Treatment and framing of energy issues on television: An analysis of the infotainment programs on the Spanish TV channel La Sexta

Abstract

This research analyses the news treatment of energy policies on infotainment television programs broadcast by the Spanish channel La Sexta during the 2016/2017 season. The main objective is to confirm whether the story of the energy issue evinces environmental concern in terms of news framing. We have used both qualitative and quantitative methodological techniques: content analyses from the framing perspective. After reviewing eight programs over a six-month analysis period, we have studied 18 units, about 42 broadcasting hours. The coverage focuses on two moments where specific events occurred pushing the issue to the top of the news agenda: the death of an elderly woman in Reus on 14 November 2016, due to a fire caused by a candle she used to light her home, and the alarming increase in the cost of electricity on 18 January 2017, coinciding with a period of high demand. The analysis yields significant data about the presence of energy issues linked to dramatic events of human and social interest; the preeminent role of the voice of non-specialist journalists, rather than citizens, experts and ecologists; and the indifferent or efficient view of the environment. The problem tends to be reduced to its economic aspects regarding energy poverty or the increase in the cost of electricity.