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PP 638
News Values of Climate Change Coverage
M. Legrand
1
, C. Oschatz
2
, A. Dittrich
3
1
University of Jena, Institute of Communication Research, Jena, Germany
2
University of Mainz, Institute for Communication Research, Mainz, Germany
3
Hanover University of Music- Drama and Media, Journalism and Communication Research, Hannover, Germany
Relevance and research question. Since the 1980s news media have significantly increased their news coverage on climate change. The news coverage is
especially intense during international events with far-reaching consequences worldwide like the annual UN climate conferences (Luedecke et al., 2016).
Apart from these events the issue disappears from the news to the greatest possible extent. It has been argued that these pulses and peaks of the news
coverage are a result of the news value of such key events (Schäfer et al., 2014). The theory of newsworthiness is suited to gather the news value and dif‑
ferent aspects of this event (social objects) (Scheufele 2006). Therefore, we pose the following research question: What news factors generate news value
in the regional climate change news coverage in Germany? Theoretical Approach. The theory of newsworthiness has been widely applied (Galtung & Ruge
1965, latest development: Eilders 2006). The theory differentiates between news factors and news values. Following Kepllinger & Ehmig (2006:27) news
factors are the characteristics of news stories, whereas the news value refers to the relative impact of these characteristics on journalist´s selection of news
stories. Thus, news values are characteristics of journalist’s judgements about the relevance of news factors. From this theory the following assumption is
derived and empirically tested: The numbers and intensities of news factors assigned by journalists to an event increase the presentation characteristics
of news coverage concerning this event. We expect that some news factors are more important drivers of the climate change news coverage than oth‑
ers. Methods. Data collection was performed by content analysis. We conducted the news coverage surrounding the 20
th
UN climate conference in Lima
(24.11.-21.12.2014). The sample consisted of 18 German newspapers selected by wide circulation in the 16 federal states of Germany and two national
newspapers of different political leaning. All articles that addressed the climate conference or the issue climate change have been selected for analyses (N
= 211). In our content analysis, 13 news factors were operationalized based on the catalogue of news factors by Schulz (1976): duration, discourse, physi‑
cal proximity, reach, personal influence, prominence, surprise, structure, factuality, damage, success, controversy, personalization (independent variables;
pairwise agreement of intercoder reliability ranging from .57 to .82). The length of article was measured by number of words (dependent variable) reflect‑
ing the presentation characteristics in the coverage. The impact of the 13 news factors on presentation characteristics was estimated by linear regression
models. Results. Results show, that the news factor personalization mainly influences the presentation characteristics on climate change in regional news
coverage. Individuals standing out of the crowd of the participants of the climate conference positively affect the presentation characteristics of the climate
conference. The findings will further be discussed in our presentation.
PP 639
The Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster (1986) and the Resistance Against Nuclear Power in Belgium: A Discourse-Theoretical Analysis
K. Deneckere
1
, B. De Cleen
1
1
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Communication Studies, Elsene, Belgium
Thirty years later, the 1986 Chernobyl (Ukraine) nuclear disaster still counts as the most severe accident in the history of the nuclear power industry.
The disaster had a strong and remaining impact on the debate on nuclear power in Europe and worldwide. Throughout the history of nuclear power, large-
scale accidents have provided a momentum for increased debate and resistance. Large-scale accidents have been dislocatory moments (Laclau 1990) that
unsettle the pro nuclear power discourse by showing that the technology has real and serious risks – they are moments that cannot simply be incorporated
into the pro nuclear power discourse and that threaten its hegemony. Large-scale accidents have forced the proponents of nuclear power to at least partly
acknowledge risks, to explicitly develop arguments in favor of nuclear power, and to reform regulation and security measures. In this paper we present
a discourse-theoretical analysis (Carpentier & De Cleen, 2007) of the political struggle over nuclear power in Belgium in the wake of the nuclear disaster
of Chernobyl. After the disaster the media attention for nuclear power soared. Media were important both as an arena of discursive competition between
proponents and opponents of nuclear energy, and as an important voice in the struggle over nuclear power. Our empirical data consists of the coverage
of four Belgian broadsheets (De Standaard, De Morgen, Le Soir and La Libre Belgique), two business-oriented weeklies (Trends and Trends-Tendances),
and two independent, leftist and progressive magazines (La Revue Nouvelle and Journaal). Our analysis shows how the proponents attempted to protect
the hegemony of the nuclear discourse. A comparison of the analyses of the Chernobyl debate with the one after the 1979 Three Mile Island (TMI) accident
reveals both similar and more case-specific hegemonic strategies.We show how the proponents attempted to defend nuclear power by referring to particu‑
lar inadequacies in the Chernobyl reactor design, thus minimizing the risks inherent to nuclear power per se – a strategy also used after TMI. In the context
of the ColdWar, they also attempted to limit the dislocatory effect of the accident by interpreting Chernobyl as a result of Soviet problems – a lacking safety
culture and a failing communication of the Soviet authorities – rather than as a structural problem. Moreover, the proponents used the authority of experts
to accuse journalists and critical voices of incompetence and intentional scaremongering. With the realization of the worst conceivable nuclear accident,
the critics gained much credibility. They stressed the structural risks of nuclear power, and criticized the lack of transparency in Western nations in the im‑
mediate aftermath of the disaster. The critics also drew on scientific authority and focused on the rift in the scientific community concerning short- and
long-term consequences of nuclear power. The discursive struggle over nuclear power continues today, and many of the strategies found in the Chernobyl
debate are still used today. Much can therefore still be learnt today from the Chernobyl case.