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Topic Modeling Uncovers Shifts in Media Framing of the German Renewable Energy Act

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  • Dehler-Holland, Joris
  • Schumacher, Kira
  • Fichtner, Wolf

Abstract

Renewable energy policies have been recognized as a cornerstone in the transition toward low-emission energy systems. Media reports are an important variable in the policy-making process, interrelating politicians and the public. To understand the changes in media framing of a pioneering renewable energy support act, we collected 6,645 articles from five Germany-wide newspapers between 2000 and 2017 on the German Renewable Energy Act. We developed a structural topic model based on a change-point analysis to assess the temporal patterns of newspaper coverage. We introduced the notion of topic sentiment to elucidate the emotional content of topics. The results show that after its enactment, optimism about renewable energies dominated the media agenda. After 2012, however, the Renewable Energy Act was more associated with its costs. Such shifts in renewable energy policy framing may limit political leverage to reach ambitious climate and energy targets.

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  • Dehler-Holland, Joris & Schumacher, Kira & Fichtner, Wolf, 2021. "Topic Modeling Uncovers Shifts in Media Framing of the German Renewable Energy Act," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 2(1).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:233529
    DOI: 10.1016/j.patter.2020.100169
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    Cited by:

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    2. Xiao, Lin & Guan, Yuru & Guo, Yaqin & Xue, Rui & Li, Jiashuo & Shan, Yuli, 2022. "Emission accounting and drivers in 2004 EU accession countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    3. So-Yun Jeong & Jae-Wook Kim & Han-Young Joo & Young-Seo Kim & Joo-Hyun Moon, 2021. "Development and Application of a Big Data Analysis-Based Procedure to Identify Concerns about Renewable Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-13, August.
    4. Park, Eunhye & Park, Jinah & Hu, Mingming, 2021. "Tourism demand forecasting with online news data mining," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
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    6. Kang, Inje & Yang, Jiseong & Lee, Wonjae & Seo, Eun-Yeong & Lee, Duk Hee, 2023. "Delineating development trends of nanotechnology in the semiconductor industry: Focusing on the relationship between science and technology by employing structural topic model," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Astrid Artner-Nehls & Sandra Uthes & Jana Zscheischler & Peter H. Feindt, 2022. "How the Agricultural Press Addresses the Slurry–Water Nexus: A Text Mining Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    8. Evangelia Karasmanaki & Evangelos Grigoroudis & Spyridon Galatsidas & Georgios Tsantopoulos, 2023. "Satisfaction with Media Information about Renewable Energy Investments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-15, July.
    9. Raphael Moser & Chun Xia-Bauer & Johannes Thema & Florin Vondung, 2021. "Solar Prosumers in the German Energy Transition: A Multi-Level Perspective Analysis of the German ‘ Mieterstrom ’ Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.
    10. Armin Razmjoo & Mostafa Rezaei & Seyedali Mirjalili & Meysam Majidi Nezhad & Giuseppe Piras, 2021. "Development of Sustainable Energy Use with Attention to Fruitful Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-17, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    renewable energy policy; German energy transition; attention cycle; newspaper content analysis; framing; structural topic model; text mining; natural language processing; sentiment analysis; time-series analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
    • C8 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs
    • H23 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Externalities; Redistributive Effects; Environmental Taxes and Subsidies
    • L50 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - General
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O38 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Government Policy
    • Q42 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Alternative Energy Sources
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy

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