Dpto. Comunicación e Información Periodística

This paper focuses on media representation of the Catholic Church during the first months of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy and Spain. The purpose is to know when and how the Catholic Church starred in the news; how its actions were presented, and using which frames. The work analyses the coverage of the Church in Corriere della Sera and El Pa ıs between January and May 2020 and connects the deductive process (news frames by Semetko and Valkenburg) with the inductive process (setting common places or topoi) in order to get a better understanding of the news-framing. Findings show that both newspapers gave prevalence to news about the charitable work of the Catholic Church during the pandemic instead of about conflict with the political authorities because of restrictive measures. When it comes to the relationship with civil institutions, a positive image of the Church was offered, one that portrayed her as ready to collaborate and apply the preventive measures recommended by the health authorities. The positive perception is more frequent than the negative one when there are dualities in the topoi that are found in the interpretation of the facts.

One of the voices that has recently joined the discussion on environmental protection is that of Pope Francis with the publication of the encyclical Laudato Si’ (2015). This work studies the keys to interpretation used by the British and U.S. newspapers to present the encyclical between 14 and 24 June 2015. By analysing newspaper coverage by The Times, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, The New York Times, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times from a framing perspective, a political focal point emerges, one that lends importance to the impact of the encyclical on a local level, due to the presence of sceptical voices in the North American context, and on a global level, due to the imminence of the Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21).

El humor periodístico -las denominadas viñetas de prensa- constituye uno de los más peculiares géneros periodísticos de opinión. Su componente gráfico, el habitual uso del humor y la apertura a la libre interpretación le proporcionan un carácter singular con un alto grado de eficacia persuasiva. El objetivo de este artículo es procesar esta modalidad comunicativa en relación con las distorsiones interculturales. Este estudio explora los elementos de análisis aplicables en el ámbito de la representación de la diferencia: las variables “origen”, vinculada con la inmigración, y la denominada “religión” presentan usos contrapuestos cuando ponen el acento en los estereotipos y pierden la dimensión social. / The journalistic humor - called cartoons- is one of the most peculiar journalistic way to express opinions. Graphic elements, uses of the humor and the opening to the free interpretation provide a singular character with a high degree of persuasive efficiency. The aim is to process this communicative modality in relation with the intercultural distortions. This study explores the elements of significance in this area of the representation of the difference. The variables “origin” linked with the immigration and the “religion” present opposite uses when they focus in the stereotypes and loose the social dimension.

La agonía y muerte del Papa ha supuesto para el ciberperiodismo un momento especialmente significativo por la convergencia de determinadas necesidades informativas y nuevos avances tecnológicos que ha puesto a prueba las prácticas periodísticas tradicionales. Este texto pretende reflexionar sobre ese fenómeno y sus implicaciones de futuro.