Newspaper coverage of the Dutch nitrogen debate

Uncovering differences in framing and actor portrayal

Master thesis (2021)

Authors

M.R. Visscher Technology, Policy and Management

Contributors

Ionica Smeets Universiteit Leiden (supervisor 1)
Stefano Cucurachi Universiteit Leiden (supervisor 2)
Faculty
Technology, Policy and Management
Copyright: © 2021 Marin Visscher
Sustainability Nitrogen Industrial Ecology Framing Science Communication Content Analysis Newspapers
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Published Date

10-03-2021

Language

English

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Faculty

Technology, Policy and Management

Abstract

In May 2019 the Dutch permit system for nitrogen deposition was taken down for not abiding by EU legislation, which resulted in a large debate surrounding nature conservation. I researched the manner in which various newspapers portray this debate to their respective readers, in order to create a better understanding of the communicational field between sustainability sciences and the public. To do this, 160 articles from four national daily newspapers were analyzed for their usage of frames and portrayal of actors. The articles reflected no differences in usage of frames, however, actor portrayal varied significantly between newspapers: environmental experts appeared more often in De Volkskrant, there seemed to be a negative relationship between the number of portrayed farmers and construction workers, and, popular newspaper De Telegraaf showed more signs of partisanship than other newspapers. Conclusively, I made some suggestions to environmental researchers for future environmental debates.

Files

Thesis.pdf
(.pdf | 1.97 Mb)