Media coverage of the EU Referendum highly ‘presidential’ – Loughborough University report

LEICESTERSHIRE, 14-Jun-2016 — /EuropaWire/ — Media coverage of the EU Referendum is highly ‘presidential’, with David Cameron and Boris Johnson grabbing the headlines, the latest report by Loughborough University finds.

Over the last month the Tories have dominated, with four of the five most frequently reported individuals being Conservative. Together they account for a quarter of all media appearances (Cameron and Johnson account for 18%).

Labour remains far less visible, with Jeremy Corbyn being the only party representative to make the top ten.

Women continue to be underrepresented in the debate, being outnumbered by men 3:1 on television and accounting for just 13% of all individuals in press coverage.

Economy is the issue that dominated coverage this week, knocking immigration off the top spot.

Report co-author Professor John Downey said:

“Over the last month of the campaign there has been sustained, almost ‘presidential’ focus on a handful of senior Tory party politicians. The dominance of the Conservative party and a select group of key figures has overshadowed the coverage of all other party representatives and other groups and institutions.

“Coverage about the referendum is still largely a ‘Tory story’ and a male dominated, ‘blue-on-blue’ tale at that.

“It has become self-evident that the OUT campaign wishes to fight the referendum on the issue of immigration and the IN campaign on the economy, so it is very interesting to see which of these two topics is getting the most traction.”

The full report, which analyses data from 6 May to 8 June, can be viewed here.

Further information about the analysis can be found here.

Notes for editors

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Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, putting it among the best universities in the world, and was named the best in the country for its student experience in the 2016 THE Student Experience Survey. Loughborough was ranked 4^th in theGuardian University League Table 2017 and 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2017 and was also named University of the Year in the In the What Uni Student Choice Awards 2015.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen’s Anniversary Prizes.

In September 2015 the University opened an additional academic campus in London’s new innovation quarter. Loughborough University London, based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 09: Boris Johnson (l), the Mayor of London, and David Cameron (r), the Conservative party leader, leave the Royal Hospital Chelsea after a visit to the home of the Chelsea Pensioners on April 9, 2010 in London, England. Conservative adviser Sir Peter Gershon has revealed his party’s plans to cut public spending by 12bn GBP to help fund their pledge to reverse the Government’s planned rise in National Insurance. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Boris Johnson;David Cameron