The Role of Media in the Process of Locating a
Nuclear Waste Disposal: The Case of Malå in Sweden.
O. Findahl, Dept. of Media and Communication,
Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden, e-mail
Olle.Findahl@medkom.umu.se
Everywhere
around the world the high intensive nuclear waste must be taken care of. In
Sweden it will be stored deep down in the bedrock. But where? Five rural
districts are under consideration. Two have already said no. One withdraw
quickly after popular mass protests and in the other community there was a 71 %
negative vote in a referendum. In both cases the mass media played a significant
role giving voice to the protesters against a storage. The next local district
in line is Malå a small community situated in the interior of the north of
Sweden. A preliminary examination of the conditions for a storage has been made
during the last two years and in September 1997 the 4000 inhabitants will vote
in a referendum, in favour or against a continuation of the examination.
A
prerequisite for a living democracy is a well informed public. The job of the
media is to help produce a more informed electorate. A more informed citizenship
that will create a better and fuller democracy. But how does it look like? What
is the role of the media?
Nearly
everyone in Mall watch television news every day and just as many read daily
their local newspaper. An excellent opportunity to inform the electorate. But
what did the newspaper write about and what was shown in television? What kind
of information did media offer the inhabitants in Malå? Did they give any
background and any explanations? Were there any critical examinations, or did
media only pass the information that they were given by the nuclear power
industry? Or did they exaggerate and focus mostly on protesters and dramatic
happenings? We have followed the news coverage of the public and the political
discussion about the prospected high intensive nuclear waste storage in the
north of Sweden, but let us start with the more general subject matter of media
and nuclear power. There is now a more than 25 year history of that relation.
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