Leftward Shift, Media Change? Ideology and Politics in Spanish Online-Only Newspapers after the 15-M Movement

Abstract

The year of 2011 was one of global change, provoked by an economic crisis that brought neoliberalism into question. In Spain, the activity unleashed by the “15-M” movement culminated in the formation of Podemos, a party that has provoked a political earthquake. Simultaneously, several alternative left-leaning online-only newspapers have erupted in Spain. This article focuses on whether these changes were accompanied by ideological/political shifts in Spanish online-only opinion journalism between 2011 and 2014. A sample of 541 opinion columns was content-analyzed. Results indicate that digital journalism criticizes the establishment, broadens the ideological spectrum, and distances itself from bipartisanship. However, the shift is fundamentally conveyed through the attack and defense of political parties without generating a clearly radical journalism.