ABSTRACT
This chapter employs qualitative analysis to study how television news constructed the March 2013 Cypriot protests following the Eurogroup decision for Cyprus's so-called 'Rescue Programme' during the 2013 Cypriot financial crisis. Framing analysis is combined with social semiotics to reveal the ideological premises embedded in television's visual narratives, drawing on all evening newscasts of Cypriot television stations broadcast in the crucial days that led to the agreement about Cyprus's Rescue Programme. With reference to the national political culture and traits of the Cypriot media landscape (ownership, journalistic practices, censorship), the chapter illustrates how established media aligned with other institutional forces to suppress dissent within the evolving anti-austerity popular front. Other legitimising practices of television news include depiction of protestors as peaceful, emphasis on police violence, reporting from within a protest, interviews with and portraits of activists, and thematic coverage of underlying issues.
