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effektene av den norske nyhetsdekning av de globale protestene i 1968

Authors

• Rolf Werenskjold

Abstract

Revolts on the Agenda! The Media effect of the Norwegian News Coverage of the Global Protests 1968

This article focuses on how the media news coverage of the global revolt influenced the public agenda in Norway in 1968. The effects of the media’s agenda and role in forming a public opinion in Norway – in its view on the radicalization of youth, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and the student demonstrations – are discussed, based on a study of several opinion polls published by Norsk Gallup in 1968. The results indicate that the news coverage was substantial enough to attract public attention and that the media agenda was transferred to the public agenda. It is still impossible to document that the media was the only source to form public opinion. Through frames the media contributed with an important vocabulary that simplified the understanding of the revolt as phenomenon. The media was, however, not the only source influencing the public opinion, also other factors contributed.