(Title of the Thesis)*

FALLING IN LINE: NEWS MEDIA AND PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE DURING THE 2009 H1N1 OUTBREAK IN CANADA by Shelley Aylesworth-Spink A thesis submitted to the Graduate Program in Cultural Studies In conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Queen’s University Kingston, Ontario, Canada April 2015 Copyright ©Shelley Aylesworth-Spink, 2015 i Abstract In this dissertation, I show how the high profile media story of a pandemic outbreak was a product of active societal agents and forces that fed off each other to shape, generate and exploit crises. Using media articles and interviews with public health leaders, public relations practitioners, and journalists who covered the 2009 H1N1 story in Canada, I combine media and communications studies, cultural studies and science and technology studies to explore how relevant social actors–in this case members of the media and public health officials–constructed the H1N1 pandemic as a public health crisis. I argue that the media used the circumstance of widespread health danger to invigorate their role and importance in the public sphere, to produce what they saw as sound discourse for the public, whom they believed were eager for balanced and objective information. In doing so, the media promoted the idea of their audiences being bound together in bodily risk, and I argue that this tendency encouraged the idea of “biological citizenship” to create value in their news stories. I also contend that public health officials set up critical limitations by failing to recognize the news media as a complex mediator. The media response included strong elements of this failure. Public health and state leaders thought that journalists and their work could be controlled, yet had few tools to constrain the media or transmit a version of their messages. A breakdown in the management of the crisis ensued. Finally, I describe how public health and the media furthered a discourse that an ill and endangered body could be made resilient by a restored nation. This argument came to life with the H1N1 pandemic, when stability hinged on a nationalist frame and the population was invited to find comfort by ii sharing ways to reduce the global and invisible threat. I conclude by suggesting alternative approaches to the use of the news media in public health work, arguing that the extreme volume and intensity of media coverage during this outbreak should act as the catalyst for new thinking and approaches. iii Acknowledgements This project has unexpectedly tied together the loose ends of my education, career and interests. The new Cultural Studies program at Queen’s University was like a door that opened for me to explore all of these seemingly disconnected pieces. Ours was the first doctoral class in the program, and the excitement of being among its first students has made me feel special and wonderfully supported by the program’s many affiliated faculty and fellow students. I am thankful to those who had the vision and worked so hard to bring the program to life at Queen’s. My supervisor, Dr. Sergio Sismondo, showed me how to combine my interests and opened my eyes to new fields that intersect with my passion for media and communications studies. I am extremely grateful for his guidance and understanding, and I am certain that he drew from his very deep well of patience at many points along the way. This project was largely funded by my employer, Queen’s University, where, as a staff member, I fully accessed its generous Tuition Assistance Program. I have been fortunate to receive the equally important gifts of time and patience from my superiors and colleagues in the School of Graduate Studies and the Office of Advancement, particularly Dr. Janice Deakin and Dr. Tom Harris. I am also grateful to my interview subjects for their willingness to talk with me as they mentally decompressed about a stressful time of high profile and professional pressure. For many, the H1N1 crisis in 2009 remains a high watermark in their professional lives, and one that will never forget. I hope I have done well in representing and respecting their reflections and ideas. iv I thank my parents, Stan and Sheila Aylesworth, who, despite being slightly bewildered at my academic pursuits, have always been supportive and up for the parties to celebrate the completion of each step along the way. Above all, I thank my husband Nigel and in particular my three sons Aaron, Jordan and Liam, who, now grown men, have shared their mother’s attention with study time for three academic degrees. For better or for worse, you now have my full attention! v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Pandemic as the Object of Study............................................................................... 1 1.2 The Emergence of a New Worry: H1N1 Influenza ................................................... 3 1.3 What this Research Addresses .................................................................................. 6 1.4 Literature about the Mass Media and Outbreaks .................................................... 10 1.5 Organizational Structure ......................................................................................... 18 Chapter 2 Methodology and Methods ............................................................................... 24 2.1 Overview ................................................................................................................. 24 2.1 Epistemological Position and Methodology ........................................................... 25 2.2 Recruiting Interview Subjects ................................................................................. 34 2.3 Conducting the Interviews ...................................................................................... 35 2.4 Ethical Considerations for Research Participants ................................................... 37 2.5 Transcribing the Interviews ..................................................................................... 38 2.6 Analyzing the Interviews and Media Coverage as Data ......................................... 39 Chapter 3 Situating the Project: The Death of a 13-year-old as a Crisis “Event” ............ 45 3.1 Overview ................................................................................................................. 45 3.2 The Power of An Emotional Icon ........................................................................... 46 3.3 The Media Approach to Constructing Danger ........................................................ 52 3.4 Members of the Media: Seeing Themselves as Objective ...................................... 54 vi 3.5 Network Relations: When Actors Unite.................................................................. 57 3.6 The Fall of a Canadian Icon .................................................................................... 65 3.7 Conclusion: The Significance of a Single Event ..................................................... 70 Chapter 4 Invigorating the Public Sphere: Media Life in a Crisis .................................... 71 4.1 Extraordinary Threats and Expectations ................................................................. 71 4.2 The Media and Public Sphere: An Overview.......................................................... 73 4.3 Independence and Vigilance: “They Wanted that Needle in Everybody’s Arm” ... 75 4.4 “Turn Off Their Usual Stupid”................................................................................ 82 4.5 Rhetoric in the Round: Choice as Persuasion ......................................................... 88 4.6 Finding Value: Aligning with a New Citizenship Identity ..................................... 93 4.7 “It’s the Shiny Penny”: Creating Audience Demands, Transforming Publics ...... 102 4.8 Somatic Uncertainties ........................................................................................... 108 4.9 Conclusion: Comprehending the Media ................................................................ 113 Chapter 5 Uncovering the Messy Necessity of Public Communications ....................... 115 5.1 Underestimating Each Other ................................................................................. 115 5.2 Defining Actor-Network Theory ........................................................................... 116 5.3 Diminutive Actors ................................................................................................. 121 5.4 The Virus Lands Allies ......................................................................................... 127 5.5 Misreading a Powerful Actor ................................................................................ 133 5.6 (De)feats of Strength: Network and System Problems ......................................... 138 5.7 Desire: Seeking a Permeable Black Box ............................................................... 151 5.8 Conclusion: Consequences and Clues ..................................................................

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