Consensus and Dissent in European Media Reporting

This study analyses the consensus and dissent in the media reporting across the EU countries Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Romania and the additional European countries Switzerland and the UK. We conducted the analysis on a large dataset in the period 2010-01-01 - 2022-07-27. The analysis is updated weekly.
Media sentiment in the news has a decisive influence on consumers, businesses, and society as a whole. Sometimes there are major differences in the perception of individual topics in the media from different sources. These differences are particularly evident between different countries. Thus, countries can be seen as an echo chamber. A deeper analysis of these finding is crucial, especially in the European context, since, on the one hand, ideally, one would see consensus across a united Europe. However, on the other hand, the relationships among the societies of individual European countries are shaped by a common or divergent world view.
The considered topics to measure European friendliness and rejection are the inside view–reporting on EU countries–the outside view on other major powers—the US, China, and Russia—and on three of the closest EU partners—Switzerland, Turkey and the UK. Special topics are added as they arise, e.g. media reporting during the Ukraine crisis or COVID-19 pandemic
This analysis is based on and continues the analysis of the European friendliness and rejection indices of Starosta (2022).