Article
ID: CBB052093671

Post-Fukushima discourse in the US press: Quantified knowledge, the technical object, and a panicked public (2020)

unapi
Nuclear power; atomic energy Public opinion Mass media Expertise Periodicals; serials Public understanding of technology Nuclear power stations

Many thought that the 11 March 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan might be the end of the “global nuclear renaissance.” In Europe, mass media after Fukushima increasingly presented negative framing of nuclear energy and highlighted declining support for the nuclear industry. In the United States, however, nuclear production and public support for the industry remained steady. This article analyzes US media documents to understand the construction of public discourse on nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Through a content analysis of US newspapers, it demonstrates that post-Fukushima media framed the crisis in a way that privileged expert knowledge and opinion, while delegitimizing non-expert engagement with nuclear energy issues. A comparison between national newspapers and newspapers located in two regions with controversial nuclear plants and active anti-nuclear citizens’ movements additionally demonstrates the power and reach of the identified framework across the spectrum of views on nuclear power.

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Authors & Contributors
Kim, Hyomin
Brewer, Paul R.
Bud, Robert
Crease, Robert P.
Fang, Xiang
Fujigaki, Yuko
Journals
Public Understanding of Science
Science as Culture
Science Communication
The Bridge: Journal of the National Academy of Engineering
Cold War History
East Asian Science, Technology and Society: An International Journal
Publishers
Johns Hopkins University Press
MIT Press
Springer
Verlag für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik
Viking
Kodansha Comics
Concepts
Public opinion
Nuclear power stations
Public understanding of technology
Nuclear power; atomic energy
Public policy
Public understanding of science
Time Periods
21st century
20th century, late
20th century
19th century
Places
Japan
Korea
France
Vienna (Austria)
New York (U.S.)
China
Institutions
Brookhaven National Laboratory (United States)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
United States. Department of Energy
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