
Lisa M. McDaid

Background Improving sexual health and blood-borne virus (BBV) outcomes continue to be of high priority within the United Kingdom (UK) and it is evident that the media can and do impact the public health agenda. This paper presents the first large-scale exploration of UK national newsprint media representations of sexual health and BBVs. Methods: Using keyword searches in electronic databases, 677 articles published during 2010 were identified from 12 national (UK-wide and Scottish) newspapers. Content analysis was used to identify manifest content and to examine the tone of articles. Results: Although there was a mixed picture overall in terms of tone, negatively toned articles, which focussed on failures or blame, were common, particularly within HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, and other sexually transmissible infection coverage (41% were assessed as containing negative content; 46% had negative headlines). Differences were found by newspaper genre, with ‘serious’ newspaper articles appearing more positive and informative than ‘midmarket’ newspapers or ‘tabloids’. Across the sample, particular individuals, behaviours and risk groups were focussed on, not always accurately, and there was little mention of deprivation and inequalities (9%). A gender imbalance was evident, particularly within reproductive health articles (71% focussed on women; 23% on men), raising questions concerning gender stereotyping. Conclusions: There is a need to challenge the role that media messages have in the reinforcement of a negative culture around sexual health in the UK and for a strong collective advocacy voice to ensure that future media coverage is positively portrayed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 732-745
Author(s):  
Cristina Fernández-Rovira ◽  
Santiago Giraldo-Luque

Women politicians have been discriminated against or negatively valued under stereotypes in media coverage and have been given a secondary role compared to male politicians. The article proposes an analysis of the treatment given by digital media to women political leaders. They are from different parties in three countries and the aim is to identify the polarity (positive, neutral or negative) of the information published about them in the media. The text focuses on the cases of Anne Hidalgo and Marine Le Pen, from France, Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May, from the United Kingdom and Ada Colau and Inés Arrimadas, from Spain. The study develops a computerised sentiment analysis of the information published in two leading digital newspapers in each country, during the month of November 2019. The research, with the analysis of 1100 journalistic pieces, shows that the polarity or valence of the women analysed is predominantly neutral and positive and that the journalistic genres do not determine the media representation of the women studied. On the contrary, the country of study does have a predominant incidence on the way in which women politicians are represented, while the relationship of affinity or antipathy of the Spanish media with the women politicians studied is significant.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela Maier ◽  
Patrick Bacherle ◽  
Silke Adam ◽  
Melanie Leidecker-Sandmann

We investigate the interplay between party communication and media coverage in putting EU issues on the agenda during the 2014 European Parliamentary election campaigns in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom. A temporal pattern analysis focuses on the dynamic perspective of media–parties’ interactions based on a quantitative content analysis of (a) the press releases published by parties and (b) the coverage of two leading newspapers per country 12 weeks prior to the elections. We find that most public discourses are started by the media; however, political parties especially in Austria are also quite successful in initiating discussions about EU issues. Interestingly, once an issue has been placed on the agenda, only a few parties take the opportunity of exploiting their issue-ownership in response to the media agenda. On the other side, media react to publications of all party types, even radical parties.


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