The future of pensions Content and consequences of pension reforms in the media

Pension reforms have been the subject of discussion in politics and society for years. Politically, pension reforms can be a difficult issue. On the one hand, such reforms require public support, while on the other, they can have adverse effects on (parts of) society. It is therefore essential that citizens are well-informed about the necessity and underlying considerations of reforms. The media take on the role of informing citizens and can, therefore, by extension, shape citizens’ opinions and debates about sociopolitical issues such as pension reforms. However, the content and consequences of pension reforms in the media have received little scholarly attention so far. Against this backdrop, this dissertation studies the pension reform issue from a communication science perspective. Taken together, this dissertation provides substantial insights into how the issue of pension reform evolves in traditional and social media and how this subsequently affects citizens’ perceptions and attitudes toward the issue.