Urban Catastrophe and Sheltered Salvation: The media system of Swedish civil defence, 1937–1960

Urban Catastrophe and Sheltered Salvation : The media system of Swedish civil defence, 1937–1960

Bennesved, Peter (author): Umeå universitet,Institutionen för idé- och samhällsstudier,Department of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies, Umeå University

Norén, Fredrik, 1984- (author): Umeå universitet,Institutionen för kultur- och medievetenskaper,Department of Culture and Media Studies, Umeå University

(creator_code:org_t)

2018-07-19
2020
English.
In: Media History. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1368-8804 .- 1469-9729. ; 26:2, s. 167-184

Related links:: https://doi.org/10.1...; show more...; https://umu.diva-por... (primary) (Raw object); https://www.tandfonl...; https://mau.diva-por... (primary) (Raw object); https://urn.kb.se/re...; https://doi.org/10.1...; https://urn.kb.se/re...; show less...

Abstract Subject headings

The Swedish civil defence organizations have a long tradition of balancing their messages to the public through diverse media use. Over the course of the early Cold War, however, the political and technical circumstances of the civil defence organizations changed, rendering old methods from the 1930s obsolete. To keep their relevance, the narratives of the civil defence organizations had to be carefully remodelled in accordance with the current situation, obscuring some facts while stressing others more clearly. By operationalizing the concept of media system, this article examines how the Swedish civil defence organizations used the media, broadly defined, to deal with the two main narratives that their practical work was based upon: urban destruction as war unfolds, and the safety of air-raid shelters. The article shows how these narratives were constructed and connected between various media, but also their changing and dynamic character over time. Over the course of the 1940s and 1950s, the narrative of urban destruction changed from a concrete to an abstract mediation, while the narrative of sheltered salvation took an opposite direction.

HUMANIORA -- Annan humaniora -- Övrig annan humaniora (hsv//swe)
HUMANITIES -- Other Humanities -- Other Humanities not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)
SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)
SOCIAL SCIENCES -- Media and Communications (hsv//eng)

About the subject

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