The Housing Bubble in the Spanish Press: A Media Discourse Captured by the Logic of Elite to Elite Communication Processes?

Abstract

The bursting of the housing bubble in Spain in 2008 triggered the recent Spanish economic and financial crisis. In this context, we analyze tensions between the technical and popular nature of the housing bubble phenomenon, along with its media coverage for different audiences. We consider the extent to which, media treatment of this issue differs between those newspapers, directed to the elites, and those appealing to the general population. The article argues that in Spain, especially before the bubble burst, press discourse generally was ‘captured’ by the logic of elite to elite communication, the dominant form of news in finance and economics. The results of this research contribute to our understanding of economic issues and policies, both from a journalistic and a political economy perspective.