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Javnost - The Public, Vol. 15 - 2008, No. 1
Do mass media portray Europe as a community? German and French debates on EU enlargement and a common constitution
The goal of this article is to analyse whether, and when, the media depict Europe as a common community and whether, and when, they remain nationally confined. Media portray Europe as a community if they (1) make European and member state actors and topics visible, (2) show the mutual connectedness between these actors and (3) give voice to support and criticism while avoiding that nation states wall themselves off. To measure whether mass media depict Europe as a common community and thus potentially foster citizens’ integration a content analysis of interactions is systematically combined with empirical network analysis. A comparison of the debates on EU enlargement and a common constitution in the German and French quality press reveals that whether Europe is portrayed as a community varies between and within countries. Such variations seem to reflect the relation between national elites’ attitudes and public opinion towards a specific issue.
