News coverage of anti-NATO protests : how did People`s Paper, Young Front Today and Czech television cover protests against the NATO summit in Prague, Czech Republic, November 2002

Abstract

This paper provided a focused case study of the news coverage of protests against the NATO Summit in Prague in November 2002 by the two daily Czech newspapers Lidove noviny, the People`s Paper and Mlada fronta Dnes, the Young Front Today and the public service TV station Czech television. The main focus was aimed at the ways the three examined media depicted the anti-NATO demonstrations and positions of the official authorities, namely the police and the Ministry of Interior, towards them.

The research based on the audiovisual and textual analysis and interviews showed that the three investigated media created negative expectations about anti-NATO protesters and supported the official authorities extensive security measures applied during the summit. Uncritical approaches of the studied media suggested persisting communist inflence, characterized by the lack of criticism towards the establishment´s information. The research showed that the predictions of the violence and repeatedly published news stories about immense security regulations and police military preparations created the notion of fear and supported negative stereotypes about the activists as representatives of the opponent`s voice.