Reporting the European Union

This article sketches a picture of the journalists involved in European Union (EU) reporting. Firstly, it presents an overview of the entire body of EU-accredited journalists, examining how they are distributed across the various nationalities, the different forms of media and whether an historical evolution can be traced in either distribution. Secondly, the mechanisms influencing the news flow on EU topics are described, using information gathered from numerous interviews with EU journalists from 10 European countries. The researchers distinguish structural, geographical, economical and policy-related obstacles influencing the EU newsflow. As an example of a media-related obstacle the authors focus on the privileged position of the Financial Times.