Page 193 - Communication and Citizenship Journalism and the Public Sphere
P. 193
182 COMMUNICATION AND CITIZENSHIP
item on a historical subject matter, which may suggest that class
difference is a familiar aspect of experience that is mobilized to account
for unfamiliar topics. Class difference is referred to, for example, as an
explanation for a turn of events in El Salvador, where, among others,
President Duarte’s daughter who had been taken hostage by the guerilla
resistance was exchanged for imprisoned guerillas. One interviewee had
the following explanation for why this particular exchange came about:
‘when it’s people high up, things can always be arranged.’ Thus, in the
Danish sample, class may be one level in the conceptualization of
politics and society. It is interesting, if not entirely unexpected, that this
conceptualization is not as prevalent in the American sample.
Class as a powerful other was alluded to in the American case
through the mention of wealthy people having more say in government:
You can’t fight city hall. You can’t get at those, uh, the big money
people. You cannot get at those big money people. This is
something we all talk about—all these big issues, but, uh, when it
comes right down to it, there’s just a few that have a, a lotta say.
While the references to class are outweighed by the powerful others of
government and God in the American sample, it would be most relevant
for further comparative research to examine the
specific conceptualizations of economic and political power structures
in different national contexts.
Economics
In the American sample, economics was one of two themes that did not
appear as separate conceptualizations in the Danish interviews; the
other American theme addressed human impact in various respects.
Many interviewees in the American sample used an economic theme
to discuss one or more of the issues. The economic theme was
expressed in terms of costs, profits and in connection to the US or world
economy. The American respondents often remarked on the economic
utility of an issue: was it worth the money, would our money be better
spent elsewhere? For example, one respondent noted the link between
the cost of SDI and the current health of the US economy:
Well, I think as a dollar and cents issue, it’s sort of important.
Because, if we don’t spend the money on it, we have the