Dagens Gennyheter : Hur massmedier berättar om genetik och genteknik
(2002)- Abstract
- During the 1990’s gene technology got a break-through – both as a science and in people’s consciousness. Media reported frequently about scientific breakthroughs. Cloned animals, localized genes, hopes of new medicines and alarming reports on genetically modified food are a few examples on what Swedish mass media has reported on gene technology during the decade. The aim of the dissertation ”Dagens Gennyheter. Hur massmedier berättar om genetik och genteknik” (”Gene News of Today. How Mass Media Talks about Genetics and Gene Technology”) is to analyze how the reporting not only reflects facts, but also the contexts in which the texts are produced. The narratives convey messages of what is natural and unnatural, the relationship between... (More)
- During the 1990’s gene technology got a break-through – both as a science and in people’s consciousness. Media reported frequently about scientific breakthroughs. Cloned animals, localized genes, hopes of new medicines and alarming reports on genetically modified food are a few examples on what Swedish mass media has reported on gene technology during the decade. The aim of the dissertation ”Dagens Gennyheter. Hur massmedier berättar om genetik och genteknik” (”Gene News of Today. How Mass Media Talks about Genetics and Gene Technology”) is to analyze how the reporting not only reflects facts, but also the contexts in which the texts are produced. The narratives convey messages of what is natural and unnatural, the relationship between nature and nurture, the risks of gene technology and the credibility of science. The first part of the dissertation focuses actors who have influence on the media narratives. Here I discuss, for example, what meaning ideals and routines for science journalism have for the texts, how the intentions to be a fast news reporter and an objective educationist sometimes collide. Also people outside the media world play an important part in the construction of media narratives. Here I illustrate the meaning of outsiders by analyzing the relationship between media and representantives for a handicap organization (The Swedish Association of Neurologically Disabled) and for genetic research. The outsiders’ strategies to enter the medial arena are studied, as well as how these two categories are described in mass media. The second part of the dissertation deals with which discourses about biology and culture, natural and unnatural, fact and fiction the media language is founded on. How does the journalists’ choice of metaphors reflect what is seen as natural, biological and scientific in our society. The importance of fiction is also studied in an analysis of how the movie ”Jurassic Park” is used as a metaphor in news reports – and how the borderline between fact and fiction is blurred. Metaphors are interesting to study because their messages guide the readers’ or listeners’ associations in a specific direction. The metaphors can be seen as both reflecting and affecting the culture. The media texts are analyzed as expressions of discourses. They are characterized by an intertextuality – how texts from different genres refer to each other – which also gives the narratives a certain meaning. The texts are also characterized by interdiscoursivity – an interplay between different norms and discourses. This interdiscoursivity leads to changing or confirmation of the discourses. By studying how discourses meet and interplay it is possible to avoid getting stranded in steraotypes pattern of thinking in either journalism or genetics. By analyzing interactions between practices, norms and texts, it is possible to look beyond scientific stereotypes and visualize new emerging patterns. (Less)
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Under 1990-talet fick gentekniken sitt verkliga genombrott – både forskningsmässigt och i människors medvetande. Medierna rapporterade nästan varje vecka om nya forskningsgenombrott. Klonade djur, lokaliserade gener, förhoppningar om nya läkemedel och larmrapporter om genförändrad mat är några exempel på vad de svenska massmedierna har berättat om gentekniken under 1990-talet. Avhandlingen Dagens Gennyheter syftar till att analysera dessa mediala berättelser i förhållande till den kontext de har producerats i. Här visas att tidningars, tv:s och radios rapportering av genetisk forskning inte bara presenterar fakta. Här förmedlas också en rad föreställningar om genteknikens risker och möjligheter,... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Under 1990-talet fick gentekniken sitt verkliga genombrott – både forskningsmässigt och i människors medvetande. Medierna rapporterade nästan varje vecka om nya forskningsgenombrott. Klonade djur, lokaliserade gener, förhoppningar om nya läkemedel och larmrapporter om genförändrad mat är några exempel på vad de svenska massmedierna har berättat om gentekniken under 1990-talet. Avhandlingen Dagens Gennyheter syftar till att analysera dessa mediala berättelser i förhållande till den kontext de har producerats i. Här visas att tidningars, tv:s och radios rapportering av genetisk forskning inte bara presenterar fakta. Här förmedlas också en rad föreställningar om genteknikens risker och möjligheter, om vad som är naturligt och onaturligt, förhållandet mellan arv och miljö samt vetenskapens trovärdighet. Första delen av avhandlingen fokuserar de aktörer som påverkar de mediala texterna. Diskussion förs t.ex. kring vilken betydelse vetenskapsjournalistiska ideal och rutiner har för de massmediala berättelserna, hur intentionerna att vara en snabb nyhetsförmedlare och en objektiv pedagog ibland krockar. Även utomstående aktörer, i form av ett handikappförbund och genetiker, spelar stor roll för hur medietexterna ser ut. Deras relationer till medierna, och deras strategier för att ta sig in på den mediala arenan analyseras, liksom vad de olika kategorierna får representera i massmedia. Den andra delen av avhandlingen uppehåller sig vid att undersöka vilka kulturella föreställningar och normer som ligger till grund för mediernas språkliga framställningar – hur valet av metaforer speglar synen på vad som är naturligt och onaturligt, ett resultat av arv eller miljö. Fiktionens betydelse för hur framförallt kloning beskrivs i medierna diskuteras också utifrån en analys av hur filmen Jurassic Park används som metafor i nyhetsrapporteringen. Metaforerna är intressanta att studera eftersom deras innebörd styr läsarnas tankar och uppfattningar om gener och genteknik i en viss riktning – dvs. de fungerar både som en spegel och som påverkare. Medietexterna analyseras som uttryck för diskurser. De präglas av en intertextualitet – dvs. att texter från olika genrer hänvisar till varandra för att förstärka eller fjärma sig från viss uppfattning. Texterna präglas också av en interdiskursivitet, ett normsamspel där olika normer och föreställningar möts – och reproduceras eller förändras. Genom att studera hur diskurser möts och samverkar undviker man att fastna i ett schablonmässigt tänkande kring vare sig genetik eller journalistisk. Genom att se på samspelet mellan praktiker, normer och texter framträder nya mönster än gamla stereotyper. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/20720
- author
- Ideland, Malin LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- PhD Fjell, Tove Ingeborg
- organization
- publishing date
- 2002
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Medical technology, Media, Genetik, cytogenetics, Genetics, Medicin, Cloning, Natural/Unnatural, Risk/Possibility, Nature/Nurture, Fact/Fiction, Journalistic Narrations, Metaphor, Interdiscourse, Intertextuality, Discourse, Gene Technology, Press and communication sciences, Media, Medicinsk teknik, Medicin, Journalistik, kommunikation, cytogenetik
- pages
- 224 pages
- publisher
- Nordic Academic Press
- defense location
- Stora hörsalen, Palaestra, Lund
- defense date
- 2002-05-31 10:15:00
- external identifiers
-
- other:ISRN: LUFHDA/HFET-01/1046--SE
- ISBN
- 91-89116-39-9
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 820219e4-7297-4edc-a4e4-a10a93ad743c (old id 20720)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 10:53:04
- date last changed
- 2021-05-27 16:39:27
@phdthesis{820219e4-7297-4edc-a4e4-a10a93ad743c,
abstract = {{During the 1990’s gene technology got a break-through – both as a science and in people’s consciousness. Media reported frequently about scientific breakthroughs. Cloned animals, localized genes, hopes of new medicines and alarming reports on genetically modified food are a few examples on what Swedish mass media has reported on gene technology during the decade. The aim of the dissertation ”Dagens Gennyheter. Hur massmedier berättar om genetik och genteknik” (”Gene News of Today. How Mass Media Talks about Genetics and Gene Technology”) is to analyze how the reporting not only reflects facts, but also the contexts in which the texts are produced. The narratives convey messages of what is natural and unnatural, the relationship between nature and nurture, the risks of gene technology and the credibility of science. The first part of the dissertation focuses actors who have influence on the media narratives. Here I discuss, for example, what meaning ideals and routines for science journalism have for the texts, how the intentions to be a fast news reporter and an objective educationist sometimes collide. Also people outside the media world play an important part in the construction of media narratives. Here I illustrate the meaning of outsiders by analyzing the relationship between media and representantives for a handicap organization (The Swedish Association of Neurologically Disabled) and for genetic research. The outsiders’ strategies to enter the medial arena are studied, as well as how these two categories are described in mass media. The second part of the dissertation deals with which discourses about biology and culture, natural and unnatural, fact and fiction the media language is founded on. How does the journalists’ choice of metaphors reflect what is seen as natural, biological and scientific in our society. The importance of fiction is also studied in an analysis of how the movie ”Jurassic Park” is used as a metaphor in news reports – and how the borderline between fact and fiction is blurred. Metaphors are interesting to study because their messages guide the readers’ or listeners’ associations in a specific direction. The metaphors can be seen as both reflecting and affecting the culture. The media texts are analyzed as expressions of discourses. They are characterized by an intertextuality – how texts from different genres refer to each other – which also gives the narratives a certain meaning. The texts are also characterized by interdiscoursivity – an interplay between different norms and discourses. This interdiscoursivity leads to changing or confirmation of the discourses. By studying how discourses meet and interplay it is possible to avoid getting stranded in steraotypes pattern of thinking in either journalism or genetics. By analyzing interactions between practices, norms and texts, it is possible to look beyond scientific stereotypes and visualize new emerging patterns.}},
author = {{Ideland, Malin}},
isbn = {{91-89116-39-9}},
keywords = {{Medical technology; Media; Genetik; cytogenetics; Genetics; Medicin; Cloning; Natural/Unnatural; Risk/Possibility; Nature/Nurture; Fact/Fiction; Journalistic Narrations; Metaphor; Interdiscourse; Intertextuality; Discourse; Gene Technology; Press and communication sciences; Media; Medicinsk teknik; Medicin; Journalistik; kommunikation; cytogenetik}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Nordic Academic Press}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Dagens Gennyheter : Hur massmedier berättar om genetik och genteknik}},
year = {{2002}},
}