NEWSLETTER #2

MEDIATIZED EU brings together interdisciplinary research teams from seven countries to provide insights into what forces shape media discourses on Europeanization and how these impact perceptions of the European project. Our objectives are to study the framing of and identity factors related to Europeanization in the media and its representations in public opinion; to explore the role of political and media elites in the media framing of the EU discourse and identify factors related to Europeanization; to trace the interconnections between the political and media elites’ discourses, EU framing and public opinion; to elaborate suggestions for policymakers on how to address key challenges.

Following the completion of the historical research in August 2021, the project team embarked on the media analysis stage, where we sampled offline and online media outlets in our seven countries to capture key mediatized discourses on Europeanization. The MEDIATIZED EU research teams are currently engaged in content and discourse analyses which will be concluded by June 2022.

During this phase the MEDIATIZED EU project will analyse how these media outlets frame the EU and Europeanization, their reflections on the future prospects of the European project, their reactions to the Europeanization mechanisms, as well as their discursive manoeuvrings to promote or hinder certain agendas. We are analyzing both traditional media (TV programmes/talk shows on EU-related topics and newspapers with pro- and anti-EU discourses) and online media (electronic periodicals and social media) to capture the range of discourses about Europeanization in the hybrid media system.

Critical Discourse Analysis Workshop

The MEDIATIZED EU team was in training mode during September 29 and 30, 2021. Dr. Lika Tsuladze, Executive Director of the Center for Social Sciences (CSS) and Associate Professor of Sociology at Tbilisi State University in Georgia, devised and delivered a two-day training dedicated to exploring Critical Discourse Analysis theory and methodology, offering insights on how the approach fits into the MEDIATIZED EU project research. Dr. Anastasia Deligiaouri, Research Fellow, School of Communications, Dublin City University (DCU) also contributed to the training.

NEW! MEDIATIZED EU Podcast Series

The brand new MEDIATIZED EU podcast series aims to help policy-makers, experts, journalists and ordinary citizens understand the project’s rationale and objectives, as well as the methodological approach that the project will follow throughout its lifespan.

The new series premiered with an online discussion featuring comments and insights from Dr. Lika Tsuladze, Executive Director of the Center for Social Sciences (CSS) and Associate Professor of Sociology at Tbilisi State University in Georgia. The podcast was hosted by Andreas Marazis, Researcher and Project Manager at the European Neighbourhood Council (ENC) in Belgium and Moara Crivelente, Junior researcher at the Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University Coimbra in Portugal.

Understanding the MEDIATIZED EU Research Project 
A podcast discussion with Dr. Lika Tsuladze

Watch here or listen here

The MEDIATIZED EU members would like to formally and wholeheartedly welcome the experts who accepted our invitation and joined forces with us in our effort to increase the project’s visibility and outreach.

The Network of Experts is comprised of a limited number of influential journalists, academics, former ambassadors and MEP/MPs, who are carefully selected based on their work and experience representing all seven partner countries: Ireland, Belgium, Estonia, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Georgia.

While the current stage of media analysis research is taking place (until June 2022), partners UANE and TalTech are working on drafting a preliminary policy scoping report focusing on key policy issues in the seven project countries related to the project’s theme of mediatized discourses on Europeanization. The policy scoping report, which we hope to complete by March 2022, will identify key areas for discussion at a closed-doors policy roundtable. The event, presenting the project’s key objectives with regard to policy implications to EU policymakers, is planned to take place in Brussels during June 2022.
Stay tuned and find more about our project by checking our website, following us on social media and subscribing to our newsletter to keep up to date on our work and engage with us.