Core heartland reporting as an obstacle to Europeanisation? The media as a factor to create a local and European identity.
Anne Odendahl 10832823 Master’s Thesis
Master’s programme Erasmus Mundus Journalism, Media and Globalisation Graduate School of Communication
University of Amsterdam Dr. Linda Bos
Abstract
Considering the growing nationalistic and Eurosceptical sentiments among European
citizens, this study examines the representation of national and European identity in German media. The findings contribute to the body of literature on the relationship between European and national identity by exploring the inclusive- and exclusiveness of identity formation processes and its representation in the media. Furthermore the present study fills a gap in this body by adding research on the link between the rise of lifestyle journalism and the popularity of core-heartland reporting in Germany and the development of the national and European identity. An in-depth qualitative content analysis of two news magazines and one lifestyle magazine in Germany delivered a detailed picture of how media deal with the re-evaluation of local and regional realms within the framework of Europe and Europeanisation. This study focuses on the socio-psychological approach that national identity is constructed in a social context. Guided by theory on social and collective identity, the findings indicate that identity is a matter of construction shaped by self-understanding and self-reflexion. Perceptions of what constitutes in- and out-groups are subject to time. The current discourse in German media expresses a desire for a core-heartland or “Heimat”, which is not
understood as national culture per se but refers to a personal need for orientation and belonging on an individual level. This study found that popular lifestyle journalism engages citizens actively to negotiate identity on the level of cultural practices beyond abstract political and economic dimensions. This implies a chance for the EU to find a new level for
establishing solidarity and new forms of hybrid identities.
Keywords: identity, national identity, European identity, “Heimat”, Social Identity Theory, in- and out-group, citizenship
Core heartland reporting as an obstacle to Europeanisation? The media as a factor to create a local and European identity.
Since the economic crisis right-wing populist and anti-European parties gained strength in almost all European countries including France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Italy (Afonso, 2014). Furthermore the European Parliament elections in 2014 nearly saw a strong coalition of Anti-European parties. In France the Front National received over 24 per cent of the votes, in the United Kingdom the UK Independence Party (UKIP) over 26 per cent and in Germany the Alternative für Deutschland (AFD) over 7 per cent (European Parliament, 2014). These voter turnouts indicate that anti-European parties are increasingly misusing the fear of the destruction of the national identity to build ample popular support (Cantle, 2014).
Everyday life is often characterised by a need for orientation and identification in a globalised world where legal and cultural boundaries become more and more blurred. However by holding up the importance of national borders and sovereignty and denying the interdependence in a globalised world, national stakeholders reinforce a fear of the other not acknowledging the current reality of multifaceted identities. Therefore political agency is shifting and “forming ‘horizontally’, particularly through social media - transcending traditional power structures and constantly redefining who ‘we’ are” (Cantle, 2014, p. 317).
In academic discourse the dominant evaluation of European identity is its relation to national identity. There is a controversy in literature whether European identity is
fundamentally opposed to and designed to undermine national allegiance or if Europeanness is not at all incompatible with national loyalties (Díez Medrano, 2003; Wintle, 2005).
Europeans are still highly affiliated with their national identities and if this is understood with an exclusive notion, the EU is even perceived as a threat (Carey, 2002; Hooghe and Marks, 2005). However other authors (e.g. Cantle, 2014; Fligstein et al., 2012; Lutz et al., 2006) note that European identity is not understood as excluded from national identity but rather as complementary to it. Guibernau (2011) defines European identity as “an emergent ‘non-emotional’ identity, in contrast with the powerful and emotionally charged national identities
of our time” (p. 41). He says that European identity is simply not strong enough to “compete” with innate national identities and therefore not seen as a real threat. Germany is an
exceptional case in Europe regarding its many historical caesuras. After World War II, fears of re-emerging nationalistic sentiments from the outside and the awareness of the committed crimes on the inside undermined any discussion about German identity.
The German term “Heimat”, approximately translatable into English with “home” or “core heartland” has a key role in finding a new German identity since the beginning of the 21st century. German media reflect upon the discussion of identity by following a current discourse focusing on the return to local traditions and national cultural heritage.
Researchers of the German Rheingold institute interpret this return to original lifestyles as a longing for stability in order to find identity in one’s roots in a deterritorialised world (Klose, 2013). The resulting implications now are how the re-evaluation of and preoccupation with local and regional realms work within the structure of Europe and Europeanisation. Media are also an influential factor in the process of creating identity. Research shows that mass media can influence the public opinion. People recall the opinions of journalists, politicians or institutional representatives, even if they generally have a low level of interest in politics. However media are not able to create attitudes, but can strengthen attitudes that already exist (Azrout et al., 2012; Díez Medrano, 2003; Hooghe and Marks, 2008).
However there is a gap in research analysing the interaction of identity formation and media in the light of the current popularity on core-heartland reporting in Germany and the re-strengthening of Anti-European parties. This in mind the research question “In what way does reporting in German magazines represent a national or European sense of identity?” was developed. With a qualitative content analysis of three German magazines this study will identify prevailing conceptualisations in the reporting about identity.
Theory
Identity and its psychological aspects of inclusivity and exclusivity
The term identity is widely used in academic discourse, depending on the scholarly field. The social science community has not yet agreed on a standardised definition for the
term (Abdelal et al., 2009). Adams (2009) says that the concept of identity is “inherently a relational phenomenon” (p. 316). It entails a reflexivity and agency, which means that the building of identity needs a certain degree of awareness and consciousness. The bearer of identity thus constructs identity in two ways: By reflecting the self-understanding and by using its belonging to a group as the point of reference.
This study uses Social Identity Theory (SIT) to explain the concept of inclusive and exclusive identity resulting from different group memberships. Originally located in the field of social psychology Tajfel and Turner developed SIT in 1979 to explain intergroup behaviour. Slater (2007) specifies
SIT highlights the importance of social group categorization in order to make sense of the social world and our place in it. It is likely, then, that insights about a religious, ideological, or lifestyle identity may be gleaned by analysing the social categories and attributes for category members - both ‘in-group’ and ‘out-group’ - communicated in such preferred media content. (p. 291)
Broadly speaking an exclusive identity allows only one set definition of identity to be obtained by one person. Inclusive identity allows a person to have complementary sets of different identities. However there are many dimensions describing self/other interactions, associated with different group memberships following SIT.
Brady and Kaplan (2009) developed seven features of group-based social identity (see Appendix A for an overview and description of the features). These help to describe the rules of group membership and possible collective identities in comparison to other groups. For this study especially the feature of meaning is important. A content analysis is a tool to interpret narratives that determine the goals and ideas of a group. The media spread these narratives of what a group consists of and what it means to be a member of this group. Cognitive models of how the group is perceived, remembered and understood by its members is crucial to its ontology and epistemology. Brady and Kaplan (2009) acknowledge that this very own group narrative is more approving of the in-group than out-groups. Often elites construct this meaning, which then is distributed among the masses.
Group membership is of high emotional and affective importance and helps to define the self via the status within the group (Curtis, 2014). Consistently the own group is favoured leading to a bias, which constructs a negative image of the other. Rumelili (2004) describes the “relationship between self (the bearer of identity) and other (the bearer of difference) [as] characterised by mutual exclusion and the perception and representation of the other as a threat to one’s identity” (p. 29). In this sense Hettlage (1999) concludes that identity is invariably a binary construction forcing a dialectic between inclusion and exclusion.
National vs. European identity
Sociologists, historians and political scientists have been interested in the formation of collective identities, like national identities, since the founding of their academic fields considering the specific complexity of the concepts (Duncan, 2003; Young & Light, 2001). Historically the nation state is a modern construct. The first nations came into existence after administrative, economic and cultural revolutions in the 18th century turned a community into a politically und culturally socialised public unity (Smith, 1991). The political scientist
Benedict Anderson describes the nation as an imagined political community, based on feelings of mutual obligation and affinities. Members of the community of interest identify themselves as part of the same nation (Anderson, 2006). In sociological terms national identity is linked to a constructivist approach of representational practices. National identity formation is a result of narrated nationalism represented by stories about origins, history and community (Duncan, 2003). Scholars argue that identity does not exist in a vacuum but is a matter of collective construction, reflecting a certain social order (e.g. Greenfeld, 1999; Löwstedt & Räisänen, 2014). Nationalism has become the framework of this social order and the identification with a nation is based on group specific cognitive and behavioural
structures. It is not to be equated with citizenship because people create their individual representation of national identity (Greenfeld, 1999; McCrone & Bechhofer, 2010).
In this context it is also important to explain the concepts of nationalism and
patriotism, which are falsely used interchangeably. Both terms describe the relationship of an individual towards his or her nation. Nationalism highlights a common cultural background,
including language and heritage, but is rooted in rivalry and resentment. Patriotism pertains to the love for a nation, with more emphasis on values and beliefs and is based on affection. Nationalists idealise and overrate their own nation (Voigt, 2013). Nationalism as a dominant ideology concentrates on the protection and revival of the in-group culture shielding it from the possible impact of the EU and other states leading to high regional or national
attachment and intense group loyalty (Carey, 2002; Hooghe and Marks, 2005; McLaren, 2002; Wimmer, 1999).
As far as European identity is concerned most scholars agree that it is either not existing or by far not comparable to the meaning of national identity (e.g. Armingeon, 1999; Díez Medrano, 2011; Habermas, 2001). Europe is just a too heterogeneous concept, which tries to incorporate too divergent attitudes and opinions. However a common identity is by many constructors of the EU seen as the key to European integration and thus the key to the political unity. According to Armingeon (1999) the European identity has no foundation because Europe is neither a community of “communication”, nor “positively valued remembrance”, nor “positively valued experiences” (p. 283). Hettlage (1999) only sees a future for the European integration by aiming for an inclusive “tri-identity” (p. 260) and means that European citizens need compatible regional, national and European identities. This multi-layered identity can only be achieved by acknowledging the multiculturalism of Europe. Sassatelli (2009) argues that European identity seems to be an elitist idea in the sense that it is presented as a unity against and above others. After researching the European Culture of Capital Program 2000 she claims that the European idea cannot be predesigned but instead must develop from within different cultures. Implementing homogenisation and prepared cultural content is incompatible with retaining individual identities. So instead of enforcing a European identity as a copy of exclusive national identity, one has to consider the possibility of multi-dimensional and multi-layered identities.
European identities can also exist in national, regional and local identities “because they refer to different communities that are nested in relationship to one another and are activated under different social conditions” (Fligstein et al., 2012, p. 112).
Local identity represented by “Heimat”
Boa and Palfreyman (2000) state that the core meaning or denotation of the word “Heimat” is “home”. However this is only a translation for one of the many connotations “Heimat” also entails. According to Eigler (2012) “[t]he German concept of “Heimat” carries a rich set of cultural and ideological connotations that combine notions of belonging and identity with affective attachment to a specific place or region” (p. 27). The feeling of “Heimat” is usually unclear and blurred, but when it comes to the actual practice of “Heimat”, embedded in everyday action, an exclusive image develops, which constitutes through a shielding from the surrounding community. In the more social and less spacial context of “Heimat” a certain transfiguring value is added: the “Heimat-feeling”, which produces a sentimental feeling of desire, belonging and locality (Boa & Palfreyman, 2000; Höfig, 1973). Bourdieu (1977) describes this “local culture” (as cited in Servaes & Lie, 2003) as a combination of everyday habitual patterns, locality and shared language, experience and knowledge. “Heimat” is thus a conservative value, which is triggered by the need and longing for a stable foundation of identity. Nevertheless identity is limited in the binary concept of belonging and not belonging to “Heimat”. The dual nature is in thus far a limitation not only to those excluded but also to the included who cannot transcend the inner borders (Boa & Palfreyman, 2000). This diversion also leads to some inherent key oppositions in the discourse of “Heimat”, namely “country against city, province against metropolis, tradition against modernity, nature against artificiality, organic culture against civilization, fixed, familiar rooted identity against cosmopolitanism, hybridity, alien otherness or the faceless mass” (Boa & Palfreyman, 2000, p. 2). Challenging implications arise when one takes into account that globalisation has reinforced this desire for locality and belonging: National borders and cultural boundaries are maintained although globalisation is blurring them leading to the construction of in-group and out-group biases (Rowlands, 2002).
“Heimat” is currently used in literature and film to understand the representation of national identity and regional culture in Germany and its history. Recent literary representations convey a new conceptualisation of “Heimat” by creating a link between the
horizontal (boundaries of the national and international) and vertical (boundaries of the local belonging) dimensions of it. Furthermore an antithesis is often created between a closed and idyllic world and the outer world, leading to a mystified image of “Heimat” (Boa and Palfreyman, 2000; Eigler, 2012; Höfig, 1973). However there is a gap in research analysing the relationship between the representation of identity and the concept of “Heimat” in media reporting.
Identity representation in the media
Agenda setting and framing are important tools of the media to highlight and interpret certain issues. Agenda setting is the way in which media emphasise an issue. Framing tries to establish predominant labels to issues. Agenda setting is based on the cognitive concept of accessibility and framing on applicability (Scheufele & Tewksbury, 2007). Media play a central role in setting identities into a certain context and representing it (Fürsich, 2002; Olausson, 2010). Identity-formation is a bottom up process emerging from the audience’s interpretation of “what they see through the prism of their own culture, knowledge and experience” (Polonska-Kimunguyi & Kimunguyi, 2011, p. 518). Novy (2013) notes that this way of representing national identity reinforces an in- and out-group bias. The own nation is mostly evaluated more positively than others. Here journalism faces a dilemma: A journalist will always be shaped by his or her own cultural context and represent others according to his or her knowledge. In a way media are doomed to fail to give a suitable and objective account of something that is outside their national context. So the media as a central part of identity shaping and integration-processes cannot escape their national paradigm (Fürsich, 2012).
In the context of the EU this leads to the common assumption that the media are held responsible for keeping the national focus thus being an obstacle to Europeanised political communication (Koopmans & Pfetsch, 2006). Scholars agree that the EU is suffering from a communicative and democratic deficit, leading to a lack of visibility of European issues and undermining the Europeanisation of the public sphere, which remains nationally fragmented (e.g. Polonska-Kimunguyi & Kimunguyi, 2011; Koopmans & Pfetsch, 2006; Novy, 2013).
Important to note is that Koopmans and Pfetsch (2006) find while researching German newspapers that national political elites and non-media civil society actors are keeping the public debate within national boundaries. Therefore not only the media or the journalists should be blamed but also those representing the EU, which create a distance to the citizens.
Identity in lifestyle journalism
Blurring boundaries of popular, culture, consumer/consumption, service and lifestyle journalism make it difficult to define these types of journalism separately from each other. However one can say that these types belong to the so-called soft news because they concern private matters and not general news as hard news. Topics such as travel, entertainment, leisure, food, home decoration, music, arts and gardening or human interest in general are treated in this kind of journalism. (Fürsich, 2012; Hanusch & Hanitzsch, 2013; Nørgaard Kristensen & From, 2012). For operational reasons however a set definition is necessary: the one presented by Hanusch and Hanitzsch (2013) will be used. In their understanding lifestyle journalism “refers to the journalistic coverage of the expressive values and practices that help create and signify a specific identity within the realm of consumption and everyday life” (p. 947). Understanding lifestyle as a set of values and practices lets the authors find a formative, reflexive and articulative dimension. Most important for this study is the articulative dimension, which refers to actions of lifestyles through which identity is expressed. Hanusch and Hanitzsch (2013) further argue that lifestyle journalism greatly shapes identities in today’s consumer societies i.e., it is not only a reflection but also creates lifestyle. In contemporary media lifestyle is rather connected to individualism and consumption. Lifestyle journalism is part of the social negotiation of power and status. Journalists serve thus as ‘‘cultural intermediaries’’ (Bourdieu, 1984 as cited in Fürsich, 2012) who negotiate the social position between the elites and masses.
Hanusch and Hanitzsch (2013) found evidence that lifestyle journalists in Australia and Germany provide exemplars of desired lifestyles by their way of reporting. Hermes (2006) found corresponding results in the audience. Readers of women’s magazines report
that they enjoy imagining ideal identities while reading (Hermes, 2006). Hanusch and Hanitzsch (2013) conclude from the current developments that in “mediatized societies, identity work and the expression of lifestyles are therefore almost unthinkable without the media” (p. 946). In the wide field of media, magazines have a central role as sources for important information on certain lifestyles (Lewis, 2008), but also catalyse the transformations in social reality themselves (Abrahamson, 2007). They engage the readers in different (leisure) activities and construct reality.
The theoretical implications demonstrate gaps in research and led to the formulation of three sub-research-questions. Literature on European and national identity has not yet focused on the special case of Germany taking into account its history and current societal developments of the rise of Eurosceptical parties and the popularity of “Heimat”-reporting. Researchers are still debating whether European and national identities are complementary or not and whether identities develop higher levels of inclusive- or exclusiveness in a globalised world. Furthermore there is no research on the relationship between the representation of identity and the concept of “Heimat” in media reporting. Lastly the research body on representation of identity in lifestyle journalism is very limited. The sub-research questions will be examined and answered in the conclusion-section.
Sub-research question 1: How is identity represented in German magazines?
Sub-research question 2: Do German magazines make clear distinctions between national and European identity in a sense that they are exclusive from each other?
Sub-research question 3: What is the difference in the representation of identity between lifestyle and news magazines?
Methods
The chosen research design is a qualitative content analysis. Hsieh and Shannon define it as “a research method for the subjective interpretation of the content of text data through the systematic classification process of coding and identifying themes or patterns” (as cited in Zhang & Wildemuth, 2009, p. 1). A qualitative content analysis seeks to understand culture, social discourse and change. Besides investigating general information
on the topic, its qualitative nature allows the researcher to investigate the issue of identity in depth. Qualitative media analysis is very useful to research the mediation processes and the role of the media in social life, which is the purpose of this study (Altheide & Schneider, 2013). The largest advantage of this method is that it enables the researcher to avoid measurements where data is simply tested against predefined theoretical models (David & Sutton, 2011). Bryman (2012) emphasises the high level of flexibility, which does not demand strict requirements and therefore grants a less biased analysis.
Magazines are analysed because they can dedicate more space to the researched topic than newspapers, which focus on current news. The magazines are chosen according to circulation numbers, based on the 4. quarter 2014: Der Spiegel (843 085) and Stern (725 959) are selected as news magazines representing the mass media and Landlust (1 040 119) (Statista, 2015) as a lifestyle magazine representing popular journalism. What makes the latter relevant for this research is that it has the sixth highest ranking in circulation of magazines in Germany, higher than Der Spiegel and Stern, and it reflects thematically on “Heimat” in the countryside. The unit of analysis is the full article. The samples are taken from the last year 01.01.2014 – 31.12.2014 to give a comprehensive account. Landlust is published every two months and therefore only articles from every second month (January, March, May, July, September, November) from Der Spiegel and Stern will be analysed. The sample thus included 6 issues from Landlust and 24 issues each from Der Spiegel and Stern. The data were collected by using the database LexisNexis for Der Spiegel and Stern. For this purpose a keyword scheme was developed according to which articles containing one or more keywords were selected (see Appendix B for keyword scheme). The keyword scheme was the result of a combination of two methods. Firstly synonyms and nouns with the same implication of identity and “Heimat” were selected and secondly a random sample of articles mentioning “Heimat” and identity were read and analysed according to prominent and repeated nouns, which led to the addition of more keywords. As a result, 979 articles fitted the keyword requirements. After a first evaluation 126 articles were found to be relevant for the qualitative data analysis and constituted the sample of Der Spiegel and Stern. The
software MAXQDA was used for analysing this set of data. For Landlust the actual magazine editions are used, because there is no digital version of the data available. Landlust averagely contains 30 to 35 articles describing topics concerning the garden, kitchen, rural home style, rural life and experiencing nature. All articles were included in the sample.
The approach in this study is an open and inductive one. The data analysis had a minimal deductive approach considering the theoretical background, but the coding was inductively, letting the content itself express how identity is conceptualised. An open coding was conducted, combined with several phases of developing new coding categories or changing codes during the analysis. A fixed coding scheme was not used, but the analysis was done from the text up, highlighting and making notes, eventually developing concepts and themes from the observations. However for the first coding few deductive categories based on the theoretical background were formulated and later extended by and combined with the building of inductive categories. These first deductive categories included five main-codes including some sub-main-codes related among others to identity and “Heimat”. After reading the data very thoroughly, some initial impressions and relevant information were noted. With the research question in mind relevant parts of the texts were re-visited. Subsequently, several phases of coding followed with identifying themes/categories, analysing codes and classifying patterns and relationships. During this process it turned out that none of the deductive categories fitted the contents of Landlust, which means that there are different sets of inductive codes for Landlust (see Appendix C for initial and final coding scheme for Der Spiegel, Stern and Landlust with all main- and sub-codes).
Results
Thematic and latent analysis of the data enabled grouping around issues of identity. The content analysis generated five major themes, with categories under each theme according to which this section is structured (see Appendix D for themes and categories). The first three themes refer to Der Spiegel and Stern and the last two themes refer to Landlust.
Many articles in Der Spiegel and Stern show that there is a concrete search for a national identity going on in Germany. After a critical and intensive analysis of the past for many decades it is discussed what it means to be a modern German (translations by author; original German quotes and references in Appendix E).
Germany in 2014 is completely different from Germany in 1984, a different one from 1994, a different one than the one from 2004. Two relatively new impressions coincide: ease and importance. Put differently: There is new German feeling.1 Overall Der Spiegel and Stern give the impression that liking Germany as a German is an accepted public opinion and in few contexts it is even allowed to talk about national pride, e.g. in sports. However there are still high thresholds about claiming national prestige and caution to show national symbols.
Germans are usually overwhelmed by deep pensiveness, when supposed to talk about their country. The burden of the past.2
Many articles show that by far the German society is not homogenous but divided on several levels, e.g. between East and West, rich and poor or urban and rural areas. Additionally Germany is struggling to define itself as a multicultural society. In general Der Spiegel and Stern confirm the image that multiculturalism and migrants are part of German reality and identity. A story in Der Spiegel describes the daily life of Muslim girls in Berlin.
At Kotti, Jamila asserts ”everything is mixed, Turks, Arabs, Germans. Foreigners are of course belonging to the Germans”, she says. “It would be terribly boring without foreigners”.3
However one can also observe two sides of the coin: Tolerant and integrative parts of the society oppose those, which exclude minorities and foreigners. For those living between cultures it is especially hard to find orientation when it comes to identity.
It is about Heimat, otherness and trust – and about the desire of a whole nation to find something like an identity.4
“Heimat” and its protection is still very important because it is a central part of ones’ identity. However “Heimat” can be defined in various ways: as the inner self, a political party, an
actual place, a language or memories. The vice editor-in chief of Stern, born in Sicily wrote the article 100 reasons for loving Germany and describes his personal impression what “Heimat“ means.
At the same time I am always irritated that Germans can be embarrassed by sentiments for their Heimat. I often think: Relax! Well, recently nationalist parties became popular in some countries during the European elections. In Germany as well. This is not the kind of sentiments for Heimat that I am talking about. It is neither about chauvinism nor about feelings of superiority. It is about humans, landscapes, habits and attitudes towards life.5
Closeness to “Heimat” can be a good thing, not necessarily expressing exclusivity and marginalisation of others. However Der Spiegel and Stern mention nationalist parties play with this misunderstanding and use an exclusive image of “Heimat”. The Eurosceptical German party AfD uses this search for identity by promoting hatred against foreigners, minorities, the EU and globalisation. The party wants to be a point of orientation for those Germans who fear to get lost in a multicultural society without distinct values. In general Germans are more or less apolitical and have low interest in political issues. Especially when it comes to European politics Der Spiegel and Stern describe the German public as
indifferent.
Germany currently gives the impression to be so pleased with everything, that it would preferably freeze the status quo. No new infrastructure, no new chancellor and as little politics as possible.6
Especially the generation of young Germans is criticised in public discourse to be politically inactive and to imitate Angela Merkel`s passive and cool style of governing. The parent generation born in the 1960s was rebellious and against following the government blindly. In contrast the younger generation trusts the government and rather cares for their individual needs than the collective good. However they also feel to live in a united Germany and are able to have a less complicated relationship with their nationality. National football-players are heroes and it is popular to listen to German pop-songs. One article in Der Spiegel
analyses the great success of a young German Schlager singer and mentions the different set of values and goals, which the younger generation has.
Instead of being rebellious a lot of teenagers came to the concert together with their parents. One mother says: “I would like Leni to be more cheeky, but I cannot force her to.” The younger ones outperform the older ones in terms of values. Few want anarchy, but rather conformity and order. Many do not want supreme but small and cosy happiness: a husband, a child, a roast pork.7
In a way this generation is borne out of its times. Der Spiegel says that the current Zeitgeist is characterised by a revival of the Biedermeier, which was an epoch in the 19th century. Culturally this epoch is referring to the culture of the bourgeoisie, typically characterised as conservative with its arts providing an escape into an idyllic world.
Merkel’s term of office is known as a Neobiedermeier, a times of retreat into privacy, because politically nothing is happening, should not be happening.8
Der Spiegel and Stern also describe a general desire for calmness and harmony. They report about people who dropped out from society to find personal happiness disconnected from materialistic ideals. Stephan Höferer was the owner of a successful company for heating engineering before he decided to live in the woods.
Höferer dared to break free. In the beginning his colleagues smiled at his naivety. Now they say that he has done it right. He has been waiting for 365 days for the first catfish. Höferer has less money now. But more joy.9
German Angst as a fundamental national sentiment is gone, however history still prevents most parts of the citizens to show some kind of patriotism and national identity. But younger generations try to surpass this and start searching for identity; however in a private, apolitical manner. It is the Zeitgeist to find out what one wants, what is important in life and who one is. Struggling with European Citizenship
Quite contrary to the intensive search for a national identity, European identity is hardly a topic in Der Spiegel and Stern. Much is reported about decisions taken on EU level concerning policies or the economy, but little about social and cultural concerns. The EU is
depicted as something outside the realm of the average citizen and detached from national concerns.
It seems as if the candidate is as unknown to the young man as the European Commission. In Portugal very few people on the streets can identify Schulz. When he walks through Lisbon, people stop, astonished looks. A woman asks in French: “Who is this?”10
This quote about Martin Schulz, who was a candidate for the European Parliamentary
elections in 2014, shows two of the biggest dilemmas the EU is facing. There is no European public sphere which provides enough information on the EU, neither is there any call for this by the majority of the EU-citizens. During an interview with Stern Peter Gauweiler, a retired member of the German parliament, expresses his opinion on the EU, saying that there are no European people.
I mainly see a revolution from the top. An institutionalised non-democracy.11 Several articles in Der Spiegel and Stern mention that for now the EU is an elite project. They emphasise the importance of meeting the reality that many citizens are actually facing something such as the financial crisis of the Euro and its impact on them. Xenophobic sentiments and the feeling of loss of sovereignty through the EU cause the strengthening of right wing populism and parties. One article in Stern warns that distrust and disinterest in politics create a vacuum, which could possibly be filled with extremism or nationalism.
Whispering in twilight. That has undermined the European idea. This has made people tired and betrayed their enthusiasm. This has turned the attack of
populists and nationalists into something more dangerous than ever before. This has deemed the EU to appear as a pseudo-democratic construct – with a
representative body of the people, which was rated a parliament from a sandbox by our constitutional court [...].12
Der Spiegel and Stern give the impression that there is rather a need for a common identity than a common market. It is inner conflicts that tore the European identity apart: the elites vs. the masses and economic vs. cultural benefits.
The media play an important role in representing the EU. One can still detect the dominance of a national angle in Der Spiegel and Stern. The language is somehow detached because it expresses a distance between the nation and the EU. It is mostly referred to the Europeans instead of including the audience referring to us Europeans. Mostly the EU is criticised for current developments but the European idea in general is never questioned.
Put this way the experiment of Europe-wide democracy has failed. But it created facts, facts, which count in terms of power politics. […] 78 per cent like it that the electorates are also participating in voting for the president of the Commission. Only 13 per cent say that only the heads of government should decide. This is progress for democracy in Europe.13
Social Acceptance
Mostly in the context of immigration Der Spiegel and Stern discuss what it means to be the other, which is unclear. Otherness can come in various shapes not only as a
difference between cultures and nations.
A few years ago Adyan made a long journey. The now 17-year old daughter of Iraqi parents took the subway in Berlin-Kreuzberg and drove to the north of the city. “When I arrived, there only were Germans, I was the only one wearing a headscarf. I suddenly felt like I was not in Germany anymore.”14
The example of Adyan shows that her individual perception constitutes otherness.
Furthermore this quote highlights that she perceives different Germanys, one in which she is part of and one in which she is not. Der Spiegel and Stern feature different stories of
successful and not successful immigrants who tried to find a place in German society. The underlying tone of all stories is that it is a mutual process of integrating others who also want to integrate themselves. Germany in general is shown as a multicultural society but again with generational differences. The first generation of migrant workers who stayed in Germany had less chances for education, jobs and social integration. But their (grand)children born in Germany feel as equal parts of society. Furthermore Germans have adapted to the influx of
different cultures. This inclusion results from social acceptance based on private initiatives like a story in Stern illustrates.
Fada al-Sakal`s fingernails are black. He kneels next to Henning Johannsen in front of a raised bed and sews pumpkins. A few metres next to them Mandy Walker, the Palestinian Atif Sawil and Ulrike Kistner lay out a bed for beans. Amidst the city around 30 refugees and 50 Rostocker regularly cultivate an “intercultural garden”.15 But politics are still lagging behind. While examples from civil societies’ actions are told about, many stories in Der Spiegel and Stern also contain criticism about immigration legislation, which is described as discriminatory and unfair. A big problem is that others and strangers are usually associated with something negative.
The myth of national identity contains the other, the counter-I, always a dangerous phantom lurking around.16
The national and European society is still exclusionary on many levels. Mostly discussed in Der Spiegel and Stern is the difference between rich and poor citizens. On a national and European level it means that the unemployed and low-paid workers are excluded from social participation. A 31-year old Romanian is the main character in an article about labour
migration in Der Spiegel.
He was an “invisible”, as members of the lowest cast on the German labour market are called; an illegal day-labourer. Fair game.17
Politically the phantom of the other is misused to manipulate public opinion. While reporting of these developments Der Spiegel and Stern always distance themselves from
discriminating views and tell the reader about wrong and manipulative standpoints for
example by giving statistical figures. Exclusion also has an effect on those marginalised. Der Spiegel has different stories about people with a migrant background. An adolescent, who came to Germany when he was seven years old, says:
“I did not want a medal or money for that – I just wanted to belong there. In the clean and normal society.”18
“I rather stay there where I know: There are a few more of my species.”19 Another story features the life of Germans living in a deprived area of the city called Manhattan.
Manhattan is a self-contained system. The inhabitants take care of themselves and each other. The outside world leaves them alone to not get their hands dirty with their problems.20
They are trying to stay among themselves, may it be immigrants, Muslims or social welfare recipients. So instead of building a multicultural society, parallel societies develop, often outside the remit of law and justice. Not really opposing the way of life but rather as a result of not being accepted and a lack of alternatives.
Values
Reading several magazines of Landlust makes clear that it presents a very distinct way of life, subtly hinting at that this could be a role model for a certain lifestyle. It guides the reader and gives orientation by presenting a lifestyle that counters the struggles of everyday life. Immaterial values play an important role in many articles Landlust contains. A portrait about a female flower painter, who was a pioneer in the field of science highlights her feminist achievements and shows that honour and ideals are more important than money.
At the age of 69, she finally died in Amsterdam in January 1717 - indeed poor, but well-known and highly respected.21
In the context of gardening the virtues of patience and experience will let one achieve goals. A story features a family who did not cultivate their garden with modern tools and chemicals but got advice from old farmers and learned from their grandparents.
It was not technical help though, which turned the garden into what it is today, but insight.22
Family businesses are well appreciated in the magazine as well as traditional images of families in general. Families support each other and connect different generations. The story in great detail of how a family built a tree house together is one example of this.
Often the stories highlight the importance of historical achievements and their preservation. This can refer to cultural heritage, monuments, art or handcrafts.
The family runs the estate, a mix of a Westphalian farm and a modest French mansion, in the eleventh generation. “We are very happy that the whole wide world comes to us in the countryside. We can show them that it is worth it, to care for the old and preserve it”, say Anne and Reinhard Geissel.23
Locality is also important but in an inclusive way by inviting others to share experiences, places and ideas. However the difference between urban and rural life is another big issue in Landlust. The city is synonymous with everyday reality characterised by noise, hectic and work, whereas nature provides a retreat into privacy and calmness away from time pressure. The editor of Landlust writes in her editorial that nature relieves from stress.
Our genes want that we let out mental work physically, they produce tension, which our ancestors used for fleeing and fighting. Our tension however remains on our shoulders and blocks our thoughts if we cannot jump off. Our spring edition shall provide you again with little escapes.24
Another way to escape is also the occupation with creative crafts like knitting, pottering, photography, stitching or bookbinding.
Participant Irene Leible appreciates the crafts courses for another reason: “Here I can focus on one thing without household and children disturbing”, she says smilingly. That is also why no one is really bothered that in most of the times there is no mobile reception.25
Nevertheless Landlust is also aware of the advantages of living in the city such as cultural offers or infrastructure. Not everyone has a garden or can afford a house in the countryside. Letters to the editor show that readers would appreciate advice for a garden on the balcony or Do-It-Yourself projects to connect urban life with rural charm. In some articles the praising of the traditional and old is set on pause and examples are given where modernity and tradition are successfully combined. Good examples are refurbishments of old houses.
The owner`s clean interior style continues within the bathroom. A fascinating contrast to the rural idyll in the Berner Seeland.26
Lifestyle: DIY
Reusing old material and creating something new is another prominent theme in Landlust. Every magazine contains many instructions and inspiration for Do-It-Yourself projects like recycling old pallets.
Only little skill is necessary to build original pieces of furniture from the wood or leftover pallets. The material is robust, multifunctional and has a very special charm resulting from traces of usage.27
When it comes to food Landlust features only recipes with regional and seasonal products. Every issue presents a little restaurant in the countryside, which exclusively uses organic and regional ingredients. One of the presented chefs is part of a network that is interested in keeping the local identity.
As a hunter and angler Christopher Wulff soon joined the network “Feinheimisch”, which is dedicated to high quality regional products.28
Landlust presents many stories about traditional handcrafts, which are performed only by a few people nowadays. Also family businesses are mentioned where teamwork and mutual support are held high. There is no anonymous open-plan office. A woman, who now redesigns inherited furs for a living, enjoys the personal feedback from her clients.
After a professional life as a marketing management expert in a big enterprise Doreen Parpart is “thrilled” by her creative work. She is especially delighted by “emotional responses”.29
Anew certain lifestyles are juxtaposed: The cold, wasteful business world against the creative and valuable crafts. However all these manufacturing undertakings are not completely
disconnected from modern life. Sometimes the usage of modern tools facilitates the whole process. The Internet is used for communication with customers or other technology helps for taking measures or processing material. Traditions are kept but modern twists are allowed.
Conclusion
The analysis of reflections of journalists gives a good interpretative access to the cognitive and historical contexts in which the public opinion is formed. The examination of articles in quality and lifestyle magazines revealed that an actual debate about national and personal identity is taking place, whereas the European identity is a side issue. Before a final discussion, this section gives answers to the sub-research questions.
Identity is represented as an on-going process as well as a combination of different components. The definition of in- and out-groups is subject to changes over time and adjusts to different social conditions. Theses changes affect different components of identity such as the national, personal or generational one. The analysed magazines express a general desire of the German society for locality and belonging referred to as “Heimat”. However this is not connected to national culture per se. “Heimat” is used in many dimensions: It is much more connected to personal needs for orientation and a firm set of values to rely on. Despite the continuing attempts to determine a national identity, the development of the individual identity is given priority.
It has been suggested that the way in which questions of identity are portrayed in the media could be used to create imagined communities and reinforce cognitive and
behavioural structures of either inclusive or exclusive group cultures (Hettlage, 1999). In this analysis, the presence of group identities is confirmed on several levels of society and
international interaction. There is an on-going struggle between various identity positions, but this struggle is not only regarded as a matter of exclusion and superiority but is also a
process. It was found that Der Spiegel and Stern reflect upon a timespan in which definitions and norms for group membership develop. The binary construction inherent to identity (Adams, 2009) is also traceable in the articles because social groups are always set in a dialectic or opposition to one another. The analysed articles confirm that identity building is done by either reflecting the self-understanding or using the belonging to a group as the point of reference. The magazines create imagined communities by describing the living and working environments as well as inner thoughts of citizens. Readers and protagonists in the
stories share a common experience by participating in one mediated culture. These
communities can either be of an inclusive or exclusive nature reflecting very different realities within one society.
Fürsich (2002) raised an important issue in this context. She questions whether the media will ever be able to give fair representations of the other or marginalised groups as dichotomy and contextualisation are impossible to avoid when representing another culture. Der Spiegel and Stern try to present the other`s perspective thus explaining situations of being excluded. In this way the magazines try to eliminate a bit of their own interpretations of the situation by giving the others their own voice. Furthermore authenticity is created when describing a development of exclusion instead of only giving a short insight in a specific situation.
Germany is a special case for studying national identity because of its recent history. Therefore German citizens deal with a double search for identity: The one that constitutes the personal identity and the one, which is constituted through the nation. The national identity is still being redefined and needs to develop with its generations of citizens. Voigt (2013) has found that patriotism in Germany only occurs in the rhetoric of the reunification, intellectual antinationalism, and national pride hidden behind sports events, attachment to a region and preference for folk music, which can be confirmed in the present analysis. Nationalism is something forbidden and harshly criticised in the media. It only appears in connection to right-wing parties and their manipulative game of constructing fear of the other. Prior research that German journalists try not to exert influence on the public (e.g. Deuze, 2002; Donsbach & Patterson, 2004) and mainly use a neutral and balanced tone cannot be completely confirmed in this study. Journalist disapprove of exclusion subliminally and openly of nationalistic sentiments. Appeals for more national self-confidence and innocent patriotic sentiments are made.
There is a tendency in German magazines, which shows a focus on national culture expressed in a desire for locality and belonging. On a general societal level, Germans are retreating from public into private life. For the younger generation this has even greater
impacts because they are drawing a new set of conservative values such as conformity, security and harmony from this. All three magazines often connect the idea of “Heimat” with this desire for retreat. The psychological aspect of “Heimat” has not yet had much attention in research. However the psychologist Beate Mitzscherlich has developed three basic
requirements expressed in the imagination of “Heimat”: The sense of community, control and coherence. All these concepts inherent in the term therefore convey the need for stability and orientation. Here “Heimat” acts as the antithesis to modern living conditions characterised by acceleration and alienation. The reciprocal relationship of territorial belonging and
globalisation means that national attachment and rootedness can only exist together within the logic of globalisation. Positive integration into the global world was found to be a
progressive factor for national attachment, which is an individual choice (Antonsich, 2009; Kennedy, 2009; Maleševic, 2003). This analysis can support these findings because it is the self-reflexive choice of the individual to pursuit happiness in a feeling of belonging. Landlust hits the Zeitgeist described in Der Spiegel and Stern: a desire to be in privacy far away from all (private and public) problems; giving orientation in a world where nothing is made to last and supporting the local identity. The specific coverage of good advice, recipes, reviews and expressions of taste and lifestyle, function as a representation of ways of life and a symbolic marker of taste and lifestyle (Nørgaard Kristensen & From, 2012). As literature on popular journalism suggests reality is constructed by using the depicted lifestyle as a source for the own conduct (Lewis, 2008; Abrahamson, 2007). It also expresses a want for
individualisation. All products are unique objects not made from a precise template, not bought from a big retailer. Landlust offers a lifestyle connected to a certain identity and it can be accepted or rejected. The local and private identities are not really put in contrast to other identities.
The second sub-research question dealt with the issue if German magazines make clear distinctions between national and European identity in a sense that they are exclusive from each other. Previous research demonstrated that national attachment cannot only lead to hostility against other national identities but also to the rejection of supranational and
hybrid identities (e.g. McLaren, 2002; Carey, 2002; Hooghe and Marks, 2005). However before being able to answer whether national attachment excludes any kind of other identity, one has to consider the undetermined and fragile state of European identity. The democratic deficit, low voter turnouts and the lack of a European public sphere make it difficult to define a common identity. The media play an important role in shaping attitudes towards the EU. Der Spiegel and Stern also cannot avoid the national angle, which is needed to contextualise European issues for the German audience. Certainly no closeness to the EU is visible
because the language used conveys little connection between Germany and the EU, which is framed as an out-group not yet considered as important as the idea of a national or personal identity. Maybe it is also not reasonable to Europeanise national public spheres as opposed to creating transnational spaces of communication. However Der Spiegel and Stern do not undermine the idea of Europeanisation. Being critical and analysing the problems of the EU is more a means to raise awareness among the audience to work out the problems. Eurosceptical parties however make use of unresolved questions within the EU and the above-explained desire for belonging to create an obstacle between national and other identities. By reducing the complexity of political issues Eurosceptical parties generate images of black and white, which can be easily understood instead of giving comprehensive accounts of identity-developments. As found in the researched articles members of populist parties use exaggerated and decontextualized arguments in order to create a group bias which prioritises the in-group.
Safranski (2003) offers a theory on the relationship between highly exclusive local identities and inclusive global identities, which is noteworthy although at odds with the ideas of SIT. His theory is interesting to keep in mind when referring to possible future scenarios for the development of cosmopolitan or hybrid identities. He says that the modern person communicates and travels all over the world, but cannot live in this globality. A big challenge is to find the balance between mobility and cosmopolitanism in the realms of a certain
His hypothesis is that the higher and saturated the emotional attachment to a certain place the higher is the ability and willingness to cosmopolitanism.
In a sense one cannot answer the last sub-research question whether the media create exclusive images of national and European identity yet, because European identity is nothing that exists in the people`s minds. Furthermore the media cannot really be blamed for the lack of visibility of European topics because the EU as such suffers from a
communicative deficit. This contains that the EU should engage more with culturally relevant dimensions of identity instead of highlighting economic and financial relationships.
Additionally the creation of a transnational sphere should be promoted instead of arguing that national public spheres are not meeting international standards. Safranski’s hypothesis that a defined national, regional or local identity leaves no space for xenophobic exclusivity can gain important momentum when the majority of the society succeeds in building a firm and inclusive form of identity, no matter on which level. Connecting this to Sassatelli’s (2009) idea, European identity must be apprehended as a multi-dimensional and multi-layered identity, which can also lie within national, regional and even local identities. Examples of people who live between different national territories, sometimes not belonging to any of them or often belonging simultaneously to all of them, are diasporic communities like the Turks in Germany, Serbs in Switzerland or Pakistanis in United Kingdom. These are identities, which surpass the distinction between territory and identity and compose trans-national or hybrid forms (Antonsich, 2009). This illustrates that an exclusivity of trans-national and European identity would not be necessary.
Lifestyle journalism can be distinguished from mainstream news journalism as asked in the third sub-research question in the way that values and practices are expressed, which help create and define a specific identity. Contrary to Der Spiegel and Stern, Landlust is clear about what is important in life. Landlust aims at the articulative dimension and the discourse becomes a guide how to structure and optimise one’s life. “In a culture of risk and uncertainty, the focus of lifestyle is a particularly effective stabilizer as it taps into the habits
of dailiness of domestic life, while also figuring domesticity as a refuge from the external pressures of late modernity” (Lewis, 2008, p. 13).
A second distinction can be made in design and reading experience. Nørgaard Kristensen and From (2012) call this the visual dimension, which provides a strong
characteristic of lifestyle journalism. Landlust has many high qualitative pictures spread over one to three pages without text. Articles are always accompanied by several detailed
illustrations so that the audience can even understand the topic without reading. There are hardly any stories longer than 2000 word whereas Der Spiegel and Stern have cover stories with more than 5000 words. Reading is meant to be a pleasurable activity. It does not only serve the gathering of information but should provide a visual experience, too.
Another difference is noticeable with the representation of “Heimat”. Landlust applies a strong set of ideological and symbolic representations to rural social spaces. It constructs a romanticised lifestyle by using a popular mythology of a charming atmosphere and a strong fondness of nature, which Leyshon (2008) has also found in popular culture. An opposition is formed between the closed and idyllic world of “Heimat” and the outer, rough world. A
process of mystification is taking place, which can be confirmed in this analysis for Landlust. However Der Spiegel and Stern do not idealise the countryside and “Heimat” as much as Landlust does. The newsmagazines find a more differentiated way of considering the differences between rural and urban areas. This leaves room for the interpretation that Landlust can be understood as a literary, artistic rather than a journalistic product. It has much more cultural and social than news value.
But the question is whether popular journalism is not underestimated in comparison to mainstream, “serious” news. Within literature on popular journalism it is discussed what potential lifestyle formats have to influence identity beyond cultural and social dimensions. Fürsich (2012) notices that the “analysis of lifestyle journalism will always straddle the duality between the naïve celebration of its democratic potential as a popular media text and the undifferentiated denunciation as a hyper-commercial format” (p. 23). Two future scenarios are developing: Either the common public culture will be depoliticised by preferring private
and domestic consumption over public and national concerns or citizenship is developing to a more complex cooperation between politics, identity and lifestyle. Popular media are engaging with social values creating forms of solidarity. Thus cultural citizenship is emerging based on a shared lifestyle (Hermes, 2006; Lewis, 2008).
Discussion
This study found that in German magazines European identity is discussed by elites, national identity evaluated tentatively and that individual identity is the topic of our times. Identity is a matter of construction shaped by self-understanding and reflection of the environment. Diametrical group-formations will always be part of these constructions including the “I” and “the other”. However that does not mean that the borders of groups are not transcending or shifting. The analysis showed that perceptions of what constitutes in- and out-groups are subject to historical experiences and current affairs. It is especially the young generation of Germans who prefers conservative values rooting in the times of Biedermeier, developed as a reaction to global instability. Besides national and European identities there is a growing community of people who feel as global citizens. A global identity is generated by the possibilities of modern information, communication and transportation technologies. However while being a global citizen will be decisive when facing future challenges, national citizenship is more important on a daily basis.
The media as chronographers record and analyse the developments of identity and also shape them by producing and adding to public discourse. Because of this dialectic relationship the audience is reflected and reflects the content of the media. The newsmagazines Der Spiegel and Stern contribute to the discourse about identity by providing information and sometimes giving an opinion beyond impartiality. They emphasise there is no identity, elaborate on it lacking, but also stress the need for it. The popular magazine Landlust however presents one specific lifestyle, giving clear orientation. The analysed magazines reveal a general desire of the Germans for locality and belonging referred to as “Heimat” and Landlust satisfies this desire in a way. By targeting the articulative dimension of journalism, Landlust inspires its readers to take action and thus constructs a wished for
identity in reality. Consequently it becomes part of the negotiation of cultural citizenship. Klaus and Lüneborg (2004) have discussed the relationship of mass media and cultural citizenship. Information only becomes relevant knowledge on the basis of experience. Information without real-world connection loses social significance. The guidelines and manuals in Landlust are very concrete and turn reading as passively receiving into an active process of manufacturing something and thus connect to the life of the readers. Information in Der Spiegel and Stern is often too abstract and far away to be connected to the life of the reader. Identity as a citizen is therefore not only received through political participation and knowledge, but also equally by the discursive negotiation of cultural practices expressed in concrete actions. Additionally this can be seen as a chance for the EU to form solidarity and an identity. Habermas (2001) noted that “the economic advantages of European unification are valid as arguments for further construction of the EU only if they can appeal to a cultural power of attraction extending far beyond material gains alone” (p. 9).
Magazines cannot and need not escape the national focus and have to provide the audience with information that is relevant to them and in the end also sells. Promoting European integration beyond national realms would be the task of transnational, Europeanised media. Core heartland reporting is therefore not an obstacle to Europeanisation but can on the contrary lead to new conceptualisations of citizenship. Thus providing a chance to overcome traditional dichotomies and integrate more hybrid and progressive notions of cultural change and international relations.
The findings of the present research need to be understood by also taking its limitations into account. The high level of flexibility can be seen as a disadvantage in terms of not having a pre-structured codebook. Qualitative content analysis depends heavily on personal interpretation although a coding scheme with some pre-conceptualisations can be provided. Generally only a small-scale data set can be researched in qualitative content analysis leading to a low level of external validity. However in this study the magazines were carefully chosen according to their high circulation rate and the one-year time period gives a very good overview over the topic allowing a high degree of external validity. The findings of
this study are hardly generalizable considering the specific case of Germany but nevertheless contribute to the body of literature on the relationship between European and national identity. But Germany is an interesting case to study because it has a central role in Europe, politically as well as geographically. The present study adds relevant knowledge to the scientific community on the relationship between the rise of lifestyle journalism and the popularity of core-heartland reporting in Germany and the development of the national and European identity. It is difficult to narrow down the complex concept of identity to a conceptual and operational definition. However the chosen theoretical angle of group identities based on Social Identity Theory proved valid during the analysis. But also SIT must be viewed critically. SIT describes social identities as separate entities with specific sets of norms and values but it does not refer to links among different imagined communities. It needs a deeper analysis of how social identities develop in multicultural contexts where multiple identities can be developed. Finally SIT is more descriptive than prescriptive. Inter- and intra-group behaviour can be explained only in retrospective but not prospectively. Therefore it is also hard to give an outlook on the development of hybrid identities. Nevertheless future studies can extend the findings outlined in this study by analysing e.g. the effects of popular lifestyle journalism on other media and the readership. The investigation of news consumption of the readership of lifestyle magazines can lead to findings whether popular journalism is seen as a complementary addition to serious news or if it becomes a substitute. These findings can then lead to new implications about the level of politicisation among citizens.
It would be naïve to draw final conclusions if the reporting in German magazines correlates with the representation of identity on a national and European level. Further future research might include other forms of media than magazines as well as other European countries to grant a representative status. In order to find out if the media reporting has actually led to an opinion and finally a behavioural effect an experiment can complement this study.
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