The Tone in Media Coverage of Women Politicians. Comparative Analysis of the Polarity of Journalistic Texts in Spain, France and the United Kingdom

Abstract

Women in public office have been treated differently in the media than their male counterparts, as they have been discriminated under stereotypical media coverage. The article proposes an analysis of the treatment given by the digital media to female political leaders of different parties in three countries. The aim of the research is to identify the polarity of the information published about them. The text focuses on the cases of Anne Hidalgo and Marine Le Pen (France) Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May, (United Kingdom); and Ada Colau and Inés Arrimadas (Spain). The study develops a computerised sentiment analysis of the information published in two main digital newspapers in each country during November 2019. The research, based on the analysis of 1100 journalistic pieces, shows that the polarity of the women analysed is predominantly neutral and positive, and that journalistic genres do not determine the media representation of the women analysed. On the contrary, the country of study has a predominant incidence on the tone used to depict women politicians in media.