ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the development of the UK news coverage of the economic crisis in its different mutations over eight years. It addresses the issues of consensus and divergence in the media coverage of the Eurozone crisis. The book examines the nature of the mainstream media coverage of two political parties–Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain–that have mobilised civic indignation against the wide embrace of austerity policies. It describes framing of the crisis and austerity to the media practices that result in those framings–practices that have themselves been impacted by the crisis and austerity cuts. The book illuminates how the social media industry stands in the context of the crisis economy, which in turn has implications for its targeted advertising business model. It explores social media have also been important to the rise of right-wing populism.
