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Memoria e Ricerca

Europhobia and Euroscepticism in British Press: "The Sun" and "The Times"

di Nina Rothenberg
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 6 (2000), p. 95

The headline "Up yours Delors" in "The Sun" on I November 1990 on the background of the controversy surrounding the euro marked one of the heights of anti-European propaganda in Britain.The aim of this essay is to assess the way Europe is portrayed in "The Sun" and "The Times", as the main popular and quality papers respectively, and to identify the political and cultural reasons for their anti-European stance. I will analyse the role of the British media as the moulder of public opinion and the most important link between the political system, the media and the public. The terms "Euroscepticism" and "Europhobia" should help categorise two different kinds of anti-European sentiment. While "Euroscepticism" means doubt about the usefulness, truth and practicability of the European Union and its institutions, "Europhobia" can be defined as a feeling of irrational fear of supranational integration, which lacks logical contemplation. It will be suggested that the latter plays a significant role in forming or perpetuating the prejudices that then place constraints on political action.