A comparative study of how political journalists in four European countries reported on the coronavirus pandemic

International comparisons of the culture of political journalism are made more difficult and complex by differences of salience in the chosen countries during the period of measurement. The COVID-19 pandemic offers a rare opportunity to compare national patterns of media coverage and the associated culture of political journalism while controlling for salience, as all countries were experiencing the pandemic in the same way at the same time.

This study uses multiple methods. It begins with qualitative content analysis, measuring and analysing a limited sample of the television and press coverage in the UK, France, Germany and Switzerland in November 2020. The study then contextualises the data within scholars’ familiar classifications of the political, economic and media environment, and finally, applying the methods of thematic research, seeks explanations from 22 semi-structured interviews with senior practitioners in political communication and journalism in the respective countries, and within the EU itself.

France and Germany are members of the EU, the UK and Switzerland had strong associations with the Union. Germany and Switzerland are federations, with traditions of consensual, multi-party government, which in the Swiss case is reinforced by a layer of direct democracy though regular referenda. The political systems in the UK and France while differing, share a majoritarian and indeed adversarial political culture. All have dominant, regulated public broadcasters.

Despite the many differences the evidence of this study suggests that there is a strong correlation between the consensual style of government, civic trust in all its forms and the political culture of the country and that this is expressed through similarities in the media output during this unique period. The UK’s majoritarian parliamentary system and highly competitive media are associated with a significantly different style of political journalism.