`Infosuasion' in European Newspapers

Abstract

This article examines the orientation of the European press during the war in Kosovo by means of the `infosuasion' (i.e. persuasive information) and media logic hypotheses, by analysing coverage of the event, attitudes towards the contending parties and the presentation of political leaders like Clinton and Milosevic in a selection of 10 European newspapers. The article focuses specifically on the week preceding the commencement of bombing and the week following. The empirical evidence seems to confirm the study's hypotheses, with regard to both `infosuasion' and media logic. `Infosuasion' is made possible through the use of figures of speech and other persuasive techniques, and by giving articles a narrative scheme. The most frequently used persuasive techniques were `name calling', `transfer technique', `cognitive dissonance', `guilt technique' and `factoids'. The most common figures of speech used were alliteration, typical of the two German dailies, and metaphor and quotation, which were frequently used in the Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera. A narrative structure in which one of the NATO governments or politicians is depicted as hero and Milosevic as antihero is particularly prevalent in the Spanish dailies ABC and El Pais, which rarely adopt persuasive techniques or figures of speech. As far as media logic is concerned, the coverage of the event followed a similar pattern in all the newspapers examined: a few articles appearing during the first week, followed by a `downpour' of articles as from 24 March.