Browsing by Subject "framing"

The societal goals of decoupling from fossil energy have made the energy transition a subject of common public discussion. Especially the onset of the conflict in Ukraine accelerated media coverage on the topic, as it became apparent that importing fossil energy from Russia was financing the conflict. Simultaneously, Europe was rapidly attempting to adapt to phase out fossil energy imports from Russia. The onset of the conflict offers an interesting opportunity to study the energy transition. The data chosen for the study included 139 articles about the energy transition. Articles are published by a Finnish national online media for one year period after the onset of the conflict. The aim of this media analysis was to assess the relationship between citizens and the energy transition, and to identify actors and actions portrayed in the data. A system based on renewable energy is utilizing multiple different technologies and energy sources. This kind of diversity and variable nature of the system requires active citizen participation and increased awareness of their own energy consumption. Citizens are also potentially playing an important role as producers of renewable energy and in providing the flexibility required by the system. It is assumed that the data used in the study is influencing citizens' perceptions of the energy transition and their role within it. The study was conducted using mixed methodology approach and includes both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the data. The quantitative overview was conducted by categorizing the actors and actions within the data, while quantitative quota was focusing on the content about citizen by using frame analysis. The content addressing citizens formed six thematic main frames: economic, political, social, environmental, technological and innovation. For each main frame, subframes describing actions were also developed. Based on the results, the energy transition belongs primarily to experts and political and economic actors, also the roles suitable for citizens are addressed insufficiently. The relationship between the energy transition and the citizen is based on economic factors. Agency based on consumption choices is restricting and outsourcing citizens from the active participatory roles. In conclusion, the content produced by the media does not support an effective and equitable societal transition.

The 2022 energy crisis heightened concerns about energy sufficiency. In response, Finland launched a nationwide energy-saving campaign, Astetta alemmas, to encourage Finns to take concrete and effortless energy-saving actions in their daily lives. The aim of this thesis was to analyze which energy-saving behaviors the media emphasize in the campaign and how the campaign messages are framed in the media. The analysis of media response was chosen because there is a lack of this type of study related to energy-saving campaigns. The data consisted of 94 news articles collected from the five national online news media from October 1st to December 31st, 2022. The data was analyzed using frame and content analysis. The analysis was based on a pre-determined theoretical framework consisting of nine energy-saving and general news frames: economic, social, environmental, personal, moral, health, conflict, responsibility, and human-interest frames. In addition, two new frames were recognized from the data. The energy-saving behaviors found were classified as curtailment and efficiency behaviors. The campaign was portrayed as an opportunity to save money through effortless energy-saving measures such as lowering the room temperature. Most of these actions were categorized as curtailment behaviors. The media showed the importance of individuals’ efforts to save energy in a society by emphasizing that saving energy has paid off and that new saving habits have become a routine part of daily life. On the other hand, energy-saving actions led to compromises in living standards, resulting in suffering and high electricity bills. The media portrayed the negative consequences by emphasizing conflicts and showing how far people are willing to go to save energy while risking their health. The impact on the environment was seen as a secondary principle. The crisis was a suitable moment for the media to highlight the importance of energy conservation. The campaign was well justified as a campaign of the whole nation, highlighted by solidarity and shared responsibility to save energy. Nevertheless, some of the tips given were targeted at specific households. The media raised a dichotomy by highlighting individuals as heroes or sufferers through their experiences. This is a novel contribution to previous studies. This dichotomy provides room for further studies that could focus on the people behind the news stories and the long-term effects of post-campaign energy-saving measures. This thesis provides initial insights into the media response to the Astetta alemmas campaign during the first three months and in specific news media, but the results cannot be generalized to the response of all news media during the campaign.