Citizens talking politics in the news: Opinions, attitudes and (dis)engagement

Abstract

Ekström and Andrew Tolson investigate how citizen’s voices are constructed and contextualized in news media across Europe. Interviews and vox pops are analyzed with respect to citizen roles, identities, attitudes, entitlement, epistemic status, and relationships to politicians. The vox pop constitutes a distinct format of news production although it is expanded into hybrid forms. It was frequent in the news in Sweden, France and the UK and almost nonexistent in Greece and Italy. Citizens are typically represented in a problematic relationship to politicians and are primarily used to illustrate categories of opinions, identities and attitudes. There is a tendency to trivialize citizens’ knowledge and engagement in politics. The few instances where citizens and politicians talk to each other confirm the rift between them. Some vox pops illustrate a shift from the voice of the concerned citizen to expressions of populist apathy and an implicitly patronising portrayal of political ignorance.