Nation speaking unto nation? Newspapers and national identity in the devolved UK

Authors: Michael Rosie; John MacInnes; Pille Petersoo; Susan Condor; James Kennedy

Source: The Sociological Review, Volume 52, Number 4, November 2004 , pp. 437-458(22)

Buy & download fulltext article:

Price: $48.00 plus tax (Refund Policy)

Abstract:

There are two problems with the existing account of the relationship between newspapers and national identity in the UK. The first is that although it is widely assumed that the mass media are central to the reproduction and evolution of national identity this has never been empirically demonstrated. The second is that exactly what comprises the relevant ‘national’ context in the UK is unclear. Content analysis of 2,500 sampled articles, together with qualitative comparison of different editions of the same newspaper titles and interviews with editors and journalists are used to show the extent and nature of ‘national’ frames of reference in newspapers in England and Scotland. Paradoxically, devolution may have reduced the spatial diversity of news stories in the press in England and Scotland.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.2004.00490.x

Affiliations: 1: University of Edinburgh, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and University of Lancaster

Publication date: 2004-11-01