Messages in the Media - University of Toronto

e: “it’s a shame its turning out this way – but at least they
are trying with good intentions.”
Another important topic was Portugal’s position as
one of the weakest economies in the EU. Articles such as
Diario de Noticias’ March 11 publication express national
concern for the status of the Portuguese economy. It labeled
Portugal as ‘one of the most “closed economies” in
the EU. 28 This view continued throughout the year, with
several articles expressing stronger opinions by the end of
the year, such as a Jornal de Noticias article from December
2 nd entitled “The Gate of Hell”. 29 The article stated that the
EU’s organizational faults falls on the shoulders of the most
fragile economies in the EU, of which Portugal was included.
In conclusion, the Portuguese media depicted the
Eurozone crisis as primarily the result of leadership and
organizational deficiencies in the EU itself. Portugal was
portrayed as one of the economies most negatively affected
by the crisis. That being said, throughout the year Portugal
still held the EU in a positive light. These views were relatively
consistent throughout 2011. However, as the Portuguese
economy worsened, there was an increase in the
negative outlook towards the situation in the Eurozone,
reporting on which continued into 2012.
141