Interpreting escraches: the role of the Spanish press in the public opinion process

This paper presents research into the journalistic treatment of the escrache phenomenon led by the anti-eviction movement in Spain in 2013. For this purpose, an analytical model has been constructed that helps to understand how the mass media, the social elite, social movements and the virtual public sphere interact in the public opinion process. Based on this analytical model and using frame theory, the coverage of escraches by two Spanish newspapers, El Pais and La Vanguardia, is analysed, comparing it with the main statements made by the spokespersons of the movement, and the social elite. The results confirm the hypothesis: the social elite sets the predominant overall frame for the journalistic treatment of the phenomenon. The escraches case, however, is exceptional in that the argument frames proposed by the movement acquired a greater degree of 'legitimacy' than those proposed by the elite.