Media narratives of industrial plant closures in Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2019

Abstract

Since the 1970s, a defining feature of advanced economies has been industrial plant closures, stemming from the broader process of economic restructuring. Plant closures have been extensively covered by the media due to their adverse effects on localities. However, no media analysis of closures has been conducted in the plant closure literature. In addition to providing a wealth of information, such an analysis can provide insight into media narratives of closures. Media profoundly affects economies by disseminating narratives that influence society, institutions, and politics. To bridge the plant closure and media literature, this paper conducts a media analysis of closures in Ontario, Canada, from 2000 to 2019. Like other advanced economies, the province has experienced many plant closures over the past several decades. The paper found that the overarching narrative presented by the media was that ‘no one is responsible’ for plant closures and therefore ‘no one can or should act’. Also, it was found that differences in media narratives of closures were primarily due to the political slant of news outlets, not city size or scale of news outlets or whether news outlets were independently owned or part of a media conglomerate. Lastly, the paper found that the dissemination of media coverage on plant closures throughout the province was primarily based on the number of job losses, resulting in media coverage of smaller closures remaining localised, while media coverage of larger closures spreading throughout the province.