All but naive

Patrolling epistemic territories in radio phone-ins

Bibliographic Data

ID5965585
AuthorsW Versteeg (0000-0002-5206-3092), Hedwig Te Molder (0000-0002-0599-8338, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands, corresponding author), Lotte Van Burgsteden (0000-0003-2049-0687, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
Year2025
Volume27
Issue5
Pages826-845
Publication date2025-01-07
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDiscourse Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1461-4456 • E-ISSN: 1461-7080
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/14614456241297374
OpenAlexW4406125347
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited44

In this paper, we analysed Dutch and British radio phone-in conversations on ADHD and vaccination between radio hosts and callers, focusing on how interactants dispute the authority of both scientific and experiential claims to expertise. We found that interactants never challenged the authority of science and experience as such, but resisted their normative relevance. When callers offered expertise in the form of personal experience, hosts challenged its relevance for the overhearing audience by treating the experience as mere belief. When callers offered expertise in the form of scientific knowledge, hosts carefully patrolled the boundaries of ‘real’ science and who may speak for it. We discuss how our findings can explain the frequent contestation of factual sources in semi-public exchanges and offer a new perspective on the supposed diminished authority of scientific knowledge

Linguistics · Patrolling · Phone · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · Digital Communication and Language · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Media Studies and Communication · Philosophy · Psychology

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