Keywords
Elite sources
Elite-to-elite communication model
Economic journalism
Economic crisis
How to Cite
Abstract
ABSTRACT – Is economic journalism always dependent on elitist news sources or are there particular situations that can mitigate this pattern? The economic crisis of 2008 has specific characteristics that distinguish it from the issues usually covered by economic journalism, so a different pattern in the use of sources could be expected, especially if we consider the changing economic and political circumstances throughout the crisis. To explore this question, we conducted a content analysis of the crisis coverage of representative Spanish newspapers between 2008 and 2015. The results show that the political and economic elites were the dominant sources, meanwhile, other non-elite agents had little presence. This imbalance is not modified by the ideological and geographical profiles of the newspapers, or by the different phases of the crisis. However, we found intra-elite alterations over time: the actors with more decision-making power at each period had more presence as sources.
RESUMO – Será o jornalismo econômico sempre dependente das fontes de elite ou existem determinadas situações que podem mitigar este padrão? A crise econômica de 2008 tem caraterísticas específicas que a distinguem dos assuntos habitualmente tratados pelo jornalismo econômico, pelo que poderia ser esperado um padrão diferente no uso de fontes de notícias, especialmente se considerarmos as diferentes circunstâncias econômicas e políticas ao longo da crise. Para explorar esta questão, realizamos uma análise de conteúdo da cobertura da crise de jornais representativos do caso espanhol entre 2008 e 2015. Os resultados mostram que as elites políticas e econômicas foram as fontes dominantes, enquanto outros agentes não elitistas tiveram escassa presença. Este desequilíbrio não é alterado pelos diferentes perfis ideológicos e geográficos dos jornais, nem pelas diferentes etapas da crise. No entanto, encontramos alterações intra-elite ao longo do tempo: os atores com maior poder de tomada de decisões em cada período, tiveram mais presença como fontes.
RESUMEN – ¿Es el periodismo económico siempre dependiente de las fuentes elitistas o existen determinadas situaciones que pueden mitigar este patrón? La crisis económica de 2008 tiene características específicas que la distinguen de los asuntos habitualmente tratados por el periodismo económico, lo que permitiría esperar un patrón diferente en el uso de fuentes, especialmente si consideramos las diferentes circunstancias económicas y políticas durante la crisis. Para explorar esta cuestión, realizamos un análisis de contenido de la cobertura de la crisis de periódicos españoles representativos entre 2008 y 2015. Los resultados muestran que las élites políticas y económicas fueron las fuentes dominantes, mientras otros agentes no elitistas tuvieron escasa presencia. Este desequilibrio no es alterado por los diferentes perfiles ideológicos y geográficos de los periódicos, ni por las diferentes etapas de la crisis. Sin embargo, encontramos alteraciones intra-élite a lo largo del tiempo: aquellos actores con mayor poder de decisión en cada período tuvieron más presencia como fuentes.
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