The role of the public in shaping EU contestation: Euroscepticism and online news media

Abstract

The participation of the public in framing and debating the news has added a new layer in the making of European Union contestation and the European public sphere, traditionally driven by journalists and political elites. Drawing on news coverage of the ongoing Eurocrisis (2010–2013) and the 2009 European Parliament elections, this article examines the structure and content of European Union contestation in mainstream online news media over time and across several European Union member states. The cross-national patterns that emerge from this analysis strongly suggest that, despite the differences between the observed online news spheres, the European Union is rather uniformly contested: national politics firmly remain the key defining ‘frame’; Eurosceptic claims are very much focused on the present rather than the future; and contributors often appeal to the public’s emotions rather than reason. Furthermore, the Eurocrisis appears to have consolidated European Union contestation on the more substantial issues of power, solidarity and accountability.