The link between marca España and the culture in the daily press

Abstract

Marca España institution was created by the Spanish Government in June 2012 in order to improve the country image both abroad and within the national territory (Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación, 2016). According to various authors, cultural diplomacy is an effective activity to build a positive long-term country image abroad. Likewise, the role of culture in the construction of national identity also stands out. The main objective of this article is to describe the features of the journalistic coverage of the term «marca España» linked to culture between 2012 and 2015. This period, which covers most of Mariano Rajoy’s first legislature, is defined by a context of economic, social and institutional crisis (Manfredi and Cachinero, 2013). We take as a sample the three Spanish newspapers with the widest distribution, El País, El Mundo and La Vanguardia, and all the pieces that include the expression «marca España» are analyzed through a content analysis. The results show the importance of culture, basically of sport, in the media construct of the notion of «marca España». In addition, we show the broad link between culture and positive aspects of reality, which can shape a favorable public opinion.