How are we and how we are defined by the press? The 15-M Movement

This paper has two objectives: first, to analyse the self-perception, or self-definition, of the 15-M Movement, and second, to compare it with the definition that has been elaborated by nationwide Spanish newspapers. To achieve the second goal, two databases will be built for each newspaper (El Mundo, El Pais, La Razon and Public), the first one based on the theory of agenda setting and the second on framing, applying the typology of Semetko and Valkenburg (2000). This citizens’ movement, born as a result of the demonstrations that took place in Spain on May 15th 2011, the date on which a group of participants in the demonstrations decided to camp in Madrid's Puerta del Sol, peacefully demanding a more participatory democracy and a change of the political system, while showing their discontent with the political class and the banks, whom they blamed for the social and economic crisis in which the country found itself at that moment. The time period analysed is from the 14th to the 23rd of May 2011 as it was during that time period in which the 15-M Movement, had a wide media coverage. Both the coverage it gained during the moments of greatest interest, as well as the latency phase (Melucci, 1994), in which the movement had less public visibility, will be observed. This study makes an original contribution because so far, there have been studies of framing on the treatment of news (Lafuente and Zugasti, 2011), as well as studies that deal with social movements (Calvo, Gómez Pastrana and Mena, 2011) but none adopting a comparative perspective between the two. This study is therefore relevant for two reasons: first, because it provides information on how Spanish society came to be aware of the 15-M movement, and second because it dispels any doubts there may be concerning whether the 15- M Movements is a social movement, or not.