Onderzoeksartikel

Media hypes: een theoretisch kader voor het analyseren van publiciteitsgolven

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Abstract

A sudden increase in news about for instance sexual abuse, corruption, flesh eating viruses or illegal immigrants might indicate that these social problems are getting worse, but in many cases something else is going on: the story has turned into a media hype. From that point on, news coverage on this subject seems to explode into a huge publicity wave, dominating front pages and sometimes causing fear or even a panic among the audience. Media hypes are the result of a complicated interaction between the media and the society in which they function. The author tries to define the concept of media hypes and makes a distinction between occasional, short term hypes and more structural publicity waves, reflecting changes in the social consensus. The framework developed in this article contains different theoretical tools for researching the different stages of a media hype.

How to Cite:

Vasterman, P., (1995) “Media hypes: een theoretisch kader voor het analyseren van publiciteitsgolven”, Massacommunicatie : Wetenschappelijk Kwartaaltijdschrift voor Communicatie en Informatie 23(3), 159–176.