Framing chemicals in Sweden and Poland : journalists’ narratives and media texts

• How are chemicals framed in the press in Sweden and in Poland? We have conducted interviews with journalists representing local press, tabloids and national newspapers in order to grasp the professionals’ own narratives about chemicals and also the range of diversity within journalism. What at first can appear as a marginalized topic, chemicals, partly because it is not an established journalistic genre, has turned out to have many faces. All news treating additives in food production and every report relating to medicines, such as the growing resistance towards antibiotics among the population, is part of the discourse, not to mention accidental releases of hazardous substances, etc. Secondly, it is a central part of the study to understand how these dominant themes are textually constructed in the press coverage. The news and media debate about chemicals are not only a central information source for the majority of citizens; the mass media also influence stakeholders, opinion-leaders and decision-makers in society. By and large the results indicate that the types of frames that are used by journalists in these two countries have a lot in common, even if the content of the media texts and the specific national contexts differ substantially between Sweden and Poland.

Nyckelord

Chemicals

Framing

Journalists

Narratives

News media

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kap (ämneskategori)