News Media as Gatekeepers, Critics, and Initiators of Populist Communication: How Journalists in Ten Countries Deal with the Populist Challenge

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 476-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Wettstein ◽  
Frank Esser ◽  
Anne Schulz ◽  
Dominique S. Wirz ◽  
Werner Wirth
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
News Media ◽  
Public Debate ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The People ◽  
The Media ◽  
Comparative Content

In the wake of the recent successes of populist political actors and discussions about its causes in Europe, the contribution of the media has become an issue of public debate. We identify three roles—as gatekeepers, interpreters, and initiators—the media can assume in their coverage of populist actors, populist ideology, and populist communication. A comparative content analysis of nine thousand stories from fifty-nine news outlets in ten European countries shows that both media factors (e.g., tabloid orientation) and political factors (e.g., response of mainstream parties) influence the extent and nature of populism in the media. Although newspapers in most countries do not overrepresent populist actors and tend to evaluate them negatively, we still find abundant populist content in the news. Several media outlets like to present themselves as mouthpieces of the people while, at the same time, cover politicians and parties with antiinstitutional undertones.

scholarly journals Framing Islam in News Reporting: A Comparative Content Analysis

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isyaku Hassan ◽  
Mohd N. L. Azmi ◽  
Usman I. Abubakar
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Conflict Situation ◽  
Corporate Ownership ◽  
Human Interest ◽  
News Reporting ◽  
The People ◽  
Media Portrayal ◽  
The Media ◽  
Comparative Content

The emergence of modern communication technology suggests that the society as a whole is now a simple hostage at the hands of the media. However, the time has come to ask whether the people are being managed, manipulated, massaged or brainwashed by the media. Media contents are unjustifiably dominated by expressions that create negative impressions of Islam. As a result, the media accentuate anti-Muslim bias and bigotry. This study aims to comparatively examine how Nigerian and Malaysian newspapers frame Islam-related events in news reporting. Using purposive sampling, Punch and Vanguard were chosen from Nigeria while The Star and New Straits Times were chosen from Malaysia based on their popularity and readership. Relevant news articles that focus upon reports about Islam or Muslims were collected from the selected newspapers using internet-based search from November 2015 until September 2016. The newspapers produced 599 different Islam-related news articles within this period. The study found that out of 599 news articles published in the selected newspapers, 228 portrayed Islam in conflict situation by using conflict frame. For the rest, 60 news articles used consequence frame, 32 used crime frame, 11 used responsibility frame, 19 used morality frame, and 249 portrayed Islam using human interest frame. Nigerian newspapers used more conflict frames in reporting Islam than Malaysian newspapers. Collective efforts of journalists, editors, and corporate ownership of the newspapers should be directed toward suppressing the negative media portrayal of Islam.

scholarly journals The kiss of death. Public service media under right-wing populist attack

2021 ◽  
pp. 026732312199133
Author(s):  
Christina Holtz-Bacha
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Democratic Accountability ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic Control ◽  
The Media ◽  
Democratic System ◽  
Public Scrutiny

With the surge of populism in Europe, public service broadcasting has come under increased pressure. The established media are considered part of the corrupt elite not serving the interests of the people. The public service media, for which pluralism is at the core of their remit, are a particular thorn in the side of the populists. Therefore, they attack the financial basis of public service, which is supposed to guarantee their independence. The populist attacks on the traditional broadcasting corporations meet with the interests of neoliberal politics and of those political actors who want to evade public scrutiny and democratic control and do no longer feel committed to democratic accountability. The assaults on the public service media are thus an assault on freedom of the media and further increase the pressure on the democratic system.

scholarly journals Trust in the European Union: Effects of the information environment

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Brosius ◽  
Erika J van Elsas ◽  
Claes H de Vreese
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
News Media ◽  
Information Environment ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
The European Union ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Media

Over the past decade, the European Union has lost the trust of many citizens. This article investigates whether and how media information, in particular visibility and tonality, impact trust in the European Union among citizens. Combining content analysis and Eurobarometer survey data from 10 countries between 2004 and 2015, we study both direct and moderating media effects. Media tone and visibility have limited direct effects on trust in the European Union, but they moderate the relation between trust in national institutions and trust in the European Union. This relation is amplified when the European Union is more visible in the media and when media tone is more positive towards the European Union, whereas it is dampened when media tone is more negative. The findings highlight the role of news media in the crisis of trust in the European Union.

scholarly journals Gender Bias in the Media: The Case of Iceland

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 207
Author(s):  
Valgerður Jóhannsdóttir ◽  
Þorgerður Einarsdóttir
Keyword(s):  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
The People ◽  
The Media ◽  
Area Of Concern ◽  
Media Monitoring ◽  
The Relationship

The news media are the most influential sources of information, ideas and opinion for most people around the world. Who appears in the news and who is left out, what is covered and what is not and how people and events are portrayed matter. Research has consistently shown that women are underrepresented in the news and that gender stereotypes are reinforced in and through the media. The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action recognised the relationship between women and media as a major area of concern in achieving gender equality in contemporary societies. This article presents Nordic findings from the 2015 Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP), which is the largest and longest-running study on gender in the world’s media. The findings show that women account for only 1 in 5 of the people interviewed or reported on by Icelandic news media and that women’s overall presence in the news has declined compared to the last GMMP study in 2010. The proportion of women as news subjects is also considerably lower than in other Nordic countries. We argue that the number of women who are journalists, managers in the media industry and decision makers in society has increased, but this shift has not automatically changed the representation of women in the news, either in numbers or in their portrayal. This discrepancy indicates that the relationship between gender and the news media is complicated and needs to be approached from different perspectives.

Young adults know that their issues are not represented in the news: Israeli young adults and mainstream news media

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benny Nuriely ◽  
Moti Gigi ◽  
Yuval Gozansky
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
Online News ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
The Media

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the ways socio-economic issues are represented in mainstream news media and how it is consumed, understood and interpreted by Israeli young adults (YAs). It examines how mainstream media uses neo-liberal discourse, and the ways YAs internalize this ethic, while simultaneously finding ways to overcome its limitations. Design/methodology/approach This was a mixed methods study. First, it undertook content analysis of the most popular Israeli mainstream news media among YAs: the online news site Ynet and the TV Channel 2 news. Second, the authors undertook semi-structured in-depth interviews with 29 Israeli YAs. The analysis is based on an online survey of 600 young Israelis, aged 18–35 years. Findings Most YAs did not perceive mainstream media as enabling a reliable understanding of the issues important to them. The content analysis revealed that self-representation of YAs is rare, and that their issues were explained, and even resolved, by older adults. Furthermore, most of YAs' problems in mainstream news media were presented using a neo-liberal perspective. Finally, from the interviews, the authors learned that YAs did not find information that could help them deal with their most pressing economic and social issue, in the content offered by mainstream media. For most of them, social media overcomes these shortcomings. Originality/value Contrary to research that has explored YAs’ consumerism of new media outlets, this article explores how YAs in Israel are constructed in the media, as well as the way in which YAs understand mainstream and new social media coverage of the issues most important to them. Using media content analysis and interviews, the authors found that Young Adults tend to be ambivalent toward media coverage. They understand the lack of media information: most of them know that they do not learn enough from the media. This acknowledgment accompanies their tendency to internalize the neo-liberal logic and conservative Israeli national culture, in which class and economic redistribution are largely overlooked. Mainstream news media uses neo-liberal discourse, and young adults internalize this logic, while simultaneously finding ways to overcome the limitations this discourse offers. They do so by turning to social media, mainly Facebook. Consequently, their behavior maintains the logic of the market, while also developing new social relations, enabled by social media.

Framing media populism: The political role of news media editorials in Duterte’s Philippines

Journalism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146488492095950
Author(s):  
Jefferson Lyndon D Ragragio
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The Political ◽  
Fourth Estate ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Media Frames ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government

Editorials are a political force used by news media to fulfil its watchdog function in fragile democracies like the Philippines. However, they also serve as a platform to invite a more positive reading of strongman administration. Against the backdrop of media populism, the article will problematize how the Fourth Estate articulates its political stance by examining the tensions and complexities in editorials. It will highlight the ways the media deals with subjects and stories surrounding Rodrigo Duterte. Through an analysis of editorials of four leading dominant news outlets (Bulletin, Inquirer, Rappler, and Star), three meta-thematic categories of media frames are uncovered. First, character degradation frames delineate how the media denounces the ties of Duterte with other political actors, particularly the Marcoses and China’s Xi. Second, pro-establishment frames echo the optimistic mantra of the government amid crisis. And third, non-editorial frames exhibit the failure of media to publish watchdog-inspired editorials. Each of these categories has underlying frames that are indicative of the democratic potential, or lack thereof, of news media.

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
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Complex Phenomenon ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Practices

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.

scholarly journals Let’s dance the news! How the news media are adapting to the logic of TikTok

Journalism ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 146488492096909
Author(s):  
Jorge Vázquez-Herrero ◽  
María-Cruz Negreira-Rey ◽  
Xosé López-García
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Social Network ◽  
News Media ◽  
Exploratory Search ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The World ◽  
The Media

The influence of TikTok has reached the news media, which has adapted to the logic of the platform, in a context marked by the incidental consumption of news, virality and the intermediation of technology in access to information. The popularity of this social network invites news outlets to address a young audience on a platform characterized by visual and short content and dynamics defined by algorithmic recommendations, trending hashtags and challenges. Based on an exploratory search of news media and programmes on TikTok from around the world, we selected 234 accounts and conducted a content analysis of the 19 news media and programmes identified with a verified profile and general thematic scope. The results point to a progressive incorporation of the media since 2019, with the purpose of informing, positioning their brand and adapting to the logic of TikTok in a new approach to journalism for younger generations.

scholarly journals Globalization, democracy, and the news media in Nigeria: challenges and prospects

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-89
Author(s):  
Adie Edward Ugbada
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
News Media ◽  
The Other ◽  
Berlin Wall ◽  
Global Village ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic Experience ◽  
General Elections ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Cold War

Democracy as a concept of government became universal after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, the disbanding of the USSR in 1991, the crumple of communism and the end of the Cold War. Ever since then, this global phenomenon called democracy became the central and most preferred system of government worldwide. It has also been embraced in its entirety though in some cases modified based on the dominant/peculiar cultural and political structure of the people till this present day; except of course for a very few and negligible number of countries that have fervidly refused to embrace it as the best means of leading a people. This pervasive acceptance is predicated on two key elements- which are; globalization and the media. Though the concept of globalization is shrouded in strong arguments between a school of thought known as the skeptics and the other school of the argument known as the globalizers, McLuhan’s Global Village postulation unraveled this controversy by a simple analogy which links the media as the vehicle with which the concept was made popular and acceptable to the clinch of a large followership. In a symbiotic reward, the media was able to carry out its function of news dissemination in democracy, due to higher information technology occasioned by the consequences of globalization. Despite this advantage, the Nigeria democratic experience is one that has not been able to draw from the advantages herein. The country’s democracy is been overwhelmed by different challenges that has affected its emergence since the country attained independence in 1960. However happening in the 2015 general elections portend a ray of hope for the growth of democracy in the country after which it can then shift its efforts to the consolidation of its democracy.

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