From decontextualization to disaffection: agenda and discourse of the press during the autonomic elections in the Region of Murcia (2011)

Abstract

This paper reports on the mediation of the press and the agenda-setting during the 2011 autonomic elections campaign held in the Region of Murcia (Spain). From the classical theory of journalistic genres, we apply content analysis to every single news story related to the campaign published on the front page and the inside pages of two regional newspapers (La Opinión and La Verdad of Murcia), looking for indicators that define the coverage of both media outlets. Our analysis reveals that media simply transferred the proposals from the candidates to the readers, but silenced the issues of greatest concern to citizens, according to polls. In addition, the lack of interpretive genre stories, that would have add context and enriched the debate with alternative issues emerged from the journalist’s initiative, shows that the news coverage of the election campaign by these newspapers didn’t help to alleviate the discontent that civil society has expressed through movements like 15M.