Slick PR? The Media Politics of the Prestige Oil Spill

Abstract

This article examines the different ways in which Spanish, French, and U.K. newspapers framed the Prestige oil spill. In contrast to earlier large oil spills such as the Torrey Canyon, the Internet had a significant influence upon mainstream news coverage and the coordination of protest activities. The findings suggest that the local Spanish press provided the most sustained coverage, and geographic propinquity to the accident was a good predictor of the frequency and intensity of reporting. The regional Spanish press focused upon implications for the local economy rather than the effects on wildlife. In contrast, the sampled national newspapers in Spain, France, and the United Kingdom framed the oil spill in terms of its ecological impacts and the political controversy regarding who was to blame. The implications of these differences are discussed and considered in relation to the globalization of news and the changing politics of risk.