Understanding Dutch Attitudes to European Integration in the Early 2000s Through the Referendum on the European Constitutional Treaty

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-242
Author(s):  
Eva DURLINGER

On 1st June 2005, Dutch citizens rejected the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe (ECT) in a referendum. Reasons for this rejection have been explored in previous studies on media framing. In these studies, scholars contend that the media influence citizens’ voting behaviour through the manner in which the news is depicted. This article aims at uncovering qualitatively what frames two Dutch newspapers, NRC Handelsblad and de Volkskrant, used to report on the referendum and why. In this manner, it adds to the existing understanding of the influence of the media coverage on the Dutch electorate. The results show that the responsibility frame is the most salient frame in the news coverage on the referendum on the ECT, indicating that newspapers discussed the referendum on the ECT in terms of the invisibility of debate on Europe in general and the incumbent government’s failure to provide sufficient and reliable information on the ECT. This is striking with regard to the fact that most authors attribute the rejection to a rise in Euroscepticism or discontent with the speed and direction of the integration process.

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 261-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Van Aelst ◽  
Rosa van Santen ◽  
Lotte Melenhorst ◽  
Luzia Helfer

AbstractThis study on the role of media attention for the Dutch question hour answers three questions: to what extent is media attention a source of inspiration for oral parliamentary questions? What explains the newsworthiness of these questions? And what explains the extent of media coverage for the questions posed during the question hour? To address this, we present a content analysis of oral parliamentary questions and related press coverage in five recent years. The results show first that oral questions are usually based on media attention for a topic. Concerns about media influence should however be nuanced: it is not necessarily the coverage itself, but also regularly a political statement that is the actual source of a parliamentary question. The media are thus an important “channel” for the interaction between politicians. Second, our analysis shows that oral questions do not receive media attention naturally. Several news values help to explain the amount of news coverage that questions receive. “Surfing the wave” of news attention for a topic in the days previous to the question hour seems to be the best way to generate media attention.


2021 ◽  
pp. 216747952110410
Author(s):  
Keith D. Parry ◽  
Beth G. Clarkson ◽  
Ali Bowes ◽  
Laura Grubb ◽  
David Rowe

This article examines British media coverage of women’s association football during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, to identify how the media framed the women’s game and how these frames could shape the public perceptions of it. Through a database search of British-based news coverage of women’s football, 100 news articles were identified in the first 6 months after the start of the pandemic. A thematic analysis was conducted, and five dominant frames were detected in the context of COVID-19: 1) financial precariousness of women’s football; 2) the commercial prioritisation of men’s football; 3) practical consideration of the sport (e.g., alterations to national and international competitions); 4) debating the future of women’s football and 5) concern for players (e.g., welfare, uncertain working conditions). These frames depart from the past trivialisation and sexualisation of women’s sport, demonstrate the increased visibility of women’s football, and shift the narrative towards the elite stratum of the game. Most of this reporting was by women journalists, while men were shown to write less than women about women’s football. This research advocates continued diversification of the sports journalism workforce to dissolve the hegemonic masculine culture that still largely dominates the industry.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Flynn ◽  
Irina Harris

Purpose The media is an important actor in public procurement, but research on its role is limited. This paper aims to investigate how the media has engaged with public procurement, using UK newspapers as a case example. Design/methodology/approach The method consisted of searching Nexis database for news articles on public procurement; automatic extraction of article attributes such as length, section, authorship; and manually coding each article for its theme and industry context. This produced quantitative indicators about the extent and focus of press coverage on public procurement. Findings Press coverage of public procurement increased between 1985 and 2018. The focus of coverage has been on governance failure and socio-economic policy. Governance failure, which includes corruption, cronyism and supplier malpractice, is associated with construction, outsourcing and professional services sectors. Socio-economic policy, which includes supporting small suppliers and favouring domestic industry, is associated with manufacturing, defence and agriculture. Research limitations/implications The analysis included UK media only. While the trends observed on the extent and focus of public procurement news coverage likely reflect the situation in other countries, international comparative research is still required. Practical implications Government officials should be more proactive in countering the “negativity bias” in news coverage of public procurement by showcasing projects where value-for-money has been achieved, services have been successfully delivered and social value has been realised. Social implications The media accentuates the negatives of public procurement and omits positive developments. The end-result is a selective and, at times, self-serving media narrative that is likely to engender cynicism towards public procurement. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on media coverage of public procurement. It highlights that while there are similarities between media and academic treatment of public procurement, particularly in relation to its socio-economic side, the media emphasises governance failings and negative developments to a greater extent.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e023485
Author(s):  
Caroline Louise Miller ◽  
Aimee Lee Brownbill ◽  
Joanne Dono ◽  
Kerry Ettridge

ObjectivesIn 2012, Australia was the first country in the world to introduce plain or standardised tobacco packaging, coupled with larger graphic health warnings. This policy was fiercely opposed by industry. Media coverage can be an influential contributor to public debate, and both public health advocates and industry sought media coverage for their positions. The aim of this study was to measure the print media coverage of Australian’s plain packaging laws, from inception to roll-out, in major Australian newspapers.MethodsThis study monitored mainstream Australian print media (17 newspapers) coverage of the plain packaging policy debate and implementation, over a 7-year period from January 2008 to December 2014. Articles (n=701) were coded for article type, opinion slant and topic(s).DesignContent analysis.ResultsCoverage of plain packaging was low during preimplementation phase (2008–2009), increasing sharply in the lead into legislative processes and diminished substantially after implementation. Articles covered policy rationale, policy progress and industry arguments. Of the news articles, 96% were neutrally framed. Of the editorials, 55% were supportive, 28% were opposing, 12% were neutral and 5% were mixed.ConclusionsProtracted political debate, reflected in the media, led to an implementation delay of plain packaging. While Australian media provided comprehensive coverage of industry arguments, news coverage was largely neutral, whereas editorials were mostly supportive or neutral of the policy. Countries seeking to implement plain packaging of tobacco should not be deterred by the volume of news coverage, but should actively promote the evidence for plain packaging in the media to counteract the arguments of the tobacco industry.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Hoffman

Battle terminology such as “fight,” “conquer,” and “hero” and imagery that compares doctors and patients to superheroes, soldiers and athletes have become increasingly prevalent in hospital foundation communications. The use of these metaphors has been highly controversial. While some audiences have praised foundation campaigns that use this type of messaging for emphasizing the strength of patients and hospital staff, encouraging patient families, and motivating patients to be resilient, others argue that these campaigns marginalize those who are unable to overcome their health conditions, positioning them as failures or losers. While the use of battle metaphors in hospital communications has been a heated topic in online discussion, little is known about the impact of this language on the media coverage and financial support that they generate for hospitals. This paper presents a multimodal discourse analysis of the communications of six hospital foundations in Toronto, Canada followed by a quantitative and sentiment analysis of the media coverage each foundation has received within the last fiscal year. The aim of this paper is to determine if there is a relationship between the use of battle metaphors in hospital foundation communications and the amount and sentiment of media coverage. According to agenda setting theory, media coverage has a palpable impact on public action. Therefore, the findings of this research may assist hospital foundations in developing useful communications practices they can employ to increase media exposure and, consequently, attract more donations to support their institutions.


2011 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Héctor Perla

AbstractThis article examines the determinants of public support for the use of military force. It puts forward a Framing Theory of Policy Objectives (FTPO), which contends that public support for military engagements depends on the public's perception of the policy's objective. However, it is difficult for the public to judge a policy's objective because they cannot directly observe a policy's true intention and influential political actors offer competing frames to define it. This framing contestation, carried out through the media, sets the public's decision-making reference point and determines whether the policy is perceived as seeking to avoid losses or to achieve gains. The FTPO predicts that support will increase when the public perceives policies as seeking to prevent losses and decrease when the public judges policies to be seeking gains. I operationalize and test the theory using content analysis of national news coverage and opinion polls of U.S. intervention in Central America during the 1980s. These framing effects are found to hold regardless of positive or negative valence of media coverage.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-302
Author(s):  
Emel Ozdora-Aksak ◽  
Colleen Connolly-Ahern ◽  
Daniela Dimitrova

News shapes audiences’ views of people and events beyond their immediate physical environment. Since the mass migration of refugees from Syria represents one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, its news coverage necessarily shaped the way global audiences understood the crisis. This qualitative study employs critical discourse analysis (CDA), specifically Van Leeuwen’s Discourse and Practice: New Tools for Critical Discourse Analysis (2008) as a social practice approach, to reveal and compare the discursive strategies used in the print media coverage of the Syrian refugees in three European countries: Turkey, Bulgaria and the UK. The findings show significant differences in the discourse used to describe the refugees and different approaches in terms of contextualization, spaces and actions depicted in the media coverage in each country. The study reveals the ongoing dialogue between journalistic practice and political decision making in three countries impacted to varying extents by the ongoing crisis.


Kinesis ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otávio Baggiotto Bettega ◽  
Cesar Vieira Marques Filho ◽  
Luís Felipe Nogueira Silva ◽  
Silvan Menezes Dos Santos

A pesquisa busca identificar os sentidos atribuídos à dimensão tática do Futsal na cobertura midiática do jornal “A Razão”, da cidade de Santa Maria – Rio Grande do Sul – Brasil. Foi realizada pesquisa descritiva e exploratória, de análise de produto midiático, com abordagem qualitativa dos dados recolhidos nos arquivos impressos do jornal, de 1990 até 1999. Os resultados apontam o ganho de visibilidade tática do papel do goleiro no jogo a partir das modificações nas regras, da relação entre o individual e o coletivo, das estratégias na relação ataque e defesa e da metodologia de treino e desenvolvimento dos jogadores. As matérias trazem visibilidade à dimensão tática do jogo de Futsal, mas são apresentadas de forma superficial e fragmentada. Futsal’s tactical dimension in the news coverage of a santa-mariense journal (1990 - 1999)The research seeks to identify the meanings attributed to the tactical dimension of futsal in the media coverage from Santa Maria-RS city newspaper A Razão. A descriptive and exploratory research was carried out, analyzing media product, with a qualitative approach to the data collected in the newspaper's printed files from 1990 to 1999. The results show a greater visibility for the tactics since the change of rules, the goalkeeper role in the game, the relationship between the individual and the collective, offensive and defensive relationship strategies and the players’ training and development methodology. The articles bring visibility to the tactical dimension of the futsal game, but are presented in a superficial and fragmented way.La dimensión táctica del fútbol sala en la cobertura de noticias de un periódico santa-mariense (1990 - 1999)La investigación busca identificar los significados atribuidos a la dimensión táctica del fútbol sala en la cobertura mediática del periódico A Razão en la ciudad de Santa Maria /RS. Se realizó una investigación descriptiva y exploratoria, analizando el producto de los medios, con un enfoque cualitativo de los datos recopilados en los archivos impresos del periódico desde 1990 hasta 1999. Los resultados muestran que la táctica gana visibilidad a partir de los cambios en las reglas, el papel del portero en el juego, la relación entre el individuo y el colectivo, del estrategias en la relación de ataque y defensa y la metodología de entrenamiento y desarrollo de los jugadores. Los artículos aportan visibilidad a la dimensión táctica del juego de fútbol sala, pero se presentan de manera superficial y fragmentada.


2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (03) ◽  
pp. A01 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariechel J. Navarro ◽  
Jenny A. Panopio ◽  
Donna Bae Malayang ◽  
Noel Amano Jr.

This article presents key results of a ten-year study of media coverage of agricultural biotechnology in the Philippines, the only country in Asia to date to approve a biotech food/feed crop (Bt corn) for commercialization. The top three national English newspapers – Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Philippine Star were analyzed to determine patterns of media attention measured by coverage peaks, tone, source of news, keywords, and media frames used. Biotechnology news was generally positive but not high in the media agenda. News coverage was marked by occasional peaks brought about by drama and controversial events which triggered attention but not long enough to sustain interest. The study provides a glimpse into the role of mass media in a developing country context. It shows how a complex and contentious topic is integrated into the mainstream of news reporting, and eventually evolves from an emotional discourse to one that allows informed decision making.


Author(s):  
Inge Hutagalung

In general, media coverage can have a strong influence on the reputation of a cultural heritage. Media coverage often has an effect on a cultural heritage’s reputation when ‘good’ or ‘bad’ news is reported.This amplifying effect has often been studied through the lens of agenda setting theory. The hypothesis behind the theory is that the frequency with the media report on an issue determines that issues’ salience in the minds of the general public. In other words, the media may not be successful often time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. The news media ‘set’ the public agenda.Since people cannot possibly attend no to every little detail about the cultural heritage around them, setting in communication is important because it helps shape the perspectives through which people see all cultural heritage in the world.In generating good news coverage about a cultural heritage, communicating with the media is one of important activities that should be maintained between communication professionals (in cultural heritage) with journalists. Keywords: media coverage, agenda setting, framing news


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