Introduction Through the ages, nuclear emergencies have scared us several times, and during these emergencies risks were often communicated through media. Sometimes, news would get distorted, amplified and cause confusion or other undesirable effects, which in turn might affect how people perceive the risks. The aim of this study was to analyze how media portrayed and communicated risks in Japan during the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011, compared to Sweden, a country out of reach of direct risks. Methods Discourse analysis was considered the most suitable method for this study, since it can be used to reveal myths that are implicated in speech and other actions. A discourse analysis is not meant to clarify an objective reality, but how a reality is created. The analysis was conducted on articles published in newspapers in each country during the accident, 15 articles from The Japan Times (Japan) and 19 from Aftonbladet (Sweden). Results The results showed that the communication of risks was more instructive in The Japan Times, even if some of the information was changing and could be considered confusing. When it comes to feelings, The Japan Times mostly stayed away from vidid and dramatic messages, while this was more common in Aftonbladet. Discussion and conclusions In the discussion, it was found that the most prominent resemblance was lacking information as a result of potential lack of knowledge among journalists. The way the newspapers presented the risks differed, The Japan Times had a quite composed approach while Aftonbladet dramatized the event more extensively. Both newspapers used statements from officials and authorities, which might have contributed to framing. For further research on media’s role during a nuclear disaster, it might be of interest to look at solutions for how experts and journalists can work closer together to communicate the risks accurately, as well as taking the political stance aspect into consideration.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:kau-55409 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Bergman, Sandra |
| Publisher | Karlstads universitet, Fakulteten för hälsa, natur- och teknikvetenskap (from 2013) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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