Narrating Inflation
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Date
2025-03-14
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How German Economic Journalists explain Post-Covid Price Rises
Abstract
This paper examines the pivotal role of journalists in shaping
economic narratives, focusing on inflation coverage in Germany in
2022. While the media’s influence on disseminating economic narratives
is widely acknowledged, little research has focused on journalists, the
agents responsible for content production. Using a mixed-method approach
combining survey data with media content analysis, this study
investigates how economic journalists explain inflation causes and persistence
compared to professional economists. The results from surveys
conducted during peak inflation (10.4%) show that journalists hold less
optimistic views on inflation persistence than experts and that they are
more likely to attribute inflation to specific protagonists, particularly the
European Central Bank (ECB) and corporate profit-seeking. The ECB’s
role emerges as an especially contentious issue among journalists, revealing
significant disagreement within the profession. Analysis of media
coverage reveals notable alignment between journalists’ perceptions and
actual content, especially regarding the emphasis placed on the ECB’s
role—despite experts considering monetary policy a relatively minor factor.
While this might suggest that journalists’ personal narratives influence
media coverage, the study’s design precludes causal claims. The
findings underscore the need for further research into how journalists’
personal narratives impact public discourse on economic matters.
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Europäische Zentralbank, Wirtschaftspublizistik