‘Liked’, ‘Shared’, Re-tweeted: The Referendum Campaign on Social Media

This chapter examines the independence referendum debate on Facebook and Twitter before and after polling day, noting the multi-modal nature of communication on social media through the use of visual forms such as photographs and video clips. It analyzes the Yes for Scotland and Better Together Facebook and Twitter accounts and notes the participative nature of social media in the political context, reaching many who may not normally be receptive to political discussion. The chapter discusses specific web and social media presences such as the highly visible Wings over Scotland, and notes demographic tendencies among social media users, also considering the fashion in which they respond to each other online critically about traditional media political coverage. The discussion additionally looks at how social media use encourages continued campaigning beyond the phase of electoral results.

The Unexpected Campaign

This chapter analyzes the campaign from a political science perspective. It considers the asymmetry of the opposing campaigns in terms of resource, also noting the operation of positive and negative campaigning, and the relationship of constitutional and ‘normal’ politics over the period. It notes major framing tendencies, and tracks the presence of opportunist interventions. It concludes with discussion of the revival of Scottish democracy catalyzed by the referendum.

Australia and the Scottish Independence Referendum

The chapter analyzes data from print and online media, including online broadcaster sites, and includes an overview of the Australian media landscape. It also notes the significant percentage of Australians (8.9%) who are Scottish or of Scottish descent. There was considerable Australian interest in the referendum. While there was focus on the Scottish referendum in its own context, the other chief tendency was for the Australian media to use the Scottish referendum as a hook for tackling Australian issues. This especially applies to the republican/monarchist debate there. Until close to polling day coverage tended to rely on agencies or UK partner titles, reflecting a general lack of foreign news in the Australian press. The chapter notes the predominance of one newspaper, The Australian, which along with the news services of ABC and SBS was the only source of detailed reporting. Notwithstanding hostile comment on the Yes campaign by Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, the Australian media generally did not take sides in the debate. After the poll, the story rapidly faded from the media.

The Scotland Referendum in the English-Ianguage Canadian Media

The chapter provides detailed data on types of stories, sources, news organizations, and content, as well as an overview of Canadian media provision. It begins by noting that media cutbacks in Canada including in numbers of foreign correspondents had their effect on referendum coverage, with considerable reliance on news agency material. While in the days closely approaching the poll Canadian reporters travelled to Scotland to report, relatively little output came directly from Scotland. The Scottish referendum was often refracted through the case of Quebec. The salience of the historical Scottish presence in Canadian life (over 14% of the population list themselves as of Scottish origin) was not matched by media interest in the referendum. The approximately one month during which press coverage was substantial produced a predominance of news reports and columns as distinct from editorials. The unanimous view of the latter was that Scotland should remain in the UK.

The Scottish Referendum: The View from Quebec

The chapter begins by noting the significance for Quebec of parallels between Quebec and Scotland. It points out also the particular significance of the referendum concept in Quebec, given a history of referendums. This long predates the votes in 1980 and 1995 on sovereignty. Differences between Quebec and the rest of Canada have been accentuated by this history. The Scottish referendum therefore ranked relatively high in measurements of most covered news items in Quebec in 2014. However the coverage mainly used the Scottish case to reflect back on Quebec, so that even coverage from Scotland tended to have Quebec issues in the background. The chapter analyzes output from a variety of media and notes various issues, ranging from the division of powers between Scotland and the UK to questions of management of natural resources and international treaties. There is some focus on Scottish politicians and celebrities. Generally media coverage appeared balanced. The chapter concludes that the referendum was treated like a domestic issue in Quebec.

The Scottish Referendum in Austrian, German and Swiss Media

This chapter uses the concept of ‘the story’, applying a model of key story elements to the shape which the media imposed on the sequence of Scottish referendum events. The analysis offers substantial, rich and dense data on press and broadcast coverage across three German-speaking nations. However, any important differences based on national perspectives among the three are not discernible. Across the board there tends to be a majority judgement against Scottish independence, not least associated with the views of sources such as business representatives, and there are some actively hostile views expressed in places toward Scottish aspirations for independence. However, and though in a minority, there is also supportive comment across the three countries, and after the vote and despite its result, there is a widespread media view that the referendum event has altered Scotland and Europe. Britain is seen as having been changed by the event, political democracy and regional diversity have been potentially enhanced, and the benefits of federalism are seen as reinforced.

Spain, Catalonia and the Scottish Referendum: A Study in Multiple Realities

The Scottish referendum was a high priority topic, seen as a domestic issue by the Spanish media, throughout the campaign. Coverage was heavily influenced by demands for Catalan independence, with which Spanish politicians and the Spanish media heavily associated Scottish constitutional demands. The chapter discusses press and broadcast coverage from both Madrid and Barcelona, the media coverage being very extensive, to the point that on polling day itself several newspapers each carried over a dozen pieces on the referendum, with much advance coverage. Scotland was often depicted as a ‘mirror’ for Catalan aspirations and a source of ‘lessons’ for both Catalonia and Spain. The chapter concludes by noting that Scotland’s importance during the referendum phase was as a resource in negotiating territorial tensions inside Spain.

‘Knock-on Consequences’: Irish Media Coverage of the Scottish Referendum

The overall pattern of Irish media coverage suggests limited interest in the Scottish referendum with a degree of attention in the first half of 2014, increasing attention from July 2014, and a spike in coverage immediately before the vote. Reasons for this relative lack of engagement include generic editorial preferences around news values which are more likely, for example, to prioritize stories which directly affect audiences. However, both politicians and the press in the Republic displayed awareness of possible political and economic implications for the Republic, and also its relationship with Northern Ireland, in potential Scottish constitutional developments. Both RTÉ and the Irish Times sent reporters to Scotland. Nonetheless in the press the referendum tended to be classified within foreign or world news. Irish politicians with one or two exceptions generally remained very discreet and mainly voiced no preference, or much assessment, of the referendum. The Irish media moved on from the story relatively soon after the result.

Wales, Devolution and the Scottish Independence Debate

The chapter begins by noting a recent historical tendency for Wales to take an interest in Scottish political developments, alongside deficiencies in the Welsh media landscape and a lack of Welsh media engagement with Welsh politics. It is observed that yet fewer Welsh media consumers have the opportunity to engage with indigenous media than counterparts in Scotland. Awareness of the potential implications of Scottish constitutional developments for Wales produced substantial coverage of the Scottish referendum. The tightening of the polls just ahead of the referendum caused a spike in Welsh coverage, in which however the Welsh media faced challenges in adopting a view differentiated from London coverage. The chapter concludes with observations about absences in the Welsh media ecology.

The English Press and the Referendum

Noting that the Better Together/No campaign was uniformly supported by the English press, the chapter begins by observing how the media influence what people think about, if not determining what they think. It proposes that, given its reach, the English press framing of the referendum will have had an impact on the Scottish referendum, even if most of its readers had no vote therein. This is not least because of the presence of ultimately London-edited newspapers in Scotland. The chapter discusses the relative absence of London press coverage of the referendum beyond a concentrated period a fortnight or so before the poll, and finds that it focuses on a narrow range of issues, including consequences of a Yes vote for the UK economy as a whole, seemingly insensitive to wider ramifications of the debate. Among the conclusions of the analysis is the suggestion that Scottish matters in the English press are handled to an extent like foreign affairs stories more generally.