The Spiral of Euroscepticism: Media Negativity, Framing and Opposition to the EU

Charlotte Galpin, Hans-Jörg Trenz

Abstract

Media scholars have increasingly examined the effects of a negativity bias that applies to political news. In the ‘spiral of cynicism’, journalist preferences for negative news correspond to public demands for sensational news. We argue that this spiral of cynicism in EU news results in a ‘spiral of Euroscepticism’, taking media autonomy seriously to understand how media logics and selective devices contribute to the shaping of public discourse about the EU. We review the literature on the media and EU legitimacy to show how media frames and their amplification on social media can account for the salience of Eurosceptic opinions in the public sphere that then push parties to contest the EU in predominantly negative terms.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationEuroscepticism, Democracy and the Media : Communicating Europe, Contesting Europe
EditorsManuela Caiani, Simona Guerra
Number of pages23
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherPalgrave Macmillan
Publication date2017
Pages49-72
ISBN (Print)9781137596420
ISBN (Electronic)9781137596437
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
SeriesPalgrave Studies in European Political Sociology

Keywords

  • Faculty of Humanities
  • Euroscepticism
  • Media
  • Political cynicism
  • Negativity bias
  • Framing
  • Social media

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Spiral of Euroscepticism: Media Negativity, Framing and Opposition to the EU'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this