A Missed Opportunity: Media Reporting of the European Elections

The analysis argues that traditional media remained the primary source of election information during the 2014 European elections but failed to foster a 'European public' by prioritizing national politics over European issues. In Germany, the UK, and Spain, the author finds that media coverage was often biased or sensationalist, frequently granting disproportionate visibility to anti-European parties like UKIP and AfD while marginalizing others, such as the Greens. The report highlights a lack of prime-time transnational TV debates and suggests that economic pressures and political apathy have turned journalism into a consumer product rather than a public service.

• Despite the rise of social and online media, traditional 'off-line' media such as television and daily newspapers remained the most influential sources of information for the 2014 elections, with traditional media websites dominating the internet landscape.
• Transnational television debates lacked significant reach; for example, a live debate on Euronews reached an estimated 939,000 viewers, a small fraction of the EU's 500 million residents. Furthermore, a high-standard transnational debate organized by Eurovision was relegated to low-impact 'special interest' channels in Germany and the UK.
• In Spain, televised debates focused heavily on national politics rather than European topics. A head-to-head debate on May 15th between Arias Cañete (PP) and Elena Valenciano (PSOE) reached 1,836,000 viewers but centered on national issues.
• Media reporting in the UK and Germany exhibited sensationalism by providing disproportionate coverage to anti-European parties. In Germany, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) was mentioned 1,120 times in a sample of printed media, nearly as often as Alliance ‘90/The Greens, despite the AfD having no members in the Bundestag at the time.
• The British press provided UKIP with coverage that was completely disproportionate to its parliamentary representation, as UKIP had no members of Parliament while the Greens had one.
• Printed media in Spain and Germany allegedly supported the legitimacy of austerity policies by reporting positive economic prognoses for Spain and Greece, often following ratings increases from Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s without investigating the underlying causes.

APA

Martorell, L. M. (2014). A Missed Opportunity: Media Reporting of the European Elections. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-missed-opportunity-media-reporting-of-the-european-elections/

Chicago

Martorell, Laura Martin. A Missed Opportunity: Media Reporting of the European Elections. Green European Journal, 2014. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-missed-opportunity-media-reporting-of-the-european-elections/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martorell |first1=Laura Martin |title=A Missed Opportunity: Media Reporting of the European Elections |publisher=Green European Journal |date=29 July 2014 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-missed-opportunity-media-reporting-of-the-european-elections/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martorell2014missed, author = {Martorell, Laura Martin}, title = {{A Missed Opportunity: Media Reporting of the European Elections}}, institution = {Green European Journal}, year = {2014}, month = jul, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/a-missed-opportunity-media-reporting-of-the-european-elections/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }