Crisis and rematerialized impulses: An exploratory study of TV journalism prompts and audience responses

This article examines how materialist concerns re-emerge during short-term crisis contexts through a study of UK television journalism and audience responses throughout the opening phase of the 2022 UK energy crisis. It asks: How are rematerialized impulses—time-limited concerns with the fragility of material circumstances and future security—articulated in crisis journalism and among its audience during the UK energy crisis? The study combines a content analysis of energy-crisis reporting across BBC News, ITN, Channel 4 News, Channel 5 News, and Sky News between April and June 2022 with an exploratory survey of audiences (n = 34). The analysis identifies three recurring forms of rematerialized impulse: (i) uncertainty over escalating crisis conditions; (ii) compassion toward reported struggles; and (iii) anger at perceived elite inaction. The article argues that these impulses emerge through the interconnection of witnessed and experienced fragility, complicating accounts of crisis audiences as detached observers and positioning them instead as crisis participants.