"PANDEMIC PARANOIA"? AN ANALYSIS OF THE COVERAGE OF THE SWINE FLU IN NORWEGIAN NEWSPAPERS

"PANDEMIC PARANOIA"? AN ANALYSIS OF THE COVERAGE OF THE SWINE FLU IN NORWEGIAN NEWSPAPERS The study analyzes how a selection of Norwegian newspapers represented the swine flu in two critical phases in 2009. The analysis suggests how the news coverage was one-dimensional. Little space was provided for critical perspectives. With some exceptions in the subscription-based Stavanger Aftenblad and Aftenposten, the newspapers barely included lay perspectives. Information from health authorities was amplified in a crisis discourse, a key function seemingly being to scare people into precautionary action. A rhetoric of fear was most pronounced in the tabloids Dagbladet and VG, whereas Aftenposten's coverage could appear as a confusing mixture of alarming and comforting messages. However, the analysis indicates how Stavanger Aftenblad in a different way than the other papers could represent lay persons as responsible citizens. To a greater extent, Stavanger Aftenblad's coverage lived up to dialogical ideals of risk communication and journalism.