National Identity, the British Media, and Press Propaganda

This chapter explores British attitudes towards Europe. History and heritage have engendered national pride and nostalgia and geography a sense of independence. English has increased distrust of Europe as fewer people now learn languages. The chapter looks at how the media landscape of film, television, books, newspapers and social media affects attitudes towards Europe. Broadcasters are bound to impartiality but Britain’s press is mostly Eurosceptic. Its influence is wider than its declining print circulations: online consumption has grown and it sets the news agenda. Its Euroscepticism is down to the right-wing backgrounds of proprietors, editors and journalists. The Continental press is more balanced towards the EU, as even a cursory glance shows. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the features of propaganda and why the term fits much of the output of the British press. Finally, the chapter debunks the main euromyths.