Seuchen, Ängste und Diskurse: Massenkommunikation als diskursives Rollenspiel

The subject of this book is the media coverage of avian flu (bird flu) in 2006. A large part of media coverage consists of reflection on the media contributions and their potential power, where one aspect stands out in particular: the effect of fear. This is accomplished by means of the two normative poles ‑ playing down the issue and scaremongering. The primary aim of the book is to explain all phenomena, and especially those that are contradictory at first glance. Here, referring to Foucault’s discourse concept, the key category of the discursive role is developed.