Greek NGOs in the press: Trends in the presentation of Greek NGOs before and during the financial crisis

Abstract

This research is an attempt to discover diachronic trends in the presentation of Greek non-governmental organizations in two of the most influential contemporary hard-news newspapers in Greece, Kathimerini and To Vima. Drawing heavily on theories of media coverage and their relation to the non-governmental organizations, this article combines quantitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis so as to designate the crucial role of the media to the presentation of the non-governmental organizations in Greece. The research covers a wide period of 10 years (2004–2014), including several years before and during the financial crisis. Which are the main characteristics of the non-governmental organizations’ representations by the Press? Which alterations has the crisis context brought to these representations? What new forms of voluntarism has the crisis created? How does the Press ‘react’ toward the ‘insurgents’ of the non-governmental organizations field? These are some of the questions seeking answers in an under constant transformation media field.