The press and its readership : the issue of immigration in British tabloids during the EU Referendum campaign

Details

Supervisors

Arblaster, Paul

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en communication multilingue

Abstract

enOn the 23rd of June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union by 52% against 48%. The results of this referendum are part of a process that started long ago; the relationship between the UK and Europe has always been very particular and the power of the European Union over the UK has been questioned on many occasions. In this paper, we explore the context of the relationships between the UK and the EU to better understand how Euroscepticism and its link with immigration came to be central issues in the British press. We also compare the different methods used by the press to create a readership that identifies with a newspaper and how these might influence the readers to make a consequent political decision. We analyse news articles and editorials written in the Daily Mail and the Daily Express that were published during the EU referendum campaign. The objective of this dissertation is to demonstrate that, though their objectives are commercial and financial, tabloids have an influence on the public’s opinion when it comes to economic, social and political stakes of the country.