From the Naples emergency to the waste-to-energy miracle. How and why the Italian newspapers coverage of the 2008 waste emergency in Naples influenced local public opinion’s attitude towards a waste-to-energy plant in Turin

Public participation and consensual decision-making on the part of all stakeholders (e.g. political institutions and local communities) are presently two of the most shared “leitmotifs” in determining waste thermal power plants locations. Far from assuming deterministic perspectives, a key role is played by the media, whose narrative influence can drive the negotiation strategies between citizens and promoters towards different outcomes. No matter what tag is applied on local controversies and conflicts associated to these projects (i.e. NIMBY, BANANA, LULU, and so on and so forth), research studies that specifically focus on the active role of the media are still few, and especially in Italy.