The mediated construction of “woke”: Emerging discourses and primary definers in the Flemish press

Abstract

From 2021, “woke” became an omnipresent term in Flemish public debate. In this paper, we explore how the mainstream press contributed to the emergence and construction of discourses on wokeness. First, we ask how the topic of “woke” reached the media agenda in Flanders. Second, we analyze the respective role of journalists and their sources in constructing discourses on “wokeness”, drawing on the notions of “primary” and “secondary definers” . We collected all newspaper articles mentioning “woke” in four newspapers for 6 months from 2021 to 2023. After a preliminary quantitative content analysis, we conducted a discourse analysis to identify the themes and terminology associated with woke as well as the key (journalistic and non-journalistic) actors talking about it. This allowed us to, first, reconstruct a timeline of the emerging discourses on woke; and second, to identify underlying discursive and journalistic patterns. The chronological analysis disclosed how a few “critical discourse moments” put woke on the media agenda. In each instance, an elite person created a stir, drawing attention to the (supposed) threat of “wokeness”. Woke was generally framed negatively as a “movement” threatening freedom of speech. Although journalists aimed to provide a balanced view and many op-eds offered counterarguments, the mainstream press did give a broad platform to actors deliberately instrumentalizing woke for (often political) purposes. By responding to anti-woke voices and not taking a side, most journalists did take over and reconfirm the framing of “woke” as a movement and threat proposed by elite primary definers.