We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track
Media Issue Crystallization: The Case of Microplastic in Denmark
Summary
This study examined how Danish news media constructed and framed microplastic pollution as an emerging environmental issue, analyzing the process by which a complex scientific problem becomes a public concern. Media framing of microplastics influences public awareness and political action on plastic pollution.
The purpose of this study is to explore news media constructions of the emergence of a wicked problem. The study takes as its point of departure, the environmental issue of microplastic, which has recently received increased interest from academia as well as popular media due to its controversial nature. Utilizing dialectical theory as a framework, Danish news media provide the basis for a qualitative inductive analysis that explores the issue crystallization process of microplastics. As a result, a general model of this process is developed, which can be used to understand the dynamic interrelated conditions of media constructions of a wicked environmental issue. More specifically, the model highlights the key dialectical themes that drive the issue demarcation process.
Sign in to start a discussion.
More Papers Like This
Telling stories about (micro)plastic pollution: Media images, public perceptions and social change
This paper examines how microplastic pollution has been framed in media reporting and how the public understands the issue, finding that culturally embedded ideas about risk and health shape people's responses. Understanding media framing and public perception is important for designing effective communication strategies around microplastic contamination.
On the Creation of Risk: Framing of Microplastics Risks in Science and Media
This study analyzes how microplastic risks are framed in scientific literature and media coverage, finding that scientific uncertainty is often amplified into public alarm through media framing, and examining the social construction of environmental risk in the absence of definitive toxicological evidence.
An environmental problem in the making: how media logic molds scientific uncertainty in the production of news about artificial turf in Sweden
Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 journalists, editors, public officials, politicians, industry representatives, and experts in Sweden to examine how media logic shapes news coverage of artificial turf as a microplastic pollutant, finding that media framing conventions drive interpretations of scientific uncertainty and amplify the issue as an environmental problem.
The influence of media narratives on microplastics risk perception
Researchers examined how media narratives about microplastic pollution influence public risk perception. The study argues that accurate and balanced reporting is essential to prevent misinformation and ensure people clearly understand the risks associated with microplastics. The findings suggest that understanding public perceptions can help design better interventions to reduce plastic consumption and its associated health and environmental impacts.
A Risky Object? How Microplastics Are Represented in the German Media
Analysis of German print media coverage of microplastics from 2012 to 2019 found a shift from framing microplastics as a distant marine problem to a personal health risk, with the discovery of microplastics in human bodies driving increased alarm and calls for precautionary regulatory action.