Coverage of the EU by "The Guardian"

The European Union is consistently covered in “The Guardian,” oftentimes appearing as major headlines in political and economic news. Everyday this week, at least one story on the EU has been published, examining internal affairs of EU leaders, EU agenda and upcoming issues. The articles I found most interesting were published on Tuesday, May 24, highlighting the state of the EU and the eurozone, specifically reflecting on the debt crisis in Greece.

On Tuesday, “The Guardian” analyzed the debate on Greece’s need to reschedule its debts. The EU Business Secretary Vince Cable pushes for the rescheduling because it is “the best option, or the least worst option…” and that leaving the eurozone would not solve the problem. The article continued, however, by pointing out that the eurozone has never been exposed to this kind of debt crisis before.  Overall, “The Guardian” only quoted one source who had a very clear opinion on the matter, therefore providing a very one-sided argument to the issue. “The Guardian” writer was the only voice that lightly touched on opposing, which were quickly combated with quotes by Cable.

Another angle of the eurozone was covered in the same day with a grave tone, titled, “The European dream is in danger: prepare for another rude awakening.” Here, “The Guardian” discusses an overlying feeling of apprehension and fear amongst the EU states about the unrest and instability in many major countries that could quickly break down the union and the monetary eurozone. Greece’s debt default, Germany’s rising borrowing costs, Spain’s mass protests and Ireland’s rise in emigration has the EU shaking. “What's at stake this summer is more than just the future of the eurozone, for which there are predictable outcomes. It is the future of pan-European solidarity, which has been implicit in the project of the EU and, recently, in short supply.”

This article had the most reaction of any of the EU articles of the week with 246 comments, 277 Facebook shares and 82 Tweets. This is significant because it shows that this specific topic and analysis is something that the audience wants to hear about. What’s interesting about this observation is when this article is compared to the previous, the straight news analysis is more popular than the traditional news coverage of a similar matter. Both articles discussed general instability within the EU and possibilities for improvement, but the second article, written more as an opinion/column piece, seemed to be more relatable and conversational. The majority of the comments agreed with a few points made in the article, but oftentimes included other opinions that slightly differed, or brought up completely different issues. It seems that the European public prefers a very democratic, checks-and-balances type of journalism that allows the journalist to act as an authority and the audience as contributing writers.