Dirty lives, wild birds, clean places, and exceptional health: a critical discourse analysis of Danish and Norwegian news coverage of avian influenza risk

Abstract

Avian influenza outbreaks are recurring worldwide. In Norwegian and Danish media, fluctuating attention has been paid to these outbreaks and the coverage that exists largely portrays the situation as a distant problem, limited to so-called non-Western countries. In the present article, we have analysed news articles from two Norwegian and two Danish newspapers published in 2006/2008, 2017 and 2021 using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). By analysing linguistic articulations of risk and blame for avian influenza in Norwegian and Danish media, we explore how this portrayal creates discursive distinctions between risk and blame ‘here’ in Europe and ‘there’ in Asian and African countries. We discuss these discursive contrasts in light of Bergamo’s theory of ideology of health progress and Douglas’ understanding of hygiene as cultural ideas. Our analysis reveals that dominant portrayals of avian influenza in the news media construct particular discourses of blame, risk, and responsibility for disease emergence and spread that are ideologically underpinned by an understanding of disease management, meat production, and animal health in Norway and Denmark as exceptional. We argue that this may have implications for perceptions of places at risk of emergence and spread of viruses and the nature of responses for pandemic preparedness and disease eradication.