Second-level agenda-setting in German and Spanish news media. Germanwings's flight 9525 press conference with Lufthansa

Abstract or Introduction

This paper examines the following question: How successful did the press conference frames influence second-level agenda-setting in German and Spanish news media?

In the flight industry, cultural differences are present every day. When a crash occurs, the airline's crisis communication requires meeting the journalistic expectations of different cultural spheres. Thus, the study compares frames in Spanish and German news media. Humans gather information about the airline's crisis communication through traditional media formats. So, high-quality newspapers (n = 255) and newscasts (n = 40) were sampled. Additionally, the study compares the media formats. To understand Germanwings's and Lufthansa's sense-making frames were selected from a press conference. Afterward, the impact on second-level agenda-setting, which is about manoeuvring around issues and the debate's tone, was examined. Essentially, frames between both countries and both media formats varied. In detail, the difference was stronger pronounced for the latter. Since, in German news media, the frames were more salient, the company has to consider cultural particularities when being in a European conversation. Frames were also more successful in newscasts than in newspapers. Considering the wide reach of television, the format is noteworthy for companies. Also, the study determined salient actors in three dimensions: Occurrence, prominence, and centrality. Here, experts, airlines, and political actors were salient. At this point, a broad inclusion of civil society actors indicates a high quality of the debate. Finally, future research could include the two explored dimensions in longitudinal comparisons. Also, investigating the crisis communication of parent companies and subsidiaries should be considered.