Risk and Health Communication in an Evolving Media Environment

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EXAMINING PRINT COVERAGE OF THE KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE

Using the Social Amplification of Risk Framework

Michel M. Haigh

Using the Social Amplification of Risk Framework

On November 6, 2015, President Barack Obama announced the administration had rejected TransCanada’s bid to build the northern section of the Keystone XL pipeline (KXL) (Carpenter, 2015). This was the end to a seven-year battle between politicians, environmentalists, and the energy industry.¹

The debate started in September 2008 when TransCanada filed an application with the US Department of State to build the KXL pipeline. The pipeline would cross an international border, which is why the US Department of State had to approve it. In January 2012, President Obama rejected ...