Social Studies of Science

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by O’Mahony, P.
Right arrow Articles by Schäfer, M. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Social Studies of Science, Vol. 35, No. 1, 99-130 (2005)
DOI: 10.1177/0306312705046542

The ‘Book of Life’ in the Press

Comparing German and Irish Media Discourse on Human Genome Research

Patrick O’Mahony

National University of Ireland, Cork, p.omahony{at}ucc.ie

Mike Steffen Schäfer

Department for Sociology at the Freie Universität Berlin, msschae{at}zedat.fu-berlin.de

The essay compares German and Irish media coverage of human genome research in the year 2000, using qualitative and quantitative frame analysis of a print media corpus. Drawing from a media-theoretical account of science communication, the study examines four analytic dimensions: (1) the influence of global and national sources of discourse; (2) the nature of elaboration on important themes; (3) the extent of societal participation in discourse production; (4) the cultural conditions in which the discourse resonates. The analysis shows that a global discursive package, emphasizing claims of scientific achievement and medical progress, dominates media coverage in both countries. However, German coverage is more extensive and elaborate, and includes a wider range of participants. Irish coverage more often incorporates the global package without further elaboration. These findings indicate that the global package is ’localized’ differently due to national patterns of interests, German participation in human genome research, traditions of media coverage, and the domestic resonance of the issue.

Key Words: biotechnology • discourse analysis • frame analysis • globalization • human genome • mass media • science journalism


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 JournalismHome page
R. Meade
Mayday, Mayday! Newspaper framing anti-globalizers!: A critical analysis of the Irish Independent's anticipatory coverage of the `Day of the Welcomes' demonstrations
Journalism, June 1, 2008; 9(3): 330 - 352.
[Abstract] [PDF]