Unpacking the framing of energy supply security in the Swiss media

Abstract

Narratives related to the energy transition are expressed and conveyed through, among other channels, journalistic practice. As the energy context changes dynamically – for example, as geopolitical tensions such as the war in Ukraine pose risks to the supply chain – so do energy-related narratives, leading to observable shifts in media discourse, such as the resurgence of arguments in favour of nuclear power and its proponents in civil society. Framing – the selection and interweaving of some aspects of reality into narratives – is an inevitable part of communication and a key mechanism in how media discourses shape public perceptions. The analysis of respective framing processes in media is therefore crucial for a better understanding of societal discourses on the transformation of the energy system. In a SFOE-funded project we are conducting a qualitative content analysis of the media coverage (French and German) on the topic of energy supply security between January 2022 and January 2025, i.e., shortly before, during and after the energy crisis of winter 2022. Focusing on six Swiss media brands with significant opinion-forming potential and demographically diverse readership (20 Minuten/20minutes, srf.ch/rts.ch, NZZ/Le Temps) an extensive corpus of articles has been retrieved from the Swissdox database, manually coded and analysed. The main expected results include a typology of common media frames resulting from the identification and clustering of narrative patterns, and a mapping of actors and their roles with a focus on individual energy consumers. Our findings shed light on public perceptions and narratives around energy supply security issues in Switzerland.