MEDIA COVERAGE BEYOND VISIBILITY: THE CASE OF THE PORTUGUESE ANTI-AUSTERITY PROTESTS

Abstract

What conditions lead to extensive and positive media coverage of protests? Research shows that violence and size increase media coverage, but past studies have not given much attention to the causes of intense coverage that is highly positive. To fill this gap, we run QCA analyses on 63 actions in the Portuguese wave of anti-austerity protests to consider three outcomes: visibility, resonance, and legitimacy. Our findings show that neither violence nor size are sufficient for any of these outcomes, and that other conditions help explain them. Extensive and supportive media coverage results when these factors are combined with conditions such as protest size, type of organizer, international context, violence, and action form.