Framing of (corporate involvement in) Amsterdam Pride A content analysis of Dutch news media reports

This study depicts the current state of Amsterdam Pride and accompanying corporate involvement in Dutch news media framing, situating Amsterdam Pride in a CSR research context. These days, stakeholders often expect companies to take a social stand, while stakeholder skepticism of CSR is on the rise as well. Discussions about both the societal and commercial value of the Amsterdam Pride specifically have become increasingly present in the Dutch LGBTQ+-community, with some accusing companies of misusing the Pride for their own benefit (pinkwashing). Research on events like Amsterdam Pride and pinkwashing, let alone on LGBTQ+-related CSR, has been limited. This study aims to start filling this gap. Media are known to have an agenda-setting function; what they make more salient, has an effect on what audiences think about and how they think about that, making a media framing study an appropriate starting point for Pride CSR research. Through a content analysis of 162 Dutch newspaper articles from 2018 and 2019, insights were generated about media framing of Amsterdam Pride discourse – and corporate involvement discourse within that. The results showed that Amsterdam Pride has been framed as a newsworthy, debatable and timely topic, with growing popularity. Emancipatory discussions about representation in diversity, acceptance and activism were the most dominant topic in the media. Articles about Pride programming and history were second most dominant, followed by matters of nuisance, corporate involvement, and societal relevance. These findings imply that, although Pride corporate involvement is a discussion-worthy news topic, other emancipatory issues were deemed to have more news value sometimes: the Pride’s societal existence in its current form needed to be defended or debated first, before jumping to commercial aspects. Zooming in on corporate involvement showed that Pride CSR is usually equalized with companies being present at the Canal Parade, thereby making other types of involvement less salient. Media framing of those activities in terms of company motive attributions and CSR media frames were highly polarizing. Most articles were either very positive (valuesdriven motive attributions; optimist media frame) about Pride CSR, or very negative (egoisticdriven motive attributions; cynic media frame), thereby framing corporate involvement as either a boon or a deterrent for Amsterdam Pride. Pinkwashing was a key argument in some of these negative discussions, showing multifaceted manifestations beyond academic conceptualization, while some articles did display more nuance in their value judgment. Either way, moving forward, companies will have to evaluate how they take their Pride social stance in attempting to avert media or stakeholder skepticism.