Pieter Maeseele

University of Antwerp, Communication Studies, Faculty Member

Followers

Following

Co-authors

Public Views

Pieter Maeseele (PhD Ghent University) is Research Professor at the Department of Communication Studies of the University of Antwerp (Belgium). As media sociologist, his research and teaching focuses on Media & Democracy, and more specifically on the contribution of public discourse to democratic debate and citizenship. The role of ideology and de/politicization, and their influence on pluralism, are central concerns. Current and past research efforts center on scientific and environmental issues as well as political and economic developments, such as climate change, energy, austerity policies and protests, new political and social movements, ethical consumption, GM good, etc. Furthermore, he holds expertise in putting up media monitors on social issues.

Nationally, he is a member of the research group Media, Policy & Culture (UA) and an affiliated member of Society & Environment (UA) and the Centre for Cinema and Media Studies (CIMS - UGent). Internationally, he is Chair of IAMCR's Environment, Science and Risk Communication Working Group, Vice-Chair of ECREA's Science and Environment Communication Section, member of the Scientific Committee of the PCST Network and the Steering Committtee of the Belgian STS Network, and founding member of both the International Environmental Communication Association (IECA). He is also member of the editorial board of the journals Science Communication and Journal of Science Communication, the Palgrave Studies in Environmental Communication book series, and the ICA Outstanding Article Award Committee.
Address: Sint-Jacobstraat 2, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium

less

InterestsView All (13)

Uploads

Papers by Pieter Maeseele

In objectivity we trust? Pluralism, consensus, and ideology in journalism studies

Journalism

This article starts from the observation that the concept of objectivity, along with its twin sen... more This article starts from the observation that the concept of objectivity, along with its twin sentries ‘balance’ and ‘impartiality’, is generally regarded as a cornerstone of journalism and, consequently, of journalism research. The aim of this article is to show that the analytical ideal of objectivity, instead of enabling, in fact inhibits media pluralism research. The first section focuses on unveiling the ideological nature of this ideal by relating it both socio-historically and analytically to a post-ideological and consensual understanding of society. Since we find this ideal only allowing for the evaluation of journalism within the limits of social consensus (pluralism ‘within the box’), the second section seeks for alternative analytical concepts to evaluate journalism about and beyond the limits of social consensus (pluralism ‘outside the box’). To illustrate the difference between both approaches, the popular concept of partisan media bias is juxtaposed to the alternative framework of de/politicization.

In Flanders Fields: De/politicization and Democratic Debate on a GM Potato Field Trial Controversy in News Media

by Pieter Maeseele, Laurens van der Steen, Robin Reul, and Steve Paulussen

Environmental Communication

In May 2011, a highly mediatized direct action in the form of a “field liberation” took place in ... more In May 2011, a highly mediatized direct action in the form of a “field liberation” took place in Flanders, Belgium, against a field trial of genetically modified potatoes. This direct action and its aftermath revealed the conflictual and antagonistic nature of the genetically modified organisms debate in Flanders. Consequently, it serves as a particularly suitable case to investigate the post-political thesis with regard to environmental discourse and politics. The aim of this paper is to investigate in what ways news media in their reporting contribute to processes of depoliticization and, resultantly, impede a democratic debate on the issues at stake. This paper attempts to provide an answer to this question based on a critical discourse analysis of the reporting by Flanders’ two generalist, elite newspapers, De Standaard and De Morgen and the alternative online news site DeWereldMorgen. The findings reveal the existence of three ideological cultures, which are characterized by different degrees of de/politicization. We conclude by discussing how this study adds to our understanding of the relation between the depoliticization of environmental discourse, democratic debate and twenty-first-century news media.

The risk conflicts perspective: mediating environmental change we can believe in

Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society

Starting from a perspective of democratic politics, this essay argues that the problem lies not i... more Starting from a perspective of democratic politics, this essay argues that the problem lies not in any “unjustified” politicization of risk controversies; quite to the contrary, it lies in their depoliticization or their capture in a postpolitical consensus. To this end, the prevailing storylines in public discourse on risk controversies are shown to be based on invalid assumptions regarding nature and science and on exclusionary mechanisms. In response, the risk conflicts perspective is put forward as an analytical framework, which allows us to evaluate mediated public discourse on the extent to which democratic debate and citizenship are facilitated. For the fields of science and environment communication, this entails a shift in emphasis from a focus on the epistemic level to the level of the political. We conclude by discussing the potential transformative impacts of this perspective for academic research, public discourse, as well as the directly involved social actors, in relation to the controversies in question.

Audience motivations to donate: the case of the Catalan telethon'La Marató de TV3'

by Stijn Joye and Pieter Maeseele

Abstract Although Spain was in the midst of an economic and financial crisis, the 2010 edition of... more

Changing Patterns of Media Use Across Cultures: A Challenge for Longitudinal Research

by Klaus Jensen, Hilde Van den Bulck, Uwe Hasebrink, and Pieter Maeseele

International Journal of Communication

This article places the 2013 European audience survey in the wider historical context of the ongo... more This article places the 2013 European audience survey in the wider historical context of the ongoing societal appropriation of digital media. To better understand longitudinal changes in the patterns of media use, the article compares the technological, industrial, and cultural factors that, together, shape the observable patterns of media use. Because Internet diffusion does not occur at exactly the same time in all countries, comparisons of audiences across the nine countries of the survey can be interpreted in terms of changes over time. The article, further, reports longitudinal evidence from Belgium, Denmark, and Germany, which sheds additional light on current changes at the country level. Building on these findings, the article finally addresses key challenges for future longitudinal research on media use across cultures.

The energy question in the Belgian daily press during 2010: the role of region, newspaper type and newspaper section

by karel deneckere, Steve Paulussen, and Pieter Maeseele

The literature illustrates how media research on the energy question is characterized by a limite... more The literature illustrates how media research on the energy question is characterized by a limited focus on separate energy options, resulting in a lack of research into the diversity of and mutual relations between various energy options. This paper reports on a quantitative content analysis of eight Belgian newspapers (N=1181), focusing on whether certain energy options are systematically more covered in certain regions, types of newspapers and/or types of newspaper sections. The results show that five energy options dominate the debate and that there are minimal differences per region, but remarkable differences between types of newspapers and
newspaper sections.

Download

Media, pluralism & democracy: what’s in a name?

by Pieter Maeseele and Danielle Raeijmaekers

Media pluralism has become a buzzword in both public, political and academic discourse. However, ... more Media pluralism has become a buzzword in both public, political and academic discourse. However, it is generally unclear what is meant by referring to pluralistic media content or how pluralistic media should operate within democratic societies. The goal of this paper is to distinguish between different conceptual and normative assumptions about media, pluralism and democracy, that demarcate the limits of analysis on media pluralism. Based on a discussion of three different schools of democracy with their corresponding media roles (the liberal, deliberative and agonistic democracy schools), we derive two fault lines which allow us to distinguish four approaches to media pluralism. These approaches imply a different interpretation of its meaning and the standards by which it should be researched.

Beyond the post-political zeitgeist

In Hansen & Cox (eds) A Handbook of Environment and Communication. Routledge, 2014

This chapter calls for a reorientation of research aims in the field of environment and communica... more This chapter calls for a reorientation of research aims in the field of environment and communication towards the social roles of media in liberal democratic societies and the relationship between media(ted) discourses, power and democratic politics. More specifically, the risk conflicts-perspective is put forward as an analytical framework which allows to draw conclusions on the contribution of public discourse(s) to facilitating democratic debate. Drawing from the literature on agonistic democracy and post-politics, a politicization of academic discourse is found to be a primary factor in accommodating research designs to reveal processes of de/politicization in public discourse.

Pluralism and Flemish news media: the (hot) potato of the future

by Pieter Maeseele, Danielle Raeijmaekers, Robin Reul, and Steve Paulussen

Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap 42(4), 2014

A critical discourse analysis of the reporting on a direct action against a field trial of geneti... more A critical discourse analysis of the reporting on a direct action against a field trial of genetically modified potatoes by two Flemish quality newspapers and one alternative online news site not only points out that the level of ideological pluralism in media is dependent on the social issue in question, but also allows to draw conclusions on the potential boundaries of social debate in a commercial newspaper landscape.

News media, democratic debate and ideological cultures [Nieuwsmedia, democratisch debat en ideologische culturen]

In: Media, Democratie & Identiteit, by Biltereyst, Van Bauwel & Joye (eds), 2015

Enorme democratische uitdagingen en een hernieuwde belangstelling voor ideologie roepen klassieke... more Enorme democratische uitdagingen en een hernieuwde belangstelling voor ideologie roepen klassieke vragen op in verband met de maatschappelijke rol van media in democratische samenlevingen en de relatie tussen media, macht en democratie. Met maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen als ontzuiling van het medialandschap en depolitisering van het politieke discours als achtergrond, levert dit hoofdstuk een bijdrage aan dit debat. Hiertoe wordt een analytisch kader ontwikkeld om na te gaan hoe de beeldvorming door nieuwsmedia kan geëvalueerd worden op de mate waarin democratisch debat en burgerschap worden bevorderd of beperkt met betrekking tot diverse maatschappelijke vraagstukken. Dit wordt vervolgens geïllustreerd aan de hand van recent onderzoek naar de berichtgeving door Vlaamse nieuwsmedia over de federale regeringsonderhandelingen van 2010-2011. Het hoofdstuk besluit met enkele beschouwingen over (onderzoek naar) de relatie tussen Vlaamse nieuwsmedia en democratisch debat in de 21ste eeuw.

Ideological pluralism in Flemish news media outlets: the Belgian government formation 2010-2011

by Pieter Maeseele and Danielle Raeijmaekers

On the basis of a critical discourse analysis of four crisis moments during the Belgian governmen... more On the basis of a critical discourse analysis of four crisis moments during the Belgian government formation 2010-2011, this paper aims to reveal the ideological assumptions and preferences in the editorializing coverage of four Flemish news media outlets, with a specific focus on the ethnic-linguistic and socio-economic fault line. The analysis demonstrates a certain level of ideological pluralism between the selected newspapers on the one hand and an alternative online news medium on the other, by distinguishing two ideological cultures, respectively characterized by depoliticizing and politicizing discursive strategies.

Climate struggle? News coverage of climate change during the Cancùn climate summit in Flemish quality newspapers

by Pieter Maeseele and Danielle Raeijmaekers

Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap, 2014

This paper reports on the results of a qualitative content analysis of climate change coverage by... more This paper reports on the results of a qualitative content analysis of climate change coverage by two Flemish quality newspapers in the context of the Cancún climate summit. Important similarities as well as differences were found between both newspapers in terms of underlying assumptions regarding international relations .

Democratic debate and mediated discourses on climate change: from consensus to de/politicization

Starting from a risk conflicts-perspective, this paper challenges two common assumptions of exist... more Starting from a risk conflicts-perspective, this paper challenges two common assumptions of existing research on climate change in public and media discourses. It argues that the evaluation of these discourses on the extent to which these either accurately reflect a scientific consensus or contribute to achieving social consensus insufficiently takes account of the exclusionary mechanisms it starts from. A conceptual and empirical framework is subsequently put forward which allows to evaluate mediated discourses on the extent to which democratic debate and citizenship are encouraged, by revealing the discursive strategies underlying processes of politicization and de-politicization. This perspective is illustrated by an analysis of a local case study: the ‘Sing for the Climate’-campaign. We conclude by discussing the potential of this perspective for taking media studies on climate change to the next level.

Risk conflicts, critical discourse analysis and media discourses on GM crops and food

As techno-environmental controversies increasingly confront us with tremendous democratic challen... more As techno-environmental controversies increasingly confront us with tremendous democratic challenges, it is imperative to investigate which discursive strategies and processes in media discourses facilitate or impede democratic debate and citizenship. This paper puts forward an approach combining the risk-conflicts perspective with the analytical framework of critical discourse analysis to analyse how two Belgian elite newspapers discursively (re-)define and interpret four controversial events in the debate on genetically modified crops and food. The analysis identifies two distinct ideological cultures. Driven by an unproblematized idea of scientific consensus, one ideological culture is found to repeatedly take up the defence of the status quo and to continuously enact processes of de-politicization to impede democratic debate. The other is found to facilitate democratic debate by repeatedly challenging existing power relations, in terms of revealing competing sets of assumptions, values and interests underlying opposing responses to scientific uncertainty.

On media and science in late modern societies

Communication Yearbook 37 , 2013

This literature review of the ‘media and science’-field identifies a traditional and an alternati... more This literature review of the ‘media and science’-field identifies a traditional and an alternative media-sociological approach and reflects on how two structural developments in late modern societies with important consequences for understanding the relationship between science and the public sphere - reflexive scientization and the commercialization of science - influence the performance and strategic use of both approaches. Finally, as the literature review reveals how successfully the institution of science has adapted to the mediatisation of society in terms of a relatively effective control of its public image, this paper concludes by calling for a rethinking of (a) the paradigm of science communication, (b) the role of science journalism, and (c) the aims and methods of (science) communication research.

Communication, media and genetically modified food : a politicized reading

The recent horsemeat scandal raises many important questions about technological developments in ... more The recent horsemeat scandal raises many important questions about technological developments in food production. First discussed is why food production and consumption practices should be recognized as late modern risks and which analytical perspective in the domain of media and science is called for to study related food communication and media practices. However, since many democratic challenges arise, a perspective is put forward that draws on several studies of genetically modified food and enables an evaluation of public and media discourses and the extent to which they contribute to democratic debate. More specifically, discussed is how a politicized reading illustrates the extent to which there is a struggle between politicization and de-politicization processes in these discourses, illustrating the ideological nature of communication practices on food. Particular attention will be devoted to the role of arguments about science in discursive practices and the strategies that characterize these discourses.

Bio-objects political capacity : a research agenda

by Pieter Maeseele and Ine Van Hoyweghen

This article explores the merits of foregrounding the dichotomy of politicization vs de-politici... more This article explores the merits of foregrounding
the dichotomy of politicization vs de-politicization for our
understanding of bio-objects in order to study their production,
circulation, and governance in European societies.
By asking how bio-objects are configured in science, policy,
public, and media discourses and practices, we focus
on the role of socio-technical configurations in generating
political relations. The bio-object thereby serves as an entry
point to approach and conceptualize “the political” in
an innovative way.

Bio-objects and the media: the role of communication in bio-objectification processes

The representation of biological innovations in and through communication and media practices is ... more The representation of biological innovations in and through communication and media practices is vital for understanding the nature of "bio-objects" and the process we call "bio-objectification.' This paper discusses two ideal-typical analytical approaches based on different underlying communication models, ie, the traditional (science- and media-centered) and media sociological (a multi-layered process involving various social actors in defining the meanings of scientific and technological developments) approach. In this analysis, the latter is not only found to be the most promising approach for understanding the circulation, (re)production, and (re)configuration of meanings of bio-objects, but also to interpret the relationship between media and science. On the basis of a few selected examples, this paper highlights how media function as a primary arena for the (re)production and (re)configuration of scientific and biomedical information with regards to bio-objects in the public sphere in general, and toward decision-makers, interest groups, and the public in specific.

Social media and old routines: the role of social media in the TV news coverage of the Arab Spring

by Pieter Maeseele and Steve Paulussen

This study investigates the use of social media as a source of information for Belgian broadcast ... more This study investigates the use of social media as a source of information for Belgian broadcast journalists covering the Arab Spring in 2011. We conducted a content analysis of the 7 o'clock news on the Flemish public broadcasting channel Een and its commercial competitor VTM, from January 1st till March 31st. We found that user-generated content from YouTube contributed to 30% of all news items about the Arab Spring, while 8% of the news items referred to social media other than YouTube. Interviews with four foreign news editors confirm the growing importance of social media for newsgathering despite the professional prudence with respect to the veracity of user-generated content. At the same time, however, the increased use and visibility of social media in the foreign news does not seem to affect the dominance of institutional sources, such as major news agencies Reuters and APTN and international media like BBC and CNN. The study concludes that conventional routines and standards of professional gatekeeping shape the use of social media in contemporary journalism.

Lost in representation, A discourse analysis of Japan and the Japanese in the Dutch television show 'Wie is de Mol'

by Pieter Maeseele and Stijn Joye

In 2010 the popular Dutch reality television show ‘Wie is de Mol?’ took ten Dutch celebrities to ... more In 2010 the popular Dutch reality television show ‘Wie is de Mol?’ took ten Dutch celebrities to Japan. Applying discourse analysis, this article explores the representation of Japan and its culture as portrayed in the show. Building upon theories about Orientalism and cultural stereotypes, the study illustrates that the programme provides a fairly balanced and nuanced depiction of Japan. This is in part due to the nature of the programme, which mainly revolves around the candidates and uses the country as an ‘interactive background’. However, the show does largely follow the Orientalist representational paradigm of depicting Japan, as the programme needs to provide images and narratives that are recognizable to Dutch viewers of whom most are not familiar with Japan. Stereotypes and clichés are therefore used, but often in innovative and playful ways. It is argued that popular television shows can influence and shape ideas and images of other countries.

Pieter Maeseele

Uploads

Papers by Pieter Maeseele

Log In