RT info:eu-repo/semantics/article
T1 Media Coverage of European Funds and Public Sentiment: A Topic Modelling Approach
A1 Pastor Sanz, Iván
A1 López Iturriaga, Félix Javier
K1 European funds
K1 Mass media
AB We study the coverage of European funds by the mass media and the relationship between media sentiment and public sentiment. We analyze 31,570 media articles published across all European Union (EU) countries between January 1, 2020, and December 31, 2023 — a period significantly shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and major EU funding initiatives —using the BERTopic modeling technique. We find that public discussions related to European funds can be categorized into 11 distinct topics, ranging from project developments in Central and Eastern Europe to employment and economic measures. Our results show that during the period studied, public sentiment towards European funds is generally stable yet negative, with notable fluctuations corresponding to specific events. Significant positive and negative peaks in sentiment are observed during periods associated with successful project implementations or corruption scandals. We also find significant geographical variation in media coverage and sentiment across EU member states. While Greece, Croatia, and Bulgaria exhibit high media coverage and more negative sentiment, Denmark, Ireland, and Portugal display more positive media sentiments. Our results suggest a negative relationship between media sentiment scores and the proportion of negative responses concerning the EU and the European Parliament (i.e., a proxy for Euroscepticism).
PB John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
SN 2694-6416
YR 2025
FD 2025
LK https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/76234
UL https://uvadoc.uva.es/handle/10324/76234
LA eng
NO Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, 2025, vol. 0, p. 1-16
NO Producción Científica
DS UVaDOC
RD 14-jul-2025