Eurobarometer shared recently that 41% of the EU citizens get their main information on
European topics from daily newspapers. This is also the case for those citizens who decided on
the adaption of the Lisbon treaty in the two nationwide referendums in Ireland. But as many
media researchers showed news coverage is biased. However it has to be biased for it is
simply not possible to report the entire reality in one article. One aspect of news bias is
known under the term framing. Framing leads readers to think in a certain direction for
journalists underline certain aspects in a news story and usually cover a story only from one
angle. Therefore the journalist's angle can have a high influence on the reader's opinion. The
study follows these hints and examines the news coverage before the two Irish referendums on
the Lisbon treaty took place. Applying a content and framing analysis of the two most selling
Irish newspapers namely 'the Irish Times' and 'the Irish Independent' it aims to make
statements about the framing of the treaty in the news and gives evidence to the informative
value of the title.
