Adapting to the postmodern medical paradigm: how The Daily Telegraph used emotion and anecdote to legitimise vaccination

Abstract

The postmodern medical paradigm is becoming increasingly relevant to vaccine communication. Government and health authorities pushing a pro-vaccine position often fall short in this climate due to a reliance unemotional and fact-based communication. The news media, however, often deviate from this norm by incorporating emotionality to legitimise vaccination. This article analyses how such emotionality manifests in pro-vaccination communication. Van Leeuwen’s typology of discursive legitimation strategies and Van Dijk’s ideological square were used to analyse The Daily Telegraph’s No Jab No Pay(Play) campaign. The findings demonstrate a primary intention to polarise, as this may justify financial sanctions against vaccine-hesitant parents. However, several identified strategies could be effective at reducing hesitancy in a postmodern medical discourse if adapted under such an intention. Notably, in generating concern through parental and motherhood figures rather than expert authorities, naturalising safety through evaluations rather than counter-rationalisations, and communicating risk through stories that provoke immediate visceral reactions.