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The news media has long held a prominent role in shaping the political discourse. As such, public perceptions of the European project, and how citizens respond to European integration, are shaped by the framing of the European Union in modern media.
A growing body of evidence suggests the media's rising influence over political discourse also reflects a deeper cultural shift in politics. Media coverage is increasingly politicised, while news coverage can also tend towards a more cynical representation of politics, further alienating the public.
“Scholars argue that in recent years ‘media democracy’ has been developing across Europe and beyond, in which the individual, media-savvy performance of politics seems to become more important than the political process,” explains Tetyana Lokot, associate professor in Digital Media & Society at Dublin City University in Ireland.
For MEDIATIZED EU, researchers at seven institutions across Europe investigated the role of political and media elites – lawmakers, policymakers, editors and senior correspondents, as well as the media itself – in shaping public sentiment about the EU.
Exploring the elite-media-public triangle
Through interviews and media coverage analysis, the project found that perceptions and representations of the European Union are dynamically shaped through an ongoing interaction between three forces. Political elites communicate their views of the EU – optimistic, sceptical or critical – which are then framed by the media and reported to the public.
The resulting public opinion also shapes ongoing elite debates, creating a feedback loop that ultimately impacts the present and future visions of the EU. In Ireland, for example, the team found a dominant discourse describing Ireland-EU relations as a mutual benefit for two sides with shared values.
“You can see how each side in this triangle is important in shaping representations of the European project,” adds Lokot. “This approach is also useful to understand how various actors seeking to damage the European project or influence its perceptions may intervene, by spreading disinformation or manipulative views.”
Analysing the media and political landscape
MEDIATIZED EU explored the mediatisation triangle through: existing literature, survey data and policy documents; in-depth analysis of media coverage of the EU; and hundreds of interviews with political and media elites.
The research captured the diversity of contexts in a range of countries: including ‘old’ EU Member States (Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Ireland), ‘new’ EU Member States (Estonia, Hungary) and Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries (Georgia).
Finally, the team conducted representative population surveys in each country to understand how the public views the EU and what shapes its perceptions, and relayed the country case study results back to target audiences through deliberative workshops.
Key insights into the role of media
The project delivered a range of key insights, including that pro-European sentiment coexists with low public awareness of the EU. In some cases this could be exploited through misinformation from both pro- and anti-EU actors.
The researchers stress an urgent need to improve 'EU literacy' so that a better-informed general public and free media can safeguard democracy and fundamental rights across Europe.
“The key thing the public can do is to strive to learn more about how the EU works and its core values, and how to participate in informed debate and contribute to key EU consultations on policies and strategies,” notes Lokot.
The full results of the comprehensive pan-European research are available in an open access edited volume online.
Findings to support the European project
Amid ongoing and overlapping crises – from Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine to democratic backsliding across the West – the European project is facing significant challenges.
The findings from MEDIATIZED EU are essential to understanding how such developments shape perceptions of Europeanisation, and offer evidence for policy responses to Eurosceptic attitudes, populist threats to EU values, autocratic media capture, and harmful anti-EU narratives. The team produced a short policy brief outlining key policy recommendations, with longer versions for EU policymakers and national policymakers.
“While the issues highlighted by MEDIATIZED EU are complex, addressing them through both policy and informed debate is central to further European enlargement and the strengthening of European institutions and European solidarity,” says Lokot.