Public Sphere Dialogue in Online Newspapers and Social Spaces: The Nuclear Debate in Post Fukushima France

de La Poype, A; Sood, SC

Public Sphere Dialogue in Online Newspapers and Social Spaces: The Nuclear Debate in Post Fukushima France

de La Poype, A Sood, SC

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Publisher:: UTS
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Public Communication Review, 2012, 2 (2), pp. 30 - 47
Issue Date:: 2012-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	de La Poype, A	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sood, SC	en_US
dc.date.issued	2012-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Public Communication Review, 2012, 2 (2), pp. 30 - 47	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1837-0667	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/23368
dc.description.abstract	The meltdown at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (March 2011) provided a trigger to contribute this research about the ways in which French newspapers facilitate (or not) a public dialogue on the issue of nuclear energy. Nuclear power not only generates over 75% of the electricity in France but also sustains a healthy domestic job creation program and drives nuclear technology exports. Hence, the absence of public debate amongst the French in nuclear energy over the long term is not surprising. Against this backdrop of French nuclear interests and post Fukushima, this paper presents a French language computer-mediated discourse analysis on nuclear debates and discussions taking place online in the hybrid public sphere. This space straddles user-generated content in the public comment spaces of newspapers embracing the spectrum of political persuasions (Le Figaro, Le Monde and Liberation) and social media. Qualitative and quantitative research methods uncover citizen interactions within the online public sphere comprising newspapers. Findings illuminate the progress of deliberations on nuclear power in online newspapers following a process of agenda setting through news stories, providing space for public dialogue and the digital curating of social media commentary. Furthermore, the research reveals the relevance of the Habermasian public sphere concept within the context of online newspapers. Key learning for the role of the media in fostering the democratic process using social media and insights for the political communications landscape within the context of the nuclear debate compliment the research.	en_US
dc.publisher	UTS	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Public Communication Review	en_US
dc.title	Public Sphere Dialogue in Online Newspapers and Social Spaces: The Nuclear Debate in Post Fukushima France	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	2	en_US
utslib.for	2001 Communication and Media Studies	en_US
utslib.for	1903 Journalism and Professional Writing	en_US
utslib.for	1505 Marketing	en_US
utslib.for	1902 Film, Television and Digital Media	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	true	en_US
pubs.issue	2	en_US
pubs.volume	2	en_US

Abstract:

The meltdown at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (March 2011) provided a trigger to contribute this research about the ways in which French newspapers facilitate (or not) a public dialogue on the issue of nuclear energy. Nuclear power not only generates over 75% of the electricity in France but also sustains a healthy domestic job creation program and drives nuclear technology exports. Hence, the absence of public debate amongst the French in nuclear energy over the long term is not surprising. Against this backdrop of French nuclear interests and post Fukushima, this paper presents a French language computer-mediated discourse analysis on nuclear debates and discussions taking place online in the hybrid public sphere. This space straddles user-generated content in the public comment spaces of newspapers embracing the spectrum of political persuasions (Le Figaro, Le Monde and Liberation) and social media. Qualitative and quantitative research methods uncover citizen interactions within the online public sphere comprising newspapers. Findings illuminate the progress of deliberations on nuclear power in online newspapers following a process of agenda setting through news stories, providing space for public dialogue and the digital curating of social media commentary. Furthermore, the research reveals the relevance of the Habermasian public sphere concept within the context of online newspapers. Key learning for the role of the media in fostering the democratic process using social media and insights for the political communications landscape within the context of the nuclear debate compliment the research.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/23368