A1 Alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä aikakauslehdessä
Healthy mistrust or complacent confidence? : Civic vigilance in the reporting by leading newspapers on nuclear waste disposal in Finland and France (2021)

Lehtonen, M., Kojo, M., Kari, M., & Litmanen, T. (2021). Healthy mistrust or complacent confidence? : Civic vigilance in the reporting by leading newspapers on nuclear waste disposal in Finland and France. Risk, Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy, 12(2), 130-157. https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12210

Tutkimusta rahoitti strategisen tutkimuksen neuvosto, joka toimii Suomen Akatemian yhteydessä.

JYU-tekijät tai -toimittajat

Kari, Mika
Litmanen, Tapio

Julkaisun tiedot

Julkaisun kaikki tekijät tai toimittajat: Lehtonen, Markku; Kojo, Matti; Kari, Mika; Litmanen, Tapio

Lehti tai sarja: Risk, Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy

ISSN: 1944-4079

eISSN: 1944-4079

Julkaisuvuosi: 2021

Ilmestymispäivä: 10.03.2021

Volyymi: 12

Lehden numero: 2

Artikkelin sivunumerot: 130-157

Kustantaja: Wiley

Julkaisumaa: Yhdysvallat (USA)

Julkaisun kieli: englanti

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12210

Julkaisun avoin saatavuus: Avoimesti saatavilla

Julkaisukanavan avoin saatavuus: Osittain avoin julkaisukanava

Julkaisu on rinnakkaistallennettu (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/74587

Tiivistelmä

Trust and confidence have been identified as crucial for efforts at solving the conundrum of high‐level radioactive waste management (RWM). However, mistrust has its virtues, especially in the form of “civic vigilance”—healthy suspicion towards the powers that be. This article examines civic vigilance in the form of “watchdog journalism,” as practiced by the leading Finnish and French newspapers—Helsingin Sanomat (HS) and Le Monde (LM)—in their RWM reporting. Although both countries are forerunners in RWM, Finland constitutes a Nordic “high‐trust society” while France has been characterized as a “society of mistrust.” Employing the methods of frame analysis, key RWM‐related news frames were identified, consisting of varying combinations of confidence, skepticism, trust, and mistrust. LM's mistrust‐skepticism‐oriented framings reflect the classical watchdog role, in sharp contrast with the confidence oriented framings of HS, which tends to reproduce government and industry framings. Explanations for the observed differences can be sought in historically constituted political and media cultures, as well as national nuclear “regimes”. For further research, we suggest two alternative hypotheses concerning the implications that these distinct models of civic vigilance have for democracy.

YSO-asiasanat: luottamus; yhteiskunta; radioaktiiviset jätteet; ydinvoimalat; valvonta; kansalaishavainnot; kansalaisjournalismi; media; viestintäkulttuuri