Deficits and biases in the leading German press coverage of the Greek sovereign debt crisis

Abstract

In times of crisis and social turbulence, the mass media play a crucial role. This becomes particularly evident in economic crises within the European Union. The (biased) way the crisis is reported shapes people’s understanding of the crisis and the parties involved. In this study, the coverage of the Greek sovereign debt crisis in the German newspapers BILD, Die Welt, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, tageszeitung and Der Spiegel (online) is examined for the quality criteria relevance, neutrality, balance, and analytical quality. The results show that the reporting is appropriate to the relevance of the topic, but shows deficits in the criteria of balance, neutrality, and analytical quality. During the study period, coverage focuses on a small number of topics, journalists include their value judgments in news and reports. Overall, there is an obvious media bias against the Greek government’s position.