Representing Europe in the Press: The Multi-segmented European Public Sphere

Abstract

In this chapter, we focus on a specific mode of communicative construction: the European public sphere as constructed in newspaper coverage. Like in other mass media, public communication in and through the press is considered to be a sine qua non of a European public sphere, given the ongoing political integration of Europe and early discussion of the EU’s democratic and public deficit during the 1990s (Gerhards 1993). Analysing the European public sphere, based on the content of mass media, involves empirical investigation of the manner in which, and extent to which, the EU and Europe are dealt with in different media, and assessing the reach of transnational communication within and across these media.