The Construction of the Political Discourse through the Transmedia Narrative: The Case of President Puigdemont in the Catalan Independence Process

Abstract

This work analyzes the Catalan political conflict through the study of the discourse of President Carles Puigdemont, which climax was the holding of the self-determination referendum on October 1st. For this purpose, the construction of the political discourse of the Puigdemont phenomenon is studied through the transmedia narrative, and based on this generality, the theoretical objectives are achieved within a frame of reference that allows extracting the political agenda and sustaining the discourse of the President. In this sense, the transmedia narrative and the theoretical characteristics among the different supports used from the Twitter account of the subject of study, expanding the vision through the so-called agenda are explained. The transmedia nature refers to the use and narrative in different platforms and media taking advantage of the specificities of each one of them; the agenda revitalizes the political nature of the discourse through the application of the agenda setting theory and the consequent theming. For this work, a mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology and the analytical method were used, based on content and discourse analysis techniques. In order to do this, we worked with computerized instruments using the Fan Page Karma program and an ad hoc reference sheet adapted to this study. In conclusion, President Carles Puigdemont has managed to build a winning story, as it has been seen in the elections of December 21st, using the media genuinely from the self-proclaimed exile.