The mediatization of health expertise: Health programmes on Danish public service television

TY - JOUR

T1 - The mediatization of health expertise

T2 - Health programmes on Danish public service television

AU - Christensen, Christa Lykke

PY - 2016/7

Y1 - 2016/7

N2 - This article concerns the Danish public service broadcaster, Danmark Radio, and the programmes on health it produced from 1990 to 2010. It applies a historical perspective and, methodologically, the study is based on a qualitative content analysis of selected health programmes. Theoretically, the article is informed by ‘mediatization’ theory and demonstrates how television influences changes to the discursive construction of Health and health expertise in factual programming in this 20-year period. The analysis demonstrates how early factual programmes were dominated by information on illness, medical treatment and care and communicated by medical experts and laypeople, whereas later programmes present health as an individual and entrepreneurial project that rapidly changes and improves the individual’s lifestyle with the help of all kinds of lifestyle experts.

AB - This article concerns the Danish public service broadcaster, Danmark Radio, and the programmes on health it produced from 1990 to 2010. It applies a historical perspective and, methodologically, the study is based on a qualitative content analysis of selected health programmes. Theoretically, the article is informed by ‘mediatization’ theory and demonstrates how television influences changes to the discursive construction of Health and health expertise in factual programming in this 20-year period. The analysis demonstrates how early factual programmes were dominated by information on illness, medical treatment and care and communicated by medical experts and laypeople, whereas later programmes present health as an individual and entrepreneurial project that rapidly changes and improves the individual’s lifestyle with the help of all kinds of lifestyle experts.

KW - Faculty of Humanities

KW - Health

KW - television

KW - mediatization

KW - lifestyle

KW - expertise

KW - DR

U2 - 10.1177/1749602016645771

DO - 10.1177/1749602016645771

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1749-6020

VL - 11

SP - 204

EP - 216

JO - Critical Studies in Television. The international journal of television studies

JF - Critical Studies in Television. The international journal of television studies

IS - 2

ER -