Insulting the Public? The British Press and the European Union

Insulting the Public? examines the way in which the European Union and issues relating to it are represented to the public. Combining theoretical and empirical research, the text explores and provides an assessment of the performance of the British Press in its representation of the European Union in the period immediately preceding the General Election of 1997 and during the British presidency of the Union from January to June 1998.

Preface 1. The Press, Europe and questions of cultural identity 2. European Integration: the issues at stake 3. Euroscepticism in the British Press 4. The pro-European press 5. The British Presidency of the European Union, 1998 6. The Great Public Relations Disaster 7. Producers, consumers and users of information 8. Insulting the Public? Appendix I: SPEAKING is media discourse Appendix II: Tony Blair's speech to the French National Assembly (1998) Appendix III: William Hague's speech to the INSEAD Business School, Fontainebleau (1998) Bibliography Index

• An extremely topical and accessible critical account of the coverage of European issues in the British press from the dual perspectives of media discourse analysis and political science
• An analysis of such issues as the role of the press in a liberal democracy and the link between the latter and the coverage of the percieved costs and benefits of membership of the EU
• An analysis of the extent to which the EU institutions and member governments themselves contribute to a negative or positive image of the EU
• A detailed commentary, with many examples, on the nature, origins and function of the Eurosceptic and Europhile arguments contained in the British press
• An analysis of the potential political/security consequences for Britain's and Europe's citizens of