Editorial readership and content : an analysis of Maltese daily newspaper editorials

Abstract

During the last few years the media in Malta has been going through dynamic changes. Although electronic media is constantly expanding newspapers still retain a dominant share in the market. A crucial responsibility of media is to deliver and interpret the news, whilst monitoring politicians and other decision-makers. Such vital role is also done through editorial writing. In this light, the researcher deemed it relevant to focus this dissertation on a qualitative and quantitative study that measures readership and content of editorials in the local daily newspapers The dissertation aims to elicit data, which indicates the treatment of Politics, Malta's future membership in the European Union, Industrial Disputes, Economy and other topics, as mi1rored through the editorials. Apart :from identifying lack of editorial treatment of important issues, the study will seek to find out whether or not the editorials reflect the political polarization that exists on the island. The study will also delve into the editorial policy and other factors pertaining to editorials, while considering the ownership structures of the newspapers under scrutiny. The conclusions of the study should enable one to make a thorough and holistic assessment of editorial content and to point out a number of factors such as what extent editorials perform an agenda setting role and to what extent they reflect the concerns, aspirations and interest of society.