Proposal for a code of good practice for reporting the European Union in local media

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2024.i66.01

Keywords:

local journalism, quality information, transfer, good practices, European Union

Abstract

The European Union is a political actor with a great influence in the territory of the different European local areas. However, the relevance of the EU institutions has not traditionally been accompanied by appropriate journalistic coverage, especially at local and regional level, which deepens the existence of a democratic and communicative deficit. Considering the intrinsic social function of local media and the concept of quality journalism, this manuscript addresses the building of a decalogue of recommendations based on a mixed research strategy on case studies, combining semi-structured interviews and content analysis. The objective is to provide an analytical tool of good practices, which allows evaluating the quality of the news media treatment of the European project and at the same time serves as a transfer instrument. Based on empirical results on the scarcity and fragmentation of European information, the current proposal defines eight variables on which to act, considering the collision between the positive self-assessment of journalists and poorly specialized practices on the EU. Our main contribution aims to analyze and improve the relevance of local journalistic content, in accordance with the purpose of building a community of citizens duly informed about the European project. Thus, the suggested code of good practice means an ideal model for the communicative development of the European Public Sphere.

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Author Biographies

Rubén Rivas-de-Roca, King Juan Carlos University

Rubén Rivas-de-Roca is Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC). D. in Communication with international mention and “cum laude” by the interuniversity program of the universities of Cadiz, Huelva, Malaga and Seville (2022). Accredited as Associate Professor Doctor by ANECA. Previously, he was Assistant Professor Doctor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Sociology at Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, as well as Interim Substitute Professor and Research Staff in Training (PIF) (2018-2022) in the Department of Journalism II at the University of Seville. He has been a visiting researcher at Universität Leipzig (Germany), Cardiff University (UK) and Universidade da Beira Interior (Portugal). His lines of research focus on the study of local information, journalism and political communication, with special interest in the European Union. He is a member of the Novos Medios research group.

Mar García-Gordillo, University of Seville

Mar García-Gordillo is a professor (accredited to full professor) in the area of Journalism in the Faculty of Communication at the University of Seville and a member of the “Communication & Social Sciences” Research Group (SEJ-619). She has served as General Director of Communication at the University of Seville, Vice-Dean of Internships and Companies at the Faculty of Communication and as Director of the Secretariat of Internships in Companies and Employment at the University of Seville. She teaches in the Master's Degree in Institutional and Political Communication and the Master's Degree in European Studies at the University of Seville. Her research areas revolve around communication and political journalism, with a special focus on international politics and the European Union.

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Published

2024-10-15

How to Cite

Rivas-de-Roca, R., & García-Gordillo, M. (2024). Proposal for a code of good practice for reporting the European Union in local media. Ámbitos. Revista Internacional De Comunicación, (66), 13–32. https://doi.org/10.12795/Ambitos.2024.i66.01

Issue

No. 66 (2024): Autumn Edition

Section

MONOGRAPH

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Copyright (c) 2024 Rubén Rivas-de-Roca, Mar García-Gordillo

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