Media Coverage of the Coalbed Methane (CBM) Controversy in Lorraine, Northeast France: How the Regional Daily Press Boosted the Social Acceptability of an Unpopular Project

Abstract

The regional daily press is often the first place where readers learn about controversies, especially concerning the environment. While these may appear to be circumscribed within a local geographical area, they may become issues of general interest because of the risks involved. How then does the press react when a controversy arises? That is the question that Marieke Stein asks, by analysing the media coverage of the project to extract coalbed methane (CBM) through hydraulic fracturing in Moselle, in the eastern region of Lorraine, France. Over a period of 12 years, from 2006 to 2018, a study of all articles published on the topic in the only local daily shows that the newspaper mainly supports the company, giving itself a great social responsibility in the way the controversy is brought to the public.