European and National Identities in Britain and Italy Maastricht on Television

This book is a comparative study of European related national news discourses of two countries of the European Union: Britain and Italy. The central hypothesis of the study is that specific historical, cultural and political factors are powerful determinants of the differences in commitment toward the European project of both news media and political cultures and have led to different formulations of Europe. It argues that the Italian nation-state and national identities are inclusive at some levels of a European identity, whereas the British state and national identities are on the whole exclusive of a European identity. This underlies the predominant negativity of British media news discourses on the question of Europe and of the European Community in particular.
The study looks at the formation of national identities; the ways Britain and Italy have developed broadcasting and its role in constructing a national audience, and contains an analysis of the language and the visual representations of the Maastricht event and the implications of a united Europe.