'A Light Out of this World': Awe, Anxiety, and Routinization in Early Nuclear Test Coverage, 1951–1953
| Autor: | Glen Feighery |
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| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | American Journalism. 28:9-34 |
| ISSN: | 2326-2486 0882-1127 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/08821127.2011.10677786 |
| Popis: | Above-ground atomic testing has long occupied an iconic place in twentieth-century history. The mushroom cloud was a symbol not only of the Cold War but also of promised advances in science and prosperity. An examination of 600 news articles and editorials from the early 1950s sheds light on how the tests were reported. Coverage of dozens of blasts at the Nevada Test Site reveals journalists struggling to make sense of a force that was simultaneously awe-inspiring, threatening, and routine. Accounts in national, state, and local newspapers convey a complex picture—some were enthusiastic boosters of nuclear testing, while others posed pointed questions about the health implications of radioactive fallout. The purpose of this research is to help understand reporting on atomic testing as a health and safety issue, not simply a political or military one. It complements earlier scholarship by suggesting that coverage was more influenced by news routines than by a reluctance to watchdog authority. It c... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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