Brexit Press Coverage: Mixing News, Opinion and Lies

Of the newspaper articles focused on the referendum, 41% were pro-Leave, while 27% were pro-Remain, creating a dominant pro-Leave presence. After factoring in the reach of different newspapers, the pro-Brexit dominance is further accentuated, with 48% of all referendum-focused articles pro-Leave and just 22% pro-Remain.

Almost half of spokespeople cited in articles were either UK politicians or campaign representatives, while analysts/experts made up only 11% of spokespeople cited, and academics just 2%.

64% of UK politicians cited in articles were Conservative, and 17% Labour.

The report, produced in partnership with media insight specialists PRIME Research, analyzed two days of press coverage each week for the London editions of nine national newspapers over the four months of the campaign: the Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Star, Daily Express and Daily Mirror, the Times, Guardian, Financial Times and Daily Telegraph. Broadcast media were not included as their agenda was largely set by the papers, the researchers said. With some papers having a disproportionate influence on some broadcasters, a journalist in the know quipped at the report's presentation at the European Parliament office in London.

Dominant Pro-Leave Bias

"The research reveals a picture of highly polarized press coverage, reliant on a narrow range of voices," Dr. David Levy, Director of the Reuters Institute and one of the report's authors said, "where coverage was relatively more focused on the contest itself and personalities than any of the complex issues at stake."

In spite of some notable exceptions, Dr. Levy said:

"The press was generally better at reinforcing the views of decided voters than in giving undecided voters, seeking broad facts and high quality information, the evidence to make up their own minds."

Six out of the nine newspapers examined by the report followed the pro-Leave line, with the strongest positions in the Daily Express, followed by the Daily Mail and the Sun. This didn't come as a surprise to Richard Corbett, a Labour MEP who remarked that most British papers are controlled by just three groups whose owners are known for their euroskeptic views.

"Millions of people every day read anti-European propaganda over their breakfast table. Unfortunately we've seen at this event how much of the British media just parrots that line," Mr. Corbett told Sputnik.

An academic working on media research suggested at the presentation that journalists working for some of the tabloids and Leave press felt pressurized to twist their own news stories towards the Leave campaign.

The report didn't assess the quality or accuracy of the press coverage due to limited resources. But Mr. Corbett MEP would have liked to see a more factually accurate campaign.

"Even the BBC, constrained by its 50/50 rule, was giving equal time to both sides but not really questioning the facts on either side, assuming each side would do that."

Asked about the European reaction to the British press coverage of the referendum issues, Mr. Corbett told Sputnik:

"There is shock at the nature of the campaign, the lies that were told. There are a lot of things that leave our friends in Europe perplexed."

Indeed, a representative of the European Commission in the UK made an angry remark at the report's presentation about British journalists habitually "mixing news, opinion and lies in one piece." Will there ever be a reasoned discussion in the British media, he asked.

Differences in Tone

The economy was the most cited referendum issue covered by all newspapers, followed by sovereignty and migration with the latter two skewed heavily to pro-Leave articles.

The report finds marked differences in tone between the Leave and Remain arguments in the press.

While the pro-Remain articles focused largely on the single issue of the economy, they adopted a generally very negative tone, apparently reluctant to use positive language, and gave pessimistic forecasts of a pro-Brexit future. In contrast, pro-Leave articles adopted a more positive tone, balancing criticism of the status quo with hopeful messages for a pro-Brexit future. Pro-Leave articles did play to fears, notably around migration and sovereignty, but their future-oriented messages were more optimistic.

To Lucy Thomas, Deputy Director of Britain Stronger in Europe a lot of that pro-Leave press optimism, especially about the economy, was misleading.

"When people start realizing that they are getting something different from what they voted for, they would ask — why nobody told us about these consequences".

Richard Corbett MEP agrees:

"When they see the reality of what Brexit actually entails, there may well be people who voted 'Leave' who would say, 'ooh, wait a minute, I want to rethink please'. While there is still a chance of triggering a rethink, I will be arguing for it."

But Matthew Elliott, Chief Executive of Vote Leave rejects such arguments out of hand:

"The polls are quite straightforward: the country as a whole is very satisfied with the outcome of the referendum — even those people who voted to remain, because their economic concerns are relieved that the economy hasn't gone downhill, and now are quite pleased that we are going to leave the EU. So I disagree with the assessment that people are regretting the ‘leave' vote", Mr. Elliott told Sputnik.

Regretting or not, but the Brexit debate continues in the press with its focus shifting to the tug of war between London and Brussels on the way forward with negotiations.

And Richard Corbett MEP is not impressed: "There is an attempt already by the Brexit supporters to blame Europe for what they know is inevitably going to be a bad deal for Britain. It's going to be a bad deal because it's Britain's fault. We are the ones walking out and we are never going to get as good a deal being a non-member than we actually get as a member. Of course not! But they will try and turn it into a conspiracy that: 'oh, it's these awful Europeans being nasty to us.' "

The Brexit debate will liven up considerably, Mr. Corbett told Sputnik, "probably with the same media bias we have had before."