Media Framing of Nuclear Energy in France Before and After Fukushima
Abstract
Nuclear energy is an important part of France's industry and economy. Since the beginning of program, France set out to be a model country in the successful development of the nuclear energy. The French nuclear program has always benefited from strong support from the French government. However, the nuclear disaster at the Japanese Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in March 2011 awakened the debate between the supporters of the nuclear energy and the anti-nuclear activists. This study analyzes media framing of the nuclear debate in the French media before and after Fukushima. To analyze the articulation of media and government frames, I content analyzed newspaper articles (n=497) written over a 24 month period before and after the accident. These articles came from two of the France's leading newspapers, Le Monde (n=262), and Le Figaro (n=235). Taken together, these articles represent an excellent snapshot of national print media coverage of the French nuclear debate over this critical two year period.
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