Satirizing international crises. The depiction of the Ukraine, Greek debt, and migration crises in political satire

Abstract

In international crises, the media’s information and orientation function is particularly important in the public sphere. While the news media’s crisis coverage has been well researched and often criticized, very little is known about the depiction of crises in political satire. This study examines how German satirical shows (n = 154 episodes, 2014–2016) covered the Ukraine, Greek debt, and migration crises and whether or not these depictions corresponded to news media logic. In its attention to the crises, satire follows news media’s conflict orientation. Parallels with news media logic also relate to the information function because the predominant frame elements in satirical shows mirror governmental positions. This is different regarding the orientation function. In their evaluation of the frame elements, satirical shows’ criticism of governmental positions and their support for minority positions create a counter-narrative for the crises. Thus, satirical shows provide added value for public discourse.

No government mouthpieces: Changes in the framing of the “migration crisis” in German news and infotainment media

“…This frame, however, registered a comparably low level in the satirical shows, where Administrative Problems remained the most frequently used counter frame. Consistent with a previous study (Nitsch & Lichtenstein, 2019), the satirical shows thus also resisted denouncing the open-door policy as political mismanagement in the time after the NYE events.…”

“…Most prominently, satirical shows challenge established perspectives in current political and societal debates with a counter-narrative meant to criticize political leaders and traditional media discourses (McClennen & Maisel, 2014). According to studies on the depiction of the Ukraine crisis (Lichtenstein & Koerth, 2020) and the "migration crisis" (Nitsch & Lichtenstein, 2019), criticism of governmental policies is especially strong in satirical shows when the news media tend to support the government's position. In the case of the "migration crisis," the news media are expected to have supported the open-door policy before NYE and shifted toward criticism in the time after, when the government also shifted toward more restrictive policies.…”

“…For the satirical shows, all 57 shows that addressed the "migration crisis" as the main topic in at least one thematic segment were selected. The relevant shows and segments were identified by using data from a previous project on political satire (Nitsch & Lichtenstein, 2019).…”

Content Analysis in the Research Field of Satire

“…Occasionally, satirical shows are compared to the coverage of news media outlets (Fox et al 2007;Lichtenstein and Koerth 2020;Ödmark 2018;Nitsch and Lichtenstein 2019;Young 2013). Combinations of content analyses and surveys, focus group discussions, interviews or experimental designs (Bore and Reid 2014;Matthes and Rauchfleisch 2013;Morris 2009;Young 2004Young , 2006Young , 2013 are relatively rare.…”

Different shows, different stories: How German TV formats challenged the government’s framing of the Ukraine crisis

“…Most prominently, satirical shows are known to criticize political leaders and media discourse; they challenge established perspectives in current political and societal debates with a counter-narrative (McClennen and Maisel, 2014). In crisis discourses, satirical shows have been found to address and reject frame elements that are prominent in the news media (Nitsch and Lichtenstein, 2019).…”