Investigated dairy farmers' uses of information sources in evaluating bovine growth hormone (BGH) , the credibility attached to various sources, and factors affecting that credibility. BGH, "the first biotechnology ready for adoption by commercial agriculture," is intended to give dairy cows greater potentials for increased milk production. Results include farmers' assessments of nearly 20 information sources, in terms of trustworthiness and expertise.
"Newspaper coverage heavily dominated by institutional sources and dealing with only a narrow range of issues may be limiting the terms of public debate in an unhealthy way."
Features the framing of articles, sources used by reporters and the differences between genetics as they relate to food and to medicine. Found that scientists and medical issues were much more likely to be framed as progressive than were articles on food or ones in which government officials were quoted. Also analyzed articles pertaining to protests and demonstrations between 2000 and 2001.
