Reporting Catalonia in Belgian newspapers

Abstract

As two regions with national aspirations for autonomy, Catalonia and Flanders are often compared. This article analyses how this is reflected in the press, focusing in particular on Belgian press reports about Catalonia. On the one hand, we analyse how much Catalonia is written about, as an indication of the perceived relevance of Catalan news to Belgian readers; in particular, we investigate whether Flemish newspapers (which may feel more proximity to the Catalan case) write more about Catalonia than French-language newspapers. On the other, we analyse how Catalonia is written about. Specifically, is the Catalan context explicitly compared to Belgium? Is there a focus on particular themes related to national conflicts? And is there a difference between (Flemish) Dutch-language and French-language newspapers in this respect? A full year of reporting (1 June 2010 to 31 May 2011) was analysed, both quantitatively and qualitatively, for our research