Ominous and Indifferent? British Press Coverage of the Spanish Civil War

Abstract

This chapter emphasises the interpretative and evaluative features of British daily newspaper coverage of the Spanish Civil War, as well as their inter-relationship. It explores the extent and temporal distribution of civil war coverage in the British national daily press. Furthermore, it considers how the British press interpreted and evaluated the indigenous participants in the War. It then evaluates British press coverage of the immensely controversial policy of international non-intervention in the war and Britain's involvement in its formulation and sustenance. The data generally shows that press evaluations altered as the war progressed and many became markedly less hostile to the Republic. It also demonstrates that liberal and left-wing press opinion never wavered in its support for the Republic, even though their opinions as to how its interests could be best served certainly did.