Reason Over Politics The Economist's historical framing of austerity

Austerity has been an enormously powerful political idea in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009. Adopting a critical perspective, this article examines how journalism has historically addressed austerity by analysing the austerity debates of the influential business magazine The Economist from 1947 to 2012. By analysing 131 articles with a qualitative frame analysis approach, I show how The Economist has used an enduring frame by which to position itself as the voice of reason against the irrationality of politics. It has typically framed austerity as necessary in times of economic distress, and political demands that contradict austerity have often been deemed irrational. In 2012, during the euro crisis, The Economist, however, framed German-driven austerity as obsessive and called for a pragmatic position on austerity. I argue that this frame of "reason over politics" is characteristic of modern journalism, which is committed to the post-ideological norm of objectivity.