Media Representations of the EU Crisis: Stereotypes, Prejudices and Emotions in Southern Europe

Abstract

The ongoing institutional and economic crisis of the EU has created new stereotypes and perceptions, as well as facilitated the return of old prejudices across the Member States, with important implications for the future of European integration. The crisis has generated media coverage across the board challenging the reputations of countries most affected by the recession and those who bear the financial burden of bailouts. In this paper we examine the media presentation and representation of countries, their political actors and institutions in the context of the EU economic crisis. References to ‘the sinking boat of the EU’; ‘lazy Greeks’; ‘hard-working Germans’; and, ‘detached Brits’ are frequently hosted in headlines, news reports and editorial commentary. How the media covers the crisis and the political actors involved has important implications for public opinion perceptions that exceed a country's reputation, shaping attitudes towards Europeanization, integration, and prospects about European identity and citizenship. Attitudes like Euro-skepticism and North-South divisions have been demonstrated in the past to correlate with media coverage. Thus, the examination of media content is essential in understanding the effect on citizens’ orientation towards the EU. This panel invites empirical paper proposals that examine media representations of the EU crisis in Southern European countries like Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Spain, Portugal and Malta. We are particularly interested in papers that employ a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies (ie content and discourse analysis) of media content from 2008 to 2012. By studying the media representations of the actors of the financial crises, the panel papers will contribute to the systematic understanding of public opinion in times of crisis, focusing on the most severely affected members of the EU family. Collaboration will be sought with peer reviewed journals to produce a related special issue on Media Representations of the EU Crisis.

Title	Details
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'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly': Stereotypes, Prejudices and Emotions on Greek Media Representation of the EU Financial Crisis	View Paper Details
Presenting the EU Crisis to Portuguese Public Opinion: A Study on Media Coverage	View Paper Details
The Public Sphere in the Euro-Crisis: Media and Policy Agendas in Greece, Italy and Turkey	View Paper Details