Risk Analysis and the Construction of News

Wilkins, Lee; Patterson, Philip

doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.1987.tb00996.x

Cited by 103 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In this study, newspapers reported the dangers that could occur to infants if they were not weaned at a certain time but the reporting of weaning displayed many of the flaws of previous risk reporting, including not placing the risk in its proper context and not using the correct linguistic tools, such as risk comparisons to describe the level of risk to infants (Wilkins and Patterson, 1987;Rowe et al, 2000). Indeed, in the comparison between the newspaper articles and the Internet forum, no newspaper article discusses risk adequately, in comparison to over a third of the forum discussions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The worries of weaning: Newspaper reporting of infant weaning and its impact on dialogue in online discussion forums

Knowles

Wilkinson

2016

Journalism

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Despite infant weaning being one of the most challenging aspects of parenting, there is uncertainty about the right time to start. This research aimed to understand the impact of newspaper reporting of weaning on parents, in particular, focussing on the coverage of a scientific report published in the British Medical Journal in 2011. Using a media analysis of weaning articles from UK national newspapers and the ‘Mumsnet’, Internet discussion forum, the analysis was able to explore how forum members had reacted to the reporting and embellished the communication of the weaning issue by adding their own personal advice and experience. The case study shows the role of discussion forums in science communication and how they can provide a new arena for studying audience effects.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The worries of weaning: Newspaper reporting of infant weaning and its impact on dialogue in online discussion forums

Knowles

Wilkinson

2016

Journalism

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“…News has been variously characterized by consequence, immediacy, prominence, oddity, and proximity (Gibson, 1984) as well as by conflict, change, action, concreteness, and personality (Metzler in Wilkins & Patterson, 1987). Organizational crisis will often embody many, if not all of these elements.…”

Section: Sensemaking As Ongoingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In McMullan's claim that news narratives are "highly selective, interpretive and profoundly invented" (2001, p. 132), he notes the reliance on experts, professionals, and their agents. In their analysis linking risk and news construction, Wilkins & Patterson (1987) refer to the tendency to "line up the usual suspects . .…”

Section: Sensemaking and Identity Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Sense of Bad News: The Media, Sensemaking, and Organizational Crisis

O'Connell

Mills

2003

Canadian Journal of Communication

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This paper explores the construction of organizational crisis through the discourse of media. Using a critical sensemaking framework, the authors conclude that the media serve as a disproportionate influence in the creation of plausible organizational narrative after crisis. They implicate the practices of journalistic work and the relationships between news workers and those holding power in organizations. They use the 1992 explosion at the Westray coal mine in Nova Scotia, Canada, where 26 men died, to illustrate these contentions. They find that among available and plausible early narratives of this event, enactment of a discourse of natural disaster and tragedy has prevailed over those that incorporated human agency and organizational culpability.Résumé : Cet article explore la construction de crises organisationnelles faite par le discours médiatique. Utilisant un cadre critique pour interpréter les faits, les auteurs concluent que les médias ont une influence disproportionnée dans la création d'une narration organisationnelle plausible après une crise. Pour expliquer cette influence, les auteurs impliquent les pratiques du travail journalistique ainsi que les relations entre les travailleurs des médias et les détenteurs du pouvoir dans les organisations. Ils illustrent ces affirmations en se rapportant à l'explosion de 1992 dans la mine Westray en Nouvelle-Écosse, Canada, où 26 hommes sont morts. Ils trouvent que, parmi les premières narrations disponibles et plausibles de cet événement, la promulgation d'un discours de désastre naturel et de tragédie l'a emporté sur les discours incorporant l'action humaine et la culpabilité organisationnelle.

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“…Much environmental news coverage is event-centered (Anderson, 1997:121). Several researchers found that the news media are preoccupied with dramatic events such as oil spills and to a lesser extent, pseudo events such as publicity stunts (Anderson, 1991, Wilkins andPatterson, 1987;Sachsmon, 1976;Molotech andLaster 1974, Rubin andSachs 1973).…”

Section: Review Of Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%