Labor conflicts in the Spanish press: strikes as a reflection of the contradiction between capital and labor

A qualitative content analysis has been applied to a sample of news related to labor strikes from three major newspapers in Spain. Results suggest that news media mainly focus on the immediate negative consequences of the strikes rather than on causes and further explanations. Strikes are portrayed as isolated occurrences that happen because of disagreements between specific companies and workers. The attention is put on events (demonstrations, disorders, economic losses, etc.) and not on the structural causes of the strikes: the contradiction between capital and labor and the consequent tension among social classes. Within this frame, strikers and their organizations are delegitimized and isolated from the rest of the society. News media readers are categorized as consumers, and their interests are depicted as alien or even opposed to those of striking workers.