Strategic news frames and public policy debates: Press and television news coverage of the euro in the UK.

This is the latest version of this eprint.

Abstract

There is growing concern amongst observers of the media that news coverage of politics has moved away from a focus on issues, and instead towards political strategy. Research evidencing such concerns has tended to examine strategic news at a macro level and rarely delves into the complexities surrounding its manifestations. This study addresses this issue by conducting a content analysis of a non-election issue in the British news media (press and TV news) over a three-month period, whereby strategy news as a frame was examined. The issue chosen for case study was the “euro debate” of May-June 2003. Findings showed the euro debate to fulfil many typical characteristics of EU reporting in the British media, with coverage cyclical and driven by events, and subsequently lacking sustained engagement with the issues. Although there was a roughly equal balance of issue and strategy framed stories in the press, certain features of coverage gave strategy greater prominence. Despite much of the content analysis findings confirming the worries of media critics, a number of qualifications emerge, such as the active role that politicians play as sources of strategic news.

Available Versions of this Item

• Strategic news frames and public policy debates: Press and television news coverage of the euro in the UK. (deposited 19 Oct 2010 08:58)
  • Strategic news frames and public policy debates: Press and television news coverage of the euro in the UK. (deposited 11 Nov 2011 15:22) [Currently Displayed]