"No Fracking Way!" Media Activism, Discursive Opportunity Structures, and Activism against Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States, 2009-2013

While a growing body of studies has investigated the role of framing in shaping social movement outcomes –as well as the moderation of frames’ resonance by discursive opportunities– relatively little research has examined how local community-level activism combines synergistically with national-level media activism in shaping the political outcomes of social movements. Moreover, research has yet to examine which factors influence both public and media discursive opportunity structures. Movements may be most effective in generating political change when local activism is combined with supportive mainstream media activism alongside favorable shifts in broader public discourse using social media. We use data from Google and Tweeter to track changes in public discourse, and data from newspapers to measure changes in media discourse on the controversial natural gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). We also use an original dataset of cities located in the Marcellus Shale region to examine the influence of media activism on the passage of local moratoria against fracking. This study contributes to the broader understanding of social movement outcomes while also providing insight into public controversies surrounding energy project and how movements reshape industries.  Assistant Professor Ion Bogdan Vasi, Department of Sociology will present "No Fracking Way!" Media Activism, Discursive Opportunity Structures, and Activism against Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States, 2009-2013.

The meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 25, at noon in the Commons (302) of Schaeffer Hall. Feel free to bring a brown bag lunch to the talk.

The University of Iowa Social Science Interdisciplinarty Group (SSIG) is intended to stimulate conversation and collaboration among social scientists on campus. The SSIG sponsors a colloquium each month featuring a speaker from one of the social science disciplines around campus.