Newspaper Framing of the Kudakulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil, Nadu

Abstract

The term ‘clean energy’ denotes a safe and reliable resource for the future needs of the people. At the end of the last decade, nuclear energy was promoted as a clean energy at the time that climate change came into dominant discourse. In fact, during the 2010 U.N. Copenhagen climate conference, nuclear energy was eulogised as green energy and as one of the best alternatives to fossil fuels. But the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, following the 11 March 2011 tsunami rekindled the debate on nuclear energy. Since the media have a major role in disseminating information on science and influencing public perceptions, the study analyses the framing of the Kudankulam nuclear power project issue in two major newspapers: The Hindu and The Times of India. The research found that episodic framing was used more in The Times of India than in The Hindu. Thematic framing was adopted by The Hindu than by The Times of India. The policy-oriented solutions stressed by the editorials were mainly about Indian nuclear projects, nuclear deal and demand for energy.