During epidemics, the media play an important role due to their wide provision of information. In doing so, the salience of certain topics is often heightened through the process of framing. This...Show moreDuring epidemics, the media play an important role due to their wide provision of information. In doing so, the salience of certain topics is often heightened through the process of framing. This process is of extreme importance as it shapes the understanding that the general public has of a health emergency. Identifying what frames prevail in the first phases of an epidemic can help define the major worries of the elite as well as the general public as well as their priorities. While the world is dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, this study is aimed at delineating how processes of framing were used by British the printed press. By distinguishing trends in tabloids and broadsheet newspapers, this research will be able to conclude that sensationalist newspapers presented more human interest stories. On the other hand, serious newspapers were found to make larger use of the Economic Consequences and the Attribution of Responsibility frames. Additionally, anchoring frames were found to prevail over othering hence confirming the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic would less “othered” than 2003 SARS.Show less
Protesten zijn voor groepen een manier om hun politieke onvrede te uiten en variëren in grootte en mobilisatievermogen. Ieder protest concurreert om mediaaandacht en streeft naar een groot publiek...Show moreProtesten zijn voor groepen een manier om hun politieke onvrede te uiten en variëren in grootte en mobilisatievermogen. Ieder protest concurreert om mediaaandacht en streeft naar een groot publiek om de politieke agenda te beïnvloeden. De wetenschappelijke literatuur wijst op het bestaan van een structurele negatieve bias vanuit de media tegenover protesten. Vrij zelden zijn de precieze eigenschappen die hierbij een rol spelen onderzocht. Door middel van een frame-analyse van vier uiteenlopende mediabronnen is onderzocht welke factoren invloed hebben op deze negatieve bias. Op basis van de conclusies kan worden gesteld dat een structurele bias niet bestaat. Negatieve frames zijn voornamelijk afhankelijk van de mate van geweld en de eigenschappen, zoals ideologie, in het medialandschap. Toekomstig onderzoek moet uitwijzen of in ieder medialandschap dezelfde eigenschappen van belang zijn of dat in de media zijn eigen manier heeft waarop protesten worden geframed.Show less
Over the past years, a network of alt-right media platforms has emerged online that have attracted significant popularity and readership in Western democracies. Through their antiestablishment and...Show moreOver the past years, a network of alt-right media platforms has emerged online that have attracted significant popularity and readership in Western democracies. Through their antiestablishment and right-wing ideology, these platforms have provided challenges towards trust in mainstream media and liberal democracy. Historically, populism has tended to rise during times of crisis, meaning that the outbreak of the corona pandemic provides potential new breeding ground for its idealism. To get a better picture of how these platforms operate on the Internet, this thesis aims to analyse alt-right and mainstream media coverage of the corona crisis through a comparative analysis of online news articles by the Dagelijkse Standaard and NOS in the Netherlands, and Breitbart and CNN in the United States. Through a content analysis of 842 articles, it researches media coverage by looking at the dominant crisis frames (i.e. the ‘conflict’, ‘responsibility’, ‘morality’, ‘economic-consequences’ and ‘humanitarian-interest’frame), the persons and institutions that were quoted in the texts and what the tone of the quote sand overall articles was with regard to the government’s handling of the crisis. Altogether, it concludes that there were significant differences in media coverage of the corona crisis between mainstream and alt-right media platforms. Indeed, alt-right media framed the corona crisis in more anti- or pro-establishment terms than their mainstream counterparts. This means that news consumers consulting either alt-right or mainstream media were differently informed on their governments performance, which affects their ability to hold the government accountable for its conduct and the responsiveness of the government to the public’s needs. Furthermore, the platforms’ alt-right framing of events raises the concern for the formation of “filter bubbles” that reinforce political polarization, media scepticism and gravitation towards political extremes.Show less
