This first report lays the groundwork for understanding Scottish society as we emerge from the pandemic, and addresses the following fundamental questions: Is Scotland on the right track? Where do we want to go as a country? And who do we trust to help us get there?

Will the UK commentators fall into line and back unionism once a timetable for a vote has been agreed, or is a more permanent split developing? 

Craig talks to David Patrick, author of recently published book Front-Page Scotland which looks at how stories about Scottish independence were reported in the newspapers throughout the 2014 independence referendum campaign.

This analyses the referendum coverage on BBC’s Reporting Scotland in the final month of the campaign. Findings suggest that, despite the presence of many types of sources, male-dominated political elites were the main focus in the news.  The coverage more broadly manifests a liberal democratic logic whereby the media represent the views of politicians and political organisations to the public, whose role is to make an informed choice between them, with comparatively limited opportunities to participate in the mediated political debate.

the 2014 Scottish independence referendum offered local newspapers a unique opportunity to frame Scottish independence in a particular manner that reinforces their influence on Scottish distinctiveness and secures their position in the media market. This gives reason to examine how The Courier and Evening Telegraph framed Scottish independence during the campaign of the 2014 referendum in order to assess if local indigenous titles capitalised on this opportunity.

"We’re not aligned to any one political party but believe in self-determination for Scotland. Only then will a country disfigured by poverty and inequality be re-born. Only independence can bring democracy. The British State is irredeemable and is structurally corrupt, broken and riven with hierarchy."