A union, a collaboration and a currency crisis : A quantitative study of the media coverage of the euro crisis within the European Union in Spanish and Swedish newspapers

Abstract Title: A union, a collaboration and a currency crisis- a quantitative study of the media coverage of the euro crisis within the European Union in Spanish and Swedish newspapers. The purpose of this study was to see whether Sweden and Spain ́s differences in media climates and relations to the euro crisis would affect how the story was portrayed from a narrative perspective. Did the coverage differ between the two countries and who got to comment on the situation in the media were two of the questions I strived to answer. I also wanted to see how the coverage reflected on the situation that the euro crisis has created. In this study I used a number of theories that I based my research on. The main theories I focused on was about different media systems and Sweden and Spain ́s relation to the euro crisis. Other theories that this study rests on are narrative theory and media logic. The method I used was a quantitative text analysis from a narrative perspective. I formed variables that I tested against all of the articles. To limit the research to a manageable level I chose to analyze the articles of one newspaper from each country. The two newspapers that I analyzed were Dagens Nyheter from Sweden and El País from Spain. The results showed that the two countries, despite what the theories might have implied, portrayed the story in similar ways. The differences between the countries media climates and their relations to the euro crisis where not apparent in the newspapers storytelling. In almost all of the articles in both countries people in powerful positions got to make their voices heard whilst the citizens affected by the crisis rarely got the same opportunity. Spain reported more on the situation that followed the crisis and Sweden wrote more often about a solution to the problem.