Risk, health and the media

Abstract

This special issue on ‘Risk and the Media’ explores relationships between risk theory in the social sciences and media studies' analyses of risk. Arguing that attempts to bring these two ‘risk and media’ fields together have been only sporadic, the editors deliberately adopt a reflexive view. They draw attention to their different approaches, as sociological and media/cultural studies researchers, to the articles chosen here. They emphasise these articles' development of their fields, and suggest further theoretical links to be made. The editors hope, then, to suggest significant signposts in an interdisciplinary endeavour still with much progress to be made.

Keywords:

• the media
• risk theory
• risk society
• media studies

Notes

1. There are different national traditions of news reporting Grundmann and Krishnamurthy (2010, p. 127) argue, for example, that the ‘ritual of objectivity would lead US journalists to seek at least two viewpoints on a story, which in the case of climate change may mean giving equal weight to majority and fringe scientists (or even non scientists)’.

2. It is important to acknowledge that Luhmann's (1995) functionalism significantly differs from Parsonian approach. Parsons developed an analytical tool while Luhmann claims that social systems do exist. They have developed historically, for example, the economic system with the growing abstraction of values into money which enabled the current complex financial system to emerge which is mainly referring to itself and therefore highly autonomous from the rest of society. Other differences are that for Luhmann the future is highly uncertain. He is therefore closer to post-modern approaches. Luhmann's systems theory approach is radical constructivist assuming that the social consists of communications in the broadest sense.

3. For example, the ‘individualisation thesis’ combines the advantages of liberation from traditional bonding (class and gender institutions and norms) with the instabilities of more decision based existence and introduced the idea of ‘risky freedoms’. In his epistemological arguments regarding ‘risk’ he tries to bring together contradictory positions such as constructivism and realism.