The changes triggered by the global financial crisis in 2008, the immigration flows and the covid-19 pandemic in contemporary societies have transformed the way individuals communicate, create content, and ‘consume’ publicly available information. Consequently, political, societal, and financial pressures have led to alternative forms of media practice and representations and disrupted the core relationships and dynamics between politics, journalism, and society.

In this context, several challenges emerge which are related to deeper social and cultural changes. Such challenges influence political communication and its relationship with the media and further impact the boundaries between private and public domains. Some of these challenges also constitute a direct challenge to democratic values and in some cases work against the preservation and strengthening of democracy. Moreover, all these developments are taking place at a time when democracy itself and its ‘chronic diseases’ are under criticism by new forms of authoritarianism and totalitarianism.

This edited book examines the key challenges in political discourse and journalistic practice in times of crisis. It focuses on European paradigms and links political rhetoric and media challenges with the societal, political, and financial crises from 2008 until the present.

Emmanouil Takas is an instructor and postdoc researcher of Media, Political and Social psychology in the Department of Journalism and Media in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an instructor of communication at the Open University of Cyprus.

Sofia Iordanidou is an associate professor of Journalism and Communication at the Open University of Cyprus and the chairwoman of the Advanced Media Institute, Applied Research in Communication and Journalism.

NaelJebrilis an associate professor in the Media Studies Program at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.

List of Figures and Tables; Introduction Emmanouil Takas, Sofia Iordanidou and NaelJebril; Chapter 1.  Conceptualising Crisis: Events, Crisis Processes and Collective Sense making Jamie Matthews; Chapter 2. A Reversed Narrative of Public Crisis: Xinhua’s Framing of Medical Experts in COVID-19 Pandemic Yu Xiang; Chapter 3. Representations and Social Influence in Political Discourse in Times of Crisis Emmanouil Takas and GerasimosProdromitis; Chapter 4.    Fall of Circulation, Savage Oligopolisation and Downgrading of the Media: The Implications of Memoranda in the Greek Press Sofia Iordanidou and Leonidas Vatikiotis; Chapter 5. Elites versus the People? Tracing Populist Narrative through the Presentation of the Turkish Health Reform in Media Ays¸ecanKartal; Chapter 6. Disinformation and the Prespa Agreement: A Case Study LefterisKretsos and Valia Kaimaki; Chapter 7. Framing the Pandemic: Strategic Rhetoric in Political Elite Discourse during the COVID-19 Health Crisis Katerina Diamantaki and LemoniaMourka; Index 

“Crisis is a two-edged concept: if not used carefully, it masks the underlying nature of problems rather than contributing to their understanding. The edited volume Political Discourse and Media in Times of Crisis approaches the relationship between crisis, media and political discourse in a refreshingly complex way, through sharp conceptual analyses and informative case studies, offering an indispensable guide in a time when uses and abuses of crisis narratives are increasingly part of the public discourse” —Tamas Tofalvy, Associate Professor, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Sociology and Communication, Hungary.

“In an era when everything is changing, this book provides interesting questions about political rhetoric and media. The authors enlighten us with critical insights, research and case studies allowing the readers to better understand how a multifaceted crisis – economic, social, geopolitical and health – impacts media and political discourse, contributing to the wider discussion on crisis communication, political rhetoric and media” — LidaTsene, PhD, Teaching Associate, Open University of Cyprus, MA Communication and New Journalism, Cyprus.