Mass Media Representations Of Multifarious Violence During The Greek 'crisis' In 2013: A Qualitative Approach

The multifold violence observed during the Greek ‘crisis’ corresponds to the many-faceted character of the recession and to its intensity, as the country continues to reel under the shock of cultural, societal and political rifts. The following presentation focuses on internal forms of violence and specifically on behaviours of suicidal or quasi-suicidal character. Our primary aim will be to outline the many different ways this type of violence is presented by the Greek media. The study has been conducted with a qualitative methodology utilizing content analysis, through the prism of which we examine the way internalized violence is represented by two of the mainstays of the Greek media, namely the press and internet. Specifically, we will introduce a number of popular blogs and sites with a high traffic volume of traffic and some well-known newspapers with a large readership. Secondly, through the method of qualitative content analysis we will focus on the correlation between violence and social inequality and the diverse ways in which these social phenomena have been approached by the news information media. Thirdly, we will classify these representations on the basis of content analysis of representative excerpts from articles and reports on the particular self-destructive form of behaviour that has come to be associated with the ‘crisis’. Finally, we will analyse the ways in which the electronic and print media target the social status and ethnic background of victims.