Whose Streets? Representations of the G20 Protests in the Toronto Star

Abstract

The following excerpti employs content and critical discourse analyses to investigate the Toronto Star’s representation of the protests that took place during the 2010 Toronto G20 Summit. Through the theoretical lens of Antonio Gramsci’s notion of hegemony, it assesses the inclusion and representation of protesters and their motivations for protesting. Cumulatively, the findings of this research point toward a hegemonic narrative in which the ideological status quo and those who support it are presented as legitimate and natural, whereas dissenters are depicted as illegitimate and socially harmful. These findings are generally consistent with previous analyses of corporate media coverage of other protests in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.