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Introduction: A Discourse Analytical Approach to Researching Mediated Political Communication

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The Mediated Politics of Europe

Abstract

In this introductory chapter, Ekström and Firmstone introduce the overall aim of the book and the theoretical and methodological approach. The approach to political communication is distinctive in three ways. First, we take a contextual approach, analysing the political communication in relation to the tensions and disruptions shaping European politics at a particular moment in time. Second, the book focuses on the performative and discursive dimensions of political communication. An interdisciplinary discourse analytical approach is developed to analyse how the roles and relationships between citizens, politicians and journalists are performed and represented in the media. Finally, we develop a systematic qualitative comparative approach for the cross-national analysis of political discourse. The contribution of the book is discussed in relation to previous research on political communication and media coverage of European Elections. The countries included in the study (France, Greece, Italy, Sweden, UK) are introduced with respect to their historical relationship with the EU, the effects of the economic crisis, the development of Euroscepticism, and the electoral success of mainstream and populist parties.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    50% of respondents reported that they tend not to trust in the EU (Eurobarometer 2014).

  2. 2.

    For example, at a recent 2016 three day international conference about ‘Europe in Discourse’ (http://www.europeindiscourse.eu/), only one of four invited keynote European politicians mentioned the news media or journalism during their speeches about the problematic disconnect between the EU and citizens in member states. Similarly, a recent publication examining the ‘EU’s democratic legitimacy’ by the think tank the Foreign Policy Centre did not consider the role of the media (Hug 2016).

  3. 3.

    See Blumler and McQuail (2016) for an excellent reflection on the direction of research into European elections since 1979.

  4. 4.

    See Maier and Maier (2008) for a summary.

  5. 5.

    It should be noted that problems with the availability of material in archives resulted in a smaller data set of programmes being analysed from France than other countries. For example, the evening news broadcasts were only available for four weekdays. Some programmes from weekends and some Election Night Specials were unavailable.

  6. 6.

    Channel 4 is a publicly-owned, commercially-funded public service broadcaster.

  7. 7.

    The UK held local and the EU elections on 22 May. All other countries held the election on 25 May.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Gothenburg, Seminariegatan 1, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mats Ekström

  2. University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK

    Julie Firmstone

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  1. Mats Ekström
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Journalism, Media and Communication, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden

    Mats Ekström

  2. School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom

    Julie Firmstone

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Ekström, M., Firmstone, J. (2017). Introduction: A Discourse Analytical Approach to Researching Mediated Political Communication. In: Ekström, M., Firmstone, J. (eds) The Mediated Politics of Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56629-0_1

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