European and National Identities in Britain and Italy Maastricht on Television

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Year:
Pages:324
ISBN:0-7734-7563-X
978-0-7734-7563-2
Price:$219.95 + shipping
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This book is a comparative study of European related national news discourses of two countries of the European Union: Britain and Italy. The central hypothesis of the study is that specific historical, cultural and political factors are powerful determinants of the differences in commitment toward the European project of both news media and political cultures and have led to different formulations of Europe. It argues that the Italian nation-state and national identities are inclusive at some levels of a European identity, whereas the British state and national identities are on the whole exclusive of a European identity. This underlies the predominant negativity of British media news discourses on the question of Europe and of the European Community in particular.
The study looks at the formation of national identities; the ways Britain and Italy have developed broadcasting and its role in constructing a national audience, and contains an analysis of the language and the visual representations of the Maastricht event and the implications of a united Europe.

Reviews

“It demonstrates an incisive grasp of the complex interrelations between historical, cultural and political factors that inform thinking about Europe within differing countries, and the author’s detailed knowledge of Italian culture and politics ensures originality and freshness in its approach. . . . provides a valuable model of how such an analysis can be undertaken and successfully accomplished.” – Dr. Myra Macdonald

“Dr. Cere’s work is of significance at the level of methodology – as a contribution to the comparative analysis of national and trans-national news discourses – and as a model of our wider understanding of the transformations in play regarding news and the European public sphere. . . . It provides an important insight into contemporary debates about news management, the codes of news and the continued shaping and sense of ‘Europe’.” – Tim O’Sullivan

Table of Contents

Table of contents:
Preface; Foreword
Part 1. The nation-state and national identities: Italian, British, European
Part 2. National broadcasting institutions and the news form: History and development of Italian/British broadcasting; Broadcast forms – television news
Part 3. Textual and visual analysis of news construction of Europe: Italian and British Maastricht pre-Summit News; Italian and British Maastricht Summit News; Visual analysis of Maastricht pre-Summit and Summit News
Appendix: Visual Images
Bibliography; Index

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