Reporting the Road to Brexit : International Media and the EU Referendum 2016

This edited collection brings together leading international scholars to explore the connection between Brexit and the media. The referendum and the activism on both sides of the campaign have been of significant interest to the media in the UK and around the world. How these factors have been represented in the media and the role of the media in constructing the referendum narrative are central to assisting the development in our understanding of how UK and global democracy is being manifested in contemporary times. This book explores these topics through presenting a wide range of perspectives from research conducted by leading international scholars, and concludes with an assessment of the potential democratic and international implications for the future. By grappling with a highly important and controversial topic in a comparative and varied way, the volume contributes to theoretical debates about the nature and role of the media in complex social, political and cultural contexts. -- Provided by publisher Preface and Acknowledgements 5 Contents 10 Editors and Contributors 13 Abbreviations and Contractions 18 List of Tables 19 Part I Introduction 20 Chapter 1 Reporting the Road to Brexit: The EU Referendum and the Media 21 Introduction 21 EU Referendum and the Media Project 22 The Questions 23 The Importance 24 Democracy, Referendums and the News Media 24 Contextualizing and Defining the Study of Brexit 26 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 26 2016 EU Referendum and Brexit 27 European Union 28 European Integration and the UK 28 Brexit, Trump and Right-Wing Populism? 29 Scope of the Book 30 Outline of the Book 31 Part II 31 Part III 33 Part IV 34 Conclusions 35 Bibliography 36 Part II The UK and UK Territories 40 Chapter 2 Mobilizing Migration: Analysing the Role of the ‘Migrant’ in the British Press During the EU Referendum 2016 Debate 41 Introduction 41 Analysing the Migrant Discourse 43 Research Design: Contexts and Analysis 45 The Role of the Migrant in the Referendum Debate 47 Mechanisms of Mobilization 50 Hegemonic Projects 54 Conclusion 56 Bibliography 58 Chapter 3 Scotland, Wales and Press Discourses Amid the 2016 EU Referendum 63 Introduction 63 Scotland, Wales and the 2016 EU Referendum 64 The Analysis 65 Discourses of Danger 66 The Re-appropriation of Project Fear 69 Tone of the Debate 73 Conclusion 74 References 75 Chapter 4 The EU Referendum 2016 on Scottish Television 77 Introduction 77 Media Framing 78 Method 80 What Was the EU Referendum About? 81 Conclusion 86 References 87 Chapter 5 ‘A Pit We Have Dug Ourselves’: The EU Referendum and the Welsh Democratic Deficit 90 Introduction 90 Brexit and Welsh Internal Diversity 92 Welsh Media Landscape and Democratic Deficit 96 The Welsh Regional Press: The Western Mail and the Daily Post 99 Conclusion 104 Bibliography 105 Chapter 6 Whither the ‘Hand of History’?: Northern Ireland Newspaper Coverage of the 2016 EU Referendum Campaign 108 Introduction 108 History and Context 111 Fear and Fortune: David Cameron, Boris Johnson and George Osborne 112 ‘Yesterday’s Men’: John Major and Tony Blair 116 Between Hope and Uncertainty: The 2016 EU Referendum Result 118 Discussion 119 Conclusion 123 References 123 Chapter 7 Polarized Politics and Personalization: British TV News Coverage of the EU Referendum 2016 125 Introduction: A ‘Brexit Whirlwind’ 125 Some Initial Reaction: The Problem of ‘Balance’ 127 From ‘Fact-Checking’ to Editorial Commentary 129 A Polarized Narrative 132 Personalized Interviews and TV Debates 134 Vox Pops as Provincial Encounters 138 References 140 Chapter 8 The 2016 EU Referendum in Gibraltar: Opinion Articles in Gibraltarian News 141 Introduction 141 Gibraltar 143 The Impact of the EU Referendum in Gibraltar 144 The Past-Future Divide 149 The EU Referendum 2016 and the Spanish Dimension 151 Conclusion 154 Bibliography 155 Part III European Single Market Countries 157 Chapter 9 Left Versus Right, or Mainstream Versus Margins? Divisions in French Media and Reactions to the ‘Brexit’ Vote 158 Introduction 158 Context 159 Mainstream French Press Reactions: An Anti-Brexit Bias? 161 Libération: Brexit as a Threat to the Utopia of a United Continent 161 ‘Thank You Brits!’: The Curious Case of France’s Pro-EU Pro-Brexiters 162 Le Monde: A Newspaper Representative of France’s Post-war Pro-EU Media 163 Le Figaro and Brexit: Pragmatic Criticism or Implicit Support? 165 Far-Right and Far-Left Press Reactions 170 Valeurs Actuelles: A Far-Right Celebration of Brexit 171 Mediapart and Brexit: The Rejection of a Neoliberal and Authoritarian EU 173 Conclusion 176 Bibliography 177 Chapter 10 The 2016 EU Referendum Stories in Austrian, German, and Swiss Media: Catastrophes, Characterizations, Challenges 181 Introduction 181 The Main Characters’ Stories 184 The David Cameron Stories 184 The Boris Johnson Stories 185 The Michael Gove Stories 187 The Nigel Farage Stories 187 The Stories of Continental European Politicians 189 Stories of Causes and Responsibilities 189 Stories of Consequences 192 Predictable Consequences 192 National Consequences 192 Hard or Soft Consequences 193 Demand for Unity 193 Good Planning 194 The Need to Define Identities 194 The Need to Define and Practise Democracy 195 The Role of the State 196 The Need for New Ideas 197 The Final Consequence: Successful Evolution Requires Thoughtful Creativity 197 References 198 Chapter 11 It’s the Economy, Stupid: Coverage of the British EU Referendum in Norway 200 Introduction 200 Nationwide with a Broad Reach 201 Norway Loves Britain 202 Stay or Go—and Why? 203 Chronicle of a Disaster Foretold 205 A ‘Republican’ Stance 206 ‘The World Seen from the Bank’ 209 ‘A Basket of Deplorables’ 211 How the Other Half Lives 212 Little Acceptance for Xenophobia 213 Conclusions 214 Bibliography 215 Chapter 12 Spanish Media and the EU Referendum 2016: The Assault on an Enlightened Project 217 Introduction 217 The EU and Spain’s (Returning) Hour of Darkness 219 The EU and Its Foes 220 Reality-Based Rationality Versus Deceptive Emotion 221 Opportunities and Lessons: A European Catastrophe 224 The 2016 EU Referendum: A Bone of Contention 225 Conclusion 227 References 228 Chapter 13 Discursive Dimensions of the EU Referendum 2016 Press Coverage in Portugal 233 Introduction 233 Three Contenders: EU Referendum Campaign 236 Unreported Issues and Their Consequences 238 Europe: Cause and Victim of a Catastrophe 240 Abstraction vs Concreteness 243 Conclusion 244 References 246 Chapter 14 ‘Little England Beats Great Britain’: Italian Media Coverage of the EU Referendum 2016 249 Introduction 249 From Maastricht to ‘Brexit’ 250 The Rise of Populism: ‘Anti-Politics’ Made in Italy 251 The Italian Press and the EU Referendum 2016 253 The Economic Impact of ‘Brexit’ 255 ‘Brexit’ and Immigration 257 Populism, Anti-Politics’ and the Brexit Voter 258 Porta a Porta Political Talk Show: The ‘English’ Myth Extended 260 Conclusion 262 Bibliography 264 Chapter 15 EU Referendum 2016 in the Greek Press 267 Introduction 267 Recalling the Greek Referendum 268 Proliferating Referendums in Crisis-Hit Europe 269 Greece’s Public Sphere in the Years of Crisis and Austerity 272 Scope, Theory and Method 273 EU Referendum 2016 in the Greek Press 276 Dimocratia: A Right-Wing Defence of ‘Brexit’, a Nationalist Defence of ‘the People’ 276 Kathimerini: An Anti-Populist Critique of Brexit, a Technocratic Defence of Europe 278 Vima: Brexit and the Fear of Populism 280 Efimerida Ton Syntakton (Efsyn): In Defence of Popular Sovereignty, Against Neoliberalism 281 Conclusion 284 References 285 Part IV Beyond European Single Market Countries 289 Chapter 16 Turkish Newspapers: How They Use ‘Brexit’ for Domestic Political Gain 290 Introduction 290 Turkish-British Relations 291 Turkish Domestic Politics 292 Turkish News Media 292 Sample of News Selected for Analysis 293 Approach to Analysis: Critical Discourse Analysis 295 Analysis of News 296 Conclusions 301 References 301 Chapter 17 Israeli Media and the EU Referendum 2016: Political or Economic Story? 304 Introduction 304 Mentions of Brexit in Israel’s Media 305 Themes in User Comments in Online Mainstream Media 307 Conclusions and Theoretical Implications 310 References 312 Chapter 18 Whose News? How the Canadian Media Covered Britain’s EU Referendum 314 Introduction: Canada’s Domestic Political Landscape 314 Canada’s Fading Media 316 Methodology 318 Coverage of the Campaign and the Vote 319 Television Coverage 325 Conclusion 326 References 327 Chapter 19 Russian Media and the EU Referendum 2016 330 Introduction 330 The Pro-Government Press on Brexit 331 The Case of Meduza 333 What Is a Whoexit? 335 Being Scared and Towing the Party Line 337 Anti-Western Ideology and Brexit Schadenfreude 338 So, Does Russia Care About Brexit? 341 Bibliography 341 Part V Conclusion 343 Chapter 20 Constructing Brexit: Crisis and International Political Communication 344 Introduction 344 Constructing Brexit 347 Crisis, Disaster and Fear 348 Part II: The UK and Competing Narratives 349 Part III: Media Euroscepticism and Heterogeneity 351 Part IV: The Domestication of Brexit 352 Contextualizing the Domestication of Brexit 353 Reporting Brexit: Reflections, Relevance and Impact 353 Brexit Reality Check: ‘Crisis’ and ‘Disaster’? 354 Euroscepticism in the News Media 354 Impact: Brexit Beyond the UK 355 Conclusions 355 Bibliography 356 Index 360 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxiii Front Matter ....Pages 1-1 Reporting the Road to Brexit: The EU Referendum and the Media (Anthony Ridge-Newman)....Pages 3-21 Front Matter ....Pages 23-23 Mobilizing Migration: Analysing the Role of the ‘Migrant’ in the British Press During the EU Referendum 2016 Debate (Oisín Share)....Pages 25-46 Scotland, Wales and Press Discourses Amid the 2016 EU Referendum (Michael Higgins, Anthony Ridge-Newman, Fiona M. McKay)....Pages 47-60 The EU Referendum 2016 on Scottish Television (Marina Dekavalla)....Pages 61-73 ‘A Pit We Have Dug Ourselves’: The EU Referendum and the Welsh Democratic Deficit (Simon Gwyn Roberts)....Pages 75-92 Whither the ‘Hand of History’?: Northern Ireland Newspaper Coverage of the 2016 EU Referendum Campaign (Stephen Baker)....Pages 93-109 Polarized Politics and Personalization: British TV News Coverage of the EU Referendum 2016 (Andrew Tolson)....Pages 111-126 The 2016 EU Referendum in Gibraltar: Opinion Articles in Gibraltarian News (Ángela Alameda Hernández)....Pages 127-142 Front Matter ....Pages 143-143 Left Versus Right, or Mainstream Versus Margins? Divisions in French Media and Reactions to the ‘Brexit’ Vote (Thomas Martin, Laurent Binet)....Pages 145-167 The 2016 EU Referendum Stories in Austrian, German, and Swiss Media: Catastrophes, Characterizations, Challenges (Klaus Peter Müller)....Pages 169-187 It’s the Economy, Stupid: Coverage of the British EU Referendum in Norway (Birgitte Kjos Fonn)....Pages 189-205 Spanish Media and the EU Referendum 2016: The Assault on an Enlightened Project (Fernando León-Solís, Enric Castelló, Hugh O’Donnell)....Pages 207-222 Discursive Dimensions of the EU Referendum 2016 Press Coverage in Portugal (Isabel Simões-Ferreira)....Pages 223-238 ‘Little England Beats Great Britain’: Italian Media Coverage of the EU Referendum 2016 (Rinella Cere)....Pages 239-256 EU Referendum 2016 in the Greek Press (Giorgos Katsambekis, George Souvlis)....Pages 257-278 Front Matter ....Pages 279-279 Turkish Newspapers: How They Use ‘Brexit’ for Domestic Political Gain (Lyndon C. S. Way)....Pages 281-294 Israeli Media and the EU Referendum 2016: Political or Economic Story? (Tal Samuel-Azran, Yair Galily)....Pages 295-304 Whose News? How the Canadian Media Covered Britain’s EU Referendum (Christopher Waddell)....Pages 305-320 Russian Media and the EU Referendum 2016 (Helena Bassil-Morozow)....Pages 321-333 Front Matter ....Pages 335-335 Constructing Brexit: Crisis and International Political Communication (Anthony Ridge-Newman, Fernando León-Solís, Hugh O’Donnell)....Pages 337-352 Back Matter ....Pages 353-363 Annotation This edited collection brings together leading international scholars to explore the connection between Brexit and the media. The referendum and the activism on both sides of the campaign have been of significant interest to the media in the UK and around the world. How these factors have been represented in the media and the role of the media in constructing the referendum narrative are central to assisting the development in our understanding of how UK and global democracy is being manifested in contemporary times. This book explores these topics through presenting a wide range of perspectives from research conducted by leading international scholars, and concludes with an assessment of the potential democratic and international implications for the future