Post-Truth, Post-Press, Post-Europe

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-ix

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Paul Rowinski

   Pages 1-20

3. A Voyage Through Emotive Rhetoric—And the Challenge to Truth

   • Paul Rowinski

   Pages 21-67

4. Methodology

   • Paul Rowinski

   Pages 69-82

5. Italy First

   • Paul Rowinski

   Pages 83-94

6. Italy First: A Journey into Emotive Rhetoric

   • Paul Rowinski

   Pages 95-143

7. Britain First

   • Paul Rowinski

   Pages 145-147

8. Britain First: A Journey into Emotive Rhetoric

   • Paul Rowinski

   Pages 149-209

9. Conclusions

   • Paul Rowinski

   Pages 211-230

10. Back Matter

    Pages 231-252

    PDF

This book explores whether a beleaguered press in recent years has been developing an emotive, Eurosceptic post-truth rhetoric of its own – competing for attention with populist politicians. These politicians now by-pass the media, talking directly to their publics in blogs, on Twitter and Facebook. In the post-truth age, objective facts are less influential in shaping opinion than appeals to emotion. Audiences congregate around views they share and want to believe. The author presents a critical discourse analysis of the language used by populist politicians online, on Facebook, and subsequently quoted in the press, which highlights how the political rhetoric of Italian and British politicians is often at its most inflammatory around the issue of immigration. The same goes for the press. The Italian case study focuses on media coverage of the 2014 and 2019 European elections and 2018 general election. The British case study examines press reporting of the 2016 UK referendum on EU membership, the 2017 general election, and the September 2019 parliamentary debate immediately following the UK Supreme Court ruling that proroguing of Parliament was illegal. From the picture that emerges, the author argues that journalists need to change how they report, to challenge the post-truthers, holding them to account and pressing them on the facts while also harnessing the emotions of disaffected publics. 

• discourse analysis
• Euroscepticism
• post-truth
• misinformation
• Eurosceptic populism
• emotive rhetoric
• Italian General Election 2018
• EU elections 2019
• 2016 UK referendum
• persuasive news
• newspaper discourse
• Facebook analysis
• UK election 2017
• mainstream media
• post-truth and hate speech
• emotive Post-Truth rhetoric
• politics and social media
• Brexit

“Paul Rowinski's typically robust polemic pulls few punches and is not for the faint-hearted or the closed-minded. Ardent fans of tabloid xenophobia masked as Euroscepticism are unlikely to enjoy this rollercoaster ride, an uncompromising critique of the political and journalistic rhetoric of contemporary European nationalism. This book fights fire with fire. It isn't so much a cure for the rabid pack of the populist press and their demagogic masters. Rowinski has brought a shotgun to the party, and his cartridges are well primed.” (Professor Alec Charles, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, University of Winchester, UK)

"The thesis by Rowinski - that a beleaguered mainstream press is failing to confront the emotiveness of Post-Truth and nationalism, but actually feeding it – is a very relevant one. The focus is on “Euroscepticism”, which of course is more than only “EU-scepticism”. The thesis extends further, arguing that the response of the mainstream media could threaten its role as the gatekeeper of democracy, while actually exacerbating the risk of its own demise. According to Rowinski the sanctity of veracity and holding governments to account is at stake. These problems are very important ones for democratically constituted societies." (Professor Sebastian Köhler, HMKW University of Applied Sciences, Germany)

—   "In the new Covid-19 era it is very important to understand the dynamics of political communication via Web and Paul Rowinski's book is essential to understand the dynamics of political communication, particularly on social media. This book is a compass for orientation in a sea of fake news shaken by the waves of populism.” (Alessandro Scipione, journalist and geopolitical analyst at Agenzia Nova, Italian News Agency.

• University of Bedfordshire, Luton, UK

  Paul Rowinski

Paul Rowinski is Senior Lecturer in Journalism at the University of Bedfordshire, UK. He worked for the regional, national and transnational press for two decades, including as a UK central European correspondent, writing for the Financial Times, The Independent, The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and The European. His research focuses on the discourse and political communication of Europe in the media.

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