Europe in the media space: the construction of the EU public sphere in Italy

The media are one of the central actors in the European integration process building because media discourses can support the development of the public sphere says Habermas. The media can influence the cognitive environment for the public opinion. “Good” media approach improve a better public sphere; otherwise, bad habits can hamper this. To reduce democratic deficit the EU Institutions have paid more attention towards communication policies. After several attempts to define a European communication strategy, recently Europe has changed direction. Actually, the EU communication strategy is oriented to strength the relationships with local media and the opportunities that social media provide. According to this theoretical framework, the aim of this chapter is to enhance the Italian media attitudes in the building of public discourses about Europe. We will analyse the main discourses in several times and media environments. We will use data collected to study the main European representation in the media environments (newspapers, newscasts, twitter and Instagram). The mainly focus will be the recent EU Election and the aim will be to demonstrate that in Italy the process of mediatisation of European public sphere is effective but although insufficient.