Making Europe news

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Subtitle: 
Building a European public sphere vs. framing the European Union in the national public spheres

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Aims and scope: 
The course aims at providing the tools and knowledge necessary for a deeper understanding of the young media professionals’ role in engaging and consolidating the Romanian public sphere. The first step is to identify and define the characteristics of the public sphere on a European and domestic level and to compare the two. Afterwards, the main goal is to highlight the importance and the impact of their activity in shaping the public sphere. Lastly, after providing the theoretical context regarding the making of European news, the participants will be able to take part in a case-by-case study on the topic of mass-media content analysis.
Topics: 
Part 1. Building a European public sphere. 1. Defining the concepts: theoretical and methodological considerations on ‘the European public sphere’. 2. Debating European Affairs in mass media. 3. European Union and legitimacy issues: the role of mass media. 4. The Europeanization process and its influence on the “democratic deficit” question. 5. Is there an Europeanization of media discourse? Part 2. Framing the European Union in National Public Spheres. 6. EU and national level: a communication gap? Mass-media’s role. 7. Integration of EU themes within the domestic agenda. 8. Debating Europe at home: from left vs. right to…? Part 3. Study cases based on mass-media content analyses (online newspapers, online TV news channels, including social-media structures) and analyses of interviews with European and Romanian political and media representatives. 9. Comparing media performance: EU level. 10. Comparing media performance: Member States. 11. Improving EU media performance: transnational cooperation and networks. 12. So… Making Europe News?
Indicative reading: 
• Batalla Adam, Laura. 2012. The Significance of EU Topics in National Media. Has there been an Europeanization of Reporting in the National Media?, College of Europe • Harrison, Jackie, and Bridgette Wessels, (eds.) 2012. Mediating Europe. New Media, Mass Communications and the European Public Sphere. Berghahn Books • Koopmans, Ruud and Paul Statham (eds.) 2010. The Making of a European Public Sphere: Media Discourse and Political Contention. Cambridge University Press. • Nesti, Giorgia and Chiara Valentini(eds.) 2010. Public Communication in the European Union: History, Perspectives and Challenges, Cambridge Scholars, 2010 • Pérez, Francisco. 2013. Political Communication in Europe. The Cultural and Structural Limits of the European Public Sphere. Palgrave Macmillan.
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