A discourse analysis of print media coverage on the recolonization of the wolf in Germany

Since the turn of the century, wolves have recolonized large areas in Central Europe. While some view this as a conservation success, others emphasize the problems caused by the renewed presence of the wolf. Media, which both reflects and shapes public attitudes, has increasingly been analyzed to understand the wolf discourse in Europe and the U.S. The present study connects to this research and examines German print coverage from 2000 to 2022, following the natural return of wolves, by applying structural topic modeling to identify prevalent topics, temporal trends, and spatial differences. The media analysis covers two national newspapers—Bild (n = 242) and Süddeutsche Zeitung (n = 125)—and two regional papers, Lausitzer Rundschau (n = 1026) and Passauer Neue Presse (n = 268). The most frequent topics included lethal control, wolf monitoring, and livestock depredation, with educational work being prominent only in regional coverage. Over time, topics on wolf monitoring and educational work decreased in regional newspapers, while management issues increased. Differences were also observed between Bild (tabloid press) and Süddeutsche Zeitung (quality press). Bild focused on livestock attacks, while this was not a key topic in Süddeutsche Zeitung. The results show that in Germany the dissemination of information on monitoring and biological status is often of high-quality from wolf experts, which tends to generate trust. Further, the findings suggest that educational events, such as film festivals, and the reporting of monitoring results, could represent crucial instruments for spreading information about the conservational value of large carnivores, particularly by reaching a wide but also regional audience.