Inclusion of “Useful” Detail in Newspaper Coverage of a High-Level Nuclear Waste Siting Controversy

Abstract

In nearly three of four opportunities, newspapers covering a local high-level nuclear waste siting controversy in Wisconsin provided enough enabling information (details about people, places or things) to enable readers to follow up on the information. However, in only one-fourth of the opportunities did newspapers provide such complete information that a reader could act immediately. This content analysis of 12 daily and weekly newspapers, combined with interviews with editors, also found that newspapers in less pluralistic communities provided a greater proportion of detailed enabling information in their stories than did papers in more pluralistic communities. Greater proportions of enabling information were also associated with legitimized sources and with editors who identified the siting issue as a major concern both to themselves and to their readers.