The Anti-Fracking Movement in Ireland: Perspectives from the Media and Activists

ABSTRACT

This article explores social mobilization in the controversy over hydraulic fracturing (i.e. “fracking”) in Ireland from the perspectives of agenda setting in national and local Irish newspapers as well as framing by anti-fracking activists and journalists. We analysed all articles referencing hydraulic fracturing (and related terms) from 11 Irish national newspapers and 128 Irish local newspapers from April 2013 to April 2014, and interviewed 19 journalists, activists, and government officials affiliated with fracking issues in Ireland. Based on the analytical salience and resonance across prominent empirical themes in conjunction with theoretical insights, we conclude that social mobilization against fracking in Ireland is challenged by a frame war on the credibility of activists, diverse economic interests across national and local scales, and the need for procedural legitimacy in the contribution of science. In conclusion, this research demonstrates the importance of agenda setting and framing in structuring the capacity for social mobilization.

KEYWORDS:

• Fracking
• social movements
• framing
• media
• Ireland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The high-pressure injection of a mixture usually containing water, sand, and chemicals into shale beds to fracture rock and release fossil fuels, also known as fracking.

2. Authors note: After this article was accepted for publication, both houses of parliament voted to ban onshore fracking in Ireland (Fitzgerald, 2017).

3. Benford and Snow (2000) emphasize collective action and integrate these aspects as part of their theory on ‘collective action frames’ encompassing salience and resonance.

4. Highest newspaper circulation in Ireland: Irish Independent, 102,537; Irish Times, 72,011; The Sunday Times, 76,049; The Impartial Reporter, 13,472. See Audit Bureau of Circulations: www.abc.org.uk

5. All interviewees consented to being interviewed and quoted, but were promised partial anonymity in which only their affiliations would be used.

6. These quotes, based on our interview and media data, include forthright depictions of activists as well as those that could be more construed as satire, parody or irony.