Instrumentalizing Fukushima: Comparing Media Coverage of Fukushima in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland

Kepplinger, Hans Mathias; Lemke, Richard

doi:10.1080/10584609.2015.1022240

Cited by 35 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…In Germany, Fukushima led to a discursive turning point regarding nuclear power, which Hermwille termed a “landscape shock” (Hermwille, , p. 238). In Germany and Switzerland, the media constructed Fukushima as an accident that exposed the high‐security risks of nuclear power (Kepplinger & Lemke, , p. 355). In other countries, in Britain and France for example, the tsunami leading to the Fukushima core melt‐down was considered by the media as a natural disaster that could not have been prevented (Kepplinger & Lemke, , p. 355).…”

Section: Discursive Lock‐ins and Turning Points In The German Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

The overlooked role of discourse in breaking carbon lock‐in: The case of the German energy transition

Buschmann

Oels

2019

WIREs Climate Change

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Over the last 15 years, research on carbon lock-in has investigated why decarbonization evolves so slowly in Western industrialized countries. In this paper, we argue that the role of discourses has been overlooked in the literature on carbon lock-in. We argue that discourses are both part of lock-in mechanisms and, using the concept of discursive turning points, important factors in explaining change. This implies that we need to carefully investigate the dominant discourses that constitute and justify the very technologies, institutions and behaviors of the status quo. For the case of the German energy transition, we demonstrate the importance of discursive turning points for overcoming carbon lock-in, based on a literature review. Germany's long-standing lock-in of fossil fuels and nuclear power was undermined by the rise of the energy transition discourse. This discourse transitioned from a very marginal position to dominance through a number of factors, winning against the energy mix discourse. Over time the energy transition discourse became de-radicalized. Coal has been able to defend its role in the German energy mix in the name of affordability and energy security. While renewables continue to grow, this happens alongside a remaining carbon lock-in. We conclude that discursive lock-in and discursive turning points are useful analytical tools that help to explain how the transition to renewable energies unfolds. In future research, the interaction between discursive lock-ins and other types of lock-in should be investigated.

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Section: Discursive Lock‐ins and Turning Points In The German Energymentioning

confidence: 99%

The overlooked role of discourse in breaking carbon lock‐in: The case of the German energy transition

Buschmann

Oels

2019

WIREs Climate Change

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“…The media “significantly influence or shape how the population and the government views, perceives, and responds to hazards and disasters” (Santos and Aguirre, :482). Scholars have studied mass media—national and local media—coverage of man‐made and natural disasters including the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (Turcotte et al., ), Hurricane Katrina (Tierney, Bevc, and Kuligowski, ), and the Japanese earthquake and tsunami (Kepplinger and Lemke, ). The primary focus of this research is on media framing of the event, variations between national and local media coverage, and disparities among local media coverage.…”

Section: Focusing Events and Public Attentionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Public Attention to a Local Disaster Versus Competing Focusing Events: Google Trends Analysis Following the 2016 Louisiana Flood

Yeo

Knox

2019

Social Science Quarterly

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Objectives. This study explores trends of public attention to natural disasters, emphasizing the importance of public attention for disaster management and its relevance to policy adaptation. Methods. Public attention was measured as Google Trends' time-series Search Volume Index (SVI). We compare the trend of SVI for the 2016 Louisiana Flood with SVI trends for other disasters of varying size, scale, and scope within the United States. Then, we compared the trend of relative SVI for the flood with other ongoing social/political events over the same observation period.Results. Public attention to the 2016 Louisiana Flood formed and matured relatively faster than other national disasters in the comparison group. However, the flood disaster was not leading public attention at the national level. Conclusions. Not late but less public attention might have affected disaster management operations for 2016 Louisiana Flood. Authors address some practical implications and strategies for rising public attention to natural disasters.

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“…Over the past decades, political scientists, sociologists, communication scholars and movement researchers, among others, have examined public debates about nuclear power, usually focusing either on stakeholders such as environmental NGOs or corporations, or on legacy media coverage in North America or Western European countries. They have analyzed, for example, which frames were used to portray nuclear power in US media between 1945 and 1986 (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989), how nuclear energy was strategically reframed in the UK between 2005 and (Doyle, 2011), or how Fukushima has been instrumentalized in the media coverage across countries (Kepplinger & Lemke, 2016).…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between Fragmentation and Dialogue. Twitter Communities and Political Debate About the Swiss “Nuclear Withdrawal Initiative”

Arlt

Rauchfleisch

Schäfer

2018

Environmental Communication

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The emergence, use, and, in recent years, withdrawal from nuclear energy have stirred political controversies in numerous countries worldwide. These controversies have involved politicians, industry representatives, scientists, environmental organizations, and the wider public. Arguments promoting or criticizing nuclear energy ranged from the security of the energy supply over the technology's cost-effectiveness to concerns about global warming, health risks and terror threats. Switzerland has witnessed similar debates in the past and is a particularly interesting case for analysis because it features a strong direct democracy that has given its citizens a direct say on the use of nuclear energy (Vatter, 2009). Since five nuclear power plants were commissioned in Switzerland between 1969 and 1984, several referenda were held on nuclear energy. In 1979 and 1984, initiatives aiming to prevent the construction of new nuclear plants were rejected. In 1990, following the Chernobyl accident, 55% of Swiss voters accepted a moratorium on the construction of further nuclear plants, although 53% were against a general withdrawal from the technology. 1 In 2003, the Swiss opted to lift the moratorium and new plants were discussed when the Fukushima accident occurred in March 2011. Immediately, Federal Councilor Doris Leuthard halted discussions about new plants, and, two months later, the Federal Council opted for a long-term phase-out according to which existing power plants will not be replaced after their operating periods end between 2019 and 2034 (Handelszeitung, 2011, May 25). Since then, the focus of the Swiss political and public debate has shifted from whether to phase out nuclear power to the terms and timeline of such a phase-out. In 2015, the Swiss Green Party initiated the "Nuclear Withdrawal Initiative", targeting a rapid phase-out and a cut in the existing plants' operating times from 50 to 45 years. On November 2016, however, 54% of the electorate voted against the initiative-a surprising result, as experts and early

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Instrumentalizing Fukushima: Comparing Media Coverage of Fukushima in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland

Cited by 35 publications

References 29 publications

The overlooked role of discourse in breaking carbon lock‐in: The case of the German energy transition

The overlooked role of discourse in breaking carbon lock‐in: The case of the German energy transition

Public Attention to a Local Disaster Versus Competing Focusing Events: Google Trends Analysis Following the 2016 Louisiana Flood

Between Fragmentation and Dialogue. Twitter Communities and Political Debate About the Swiss “Nuclear Withdrawal Initiative”

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