Methodology
The study is based on Framing Theory – one of the most popular conceptual frameworks in media and communication research. It is based on the view that media do not just reflect reality but also construct it by choosing specific aspects, accents, and interpretation schemes for reflecting content.
Qualitative content analysis is used, where the deductive part is based on a theoretically obtained framing typology (8 frames), but the inductive part provides for the emergence of new, data-driven categories during the analysis. The main unit of analysis is the headline and introductory text (first 2–3 sentences). This approach was chosen because headlines and intros reflect editorial decisions on what is main in the news and how to frame it. This is the primary point of contact with the audience, and it is here that the media framing strategy is most clearly evident.
All 2025 articles containing keywords “stocks”, “bonds”, “capital market”, and “financial market” were automatically obtained from the LETA media monitoring database. A random sample was conducted – 20 articles per month (total of 240 articles), ensuring even distribution by months. After manual exclusion of duplicates and thematically irrelevant articles and inclusion of new manually selected articles, 239 materials from 47 Latvian media outlets were included in the final sample. Publications from print media, internet portals, and various audiovisual programmes were examined.
The media landscape is narrowing
The Latvian media space has been experiencing narrowing and the disappearance of specialized media in recent decades. The largest market players (LSM, TV3 Group, Delfi, TVNET, etc.) offer a wide range of content, while specialized financial publications have disappeared or significantly lost their market position. As a result, the part of the audience that is not heavily interested or involved in capital markets learns about the main topics related to “money matters” from general content media, in which journalists specialising specifically in capital market subject matter rarely work.
General content media address the capital market topic primarily at moments when the topic becomes relevant to the broader public and when, from a media logic viewpoint, it cannot go unreported. For example, the decline in 2nd and 3rd pillar pension savings as a result of global market fluctuations or in the context of potential listings of the state's largest capital companies on the exchange. In such situations, media perform one of the most important functions in a democratic society – the watchdog or public advocate role. Problems that have already arisen or potential problems the audience might face are discussed.
Content framing – the corporate prism is dominant
Three frames dominate in almost 59% of materials – corporate, opportunities/growth, and market movement. This indicates that media reflect the capital market primarily as a space for corporate operations rather than as a system significant to the broader public. This creates a distance between the audience and the material, signalling that the story is intended for industry professionals rather than the general public. This could potentially be one of the explanations for why overall public interest and knowledge regarding finance and capital market subject matter is relatively low.
Dominant Frames
Framing = the way the media “packages” and presents information. For example, the same event can be framed as an opportunity or as a risk.
Capital market topic – technical and institutional, without personalisation
In regard to the variety and actualisation of topics in Latvian media, financial literacy content forms 14% of materials; however, the human story frame effectively does not appear as primary in the sample. One of the classic ways media promote public interest in topics and attract audience attention is the depiction of complex socio-political or macroeconomic topics through individual experiences. In the collected data sample, it is seen that such practice is not common when describing the Latvian capital market.
Market movements, namely the simple depiction of market reality, is the dominant background frame – it is the most frequent secondary frame (34% of materials) that journalists add to almost any type of story to contextualize events with market data.
The only specialized capital market medium included in the sample, Investoru Klubs (15.9% of the sample), exhibits a significantly different approach compared to general media. The dominant frame of Investoru Klubs is market movements (31.6%) and risks/opportunities, while the main frame of general media is corporate (27.9%) and regulatory (14.4%). This means that the specialized medium looks at the market from an investor's perspective – as a mechanism with movements and risks, but general media see it as an institutional and political space with corporate announcements and regulator decisions.
Company stories (22.6%) and regulation/policy (18.4%) together form more than 40%. Private investor stories are practically non-existent (0.8%).
Overall tone – moderately positive
However, although media most often address these topics only when there are significant problems that can affect Latvian residents, the overall tonality of the analysed materials is moderately positive. Tonality does not determine content, and in a classic media system, a neutral tone that allows the audience to independently draw conclusions and form a judgment on the positive or negative impact of the content is considered good practice in news journalism.
Opportunity frame – the only one without negative content. Risk frame – the only one without positive content. The corporate frame is distinctly neutral (71%).
The pension system is the most negatively perceived topic, with 56% of mentions carrying a negative sentiment. Company-related stories are positive or neutral in 89% of cases. Regulation is the second most negatively perceived topic, with 39% of mentions being negative.
Negative tonality concentrates in specific topics: the pension system (56% negative) and regulation/policy issues (39% negative), while company stories are positive or neutral in 89% of cases. This confirms that a more critical and negative tone is characteristic of materials affecting a broad section of society – pensioners and future pensioners – thus showing that media attention is primarily directed toward problems. A more critical tone is also present in materials reporting on the actions and decisions of the political elite. This is standard practice for media in democratic countries. Simultaneously, the study reveals that the information climate is influenced by both specific events and a certain seasonality. At the beginning of the year (January–February), negative tonality reached 35–37% (airBaltic troubles) but fell to 5% in May. Corporate stories dominated in autumn (bond issue season), regulatory frame in July.
