18 pages, via online journal article, Blue Bell Creameries faced an unprecedented situation when it pulled all of its products during a Listeria outbreak in 2015. Despite a very public crisis that resulted in three deaths, Blue Bell survived the disaster and maintained a large and loyal customer base. A content analysis of the Blue Bell Ice Cream Facebook page was conducted to evaluate Blue Bell’s public communications, and its followers’ public reactions to the Facebook communication during the crisis. Results indicated that Blue Bell primarily posted messages that included recall and restocking information, thankfulness to stakeholders, and details about improvements to food safety during the crisis. These messages created a sense of transparency, which can increase customers’ trust and brand loyalty. Their consumers largely responded with comments containing overwhelming loyalty themes as well as questions and messages of thanks. Recommendations for agri-food companies include operating transparently before, during, and after a crisis. Organizations should follow Blue Bell’s example and avoid publishing messages that include attacks, denial, scapegoating, or excuses during a crisis.
22 Pages, Online Public Access, Restoration of oyster habitats is a critical solution to halt the decline of one of the world’s most threatened resources. News coverage about environmental topics, like oyster restoration, is important to local communities that are directly impacted. However, little research has assessed how restoration topics are framed by journalists, nor how environmental disasters may affect framing of news stories for the public. This study employed a longitudinal framing analysis, using the quantity of coverage and social responsibility theories, to examine how coverage of the restoration of oyster ecosystems shifted before, during, and after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The frames and sources of 763 newspaper articles were assessed, including 18 local newspapers from five U.S. Gulf Coast states and three high-circulation national newspapers. Logistic regression analyses revealed that the occurrence of an environmental catastrophe shifted media focus from environmental frames before the spill to community and economic frames during and after the spill. Stories were dominated by environmental frames (49%) and primarily relied on quotes from resource managers (50%) over all other groups. Local resource users were quoted less than 5% of the time in local articles. Findings provide a foundation for natural resource managers and communication specialists to understand how information about natural resources changes during disasters and reveals the perspectives that are most and least commonly used to frame and define stories about coastal resources and important gaps in coverage.
Online via publication website., The purpose of this study was to determine how education and communication professionals involved in climate-change communication are framing their discussions about climate change with agricultural producers. Researchers used semi-structured telephone interviews to gather information. Findings touched on communications factors such as audience analysis, appropriate terminology, localization of information, framing messages, and information sources.
20 pages., Via online journal., Consumers are concerned about the risks related to genetically modified (GM) food, and there is a need for agricultural communicators and educators to address those concerns. The purpose of this study was to explore Florida residents’ latitudes of acceptance, rejection, and noncommitment toward GM food messages. The findings from this study can be used to guide communication and education campaigns for GM food. An online survey was distributed to a non-probability sample of 500 Florida residents to fulfill the purpose of the study. The messages that most aligned with the respondents’ views toward GM food discussed how potential risks related to human health had not been adequately investigated and that GM food may be riskier to consume compared to traditional food. The messages that most opposed the respondents’ views were that GM food was safe for consumption and that it caused cancer in humans. People whose views most aligned with the message that GM food caused cancer in humans had the largest latitude of rejection, likely due to their extreme attitude, confirmation bias, and ego-involvement. The largest percentage of respondents accepted messages that aligned with their position but expressed noncommitment to messages that opposed their views. This lack of rejection and indication of alignment with messages related to potential risk and uncertainty indicated Florida consumers were unsure about the effects of GM food. Communicators and educators should acknowledge these concerns when delivering information about GM food to enhance the effectiveness of communication with consumers.
25 pages, via online Journal, The spread of non-prescription opioid abuse has increased to the point that a person is now more likely to die from an accidental overdose than an automobile accident. Rural areas have been hit particularly hard, and many farmers indicate direct impacts resulting from the opioid epidemic. Researchers have recognized the role of the media in communicating complicated issues and influencing potential solutions. This study analyzed the frames and sources used to communicate issues regarding the rural opioid epidemic in The New York Times and five additional newspapers from states most affected by the opioid epidemic. A total of 115 news, feature, editorial, and other articles were analyzed. The most often used frame was “growth or spread” of the epidemic and the sources most frequently referenced were medical professionals and elected officials. Although a non-traditional issue in agriculture, agricultural communicators should not shy away from getting involved given the potential for harm to rural communities and, in turn, the agriculture industry. Future studies should investigate rural community member and journalist perceptions on the issue, as well as coverage in other states.
28 pages, This study investigates how the emotional tone of food safety risk communication messages predicts message virality on social media. Through a professional Internet content tracking service, we gathered news articles written about the 2018 romaine lettuce recall published online between October 30th and November 29th, 2018. We retrieved the number of times each article was shared on Twitter and Pinterest, and the number of engagements (shares, likes, and comments) for each article on Facebook and Reddit. We randomly selected 10% of the articles (n = 377) and characterized the emotional tone of each article using machine learning, including emotional characteristics such as discrete emotions, emotional valence, arousal, and dominance. Conveying negative valence, low arousal, and high dominance, as well as anger and sadness emotions were associated with greater virality of articles on social media. Implications of these findings for risk communication in the age of social media are discussed.
19 pages, via online journal, Dairy farms pose many hazards to farmers and their employees, including the risk of injury caused by handling animals. On many farms, there is a lack of consistent information and training related to farm safety topics, including stockmanship, or safe animal handling. The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore effective communication strategies that support the application of stockmanship practices and more broadly support health and safety measures and the adoption of new behaviors by farmers and their employees. Research was conducted in three stages via in-depth farm tours and in-person interviews, a qualitative survey, and follow-up phone interviews with dairy farmers. Findings identified four values and moral norms important to dairy farmers and four barriers to implementation of farm safety practices. The research also revealed publications and in-person meetings as key channels of communication and on-farm consultants as important influencers. From the research findings, three major recommendations emerged. These include using a train the trainer educational model, engaging with professionals and encouraging farmer-to-farmer communication, and leveraging digital resources.
Sellnow, Timothy L. (author), Parker, Jason S. (author), Sellnow, Deanna D. (author), Littlefield, Robert (author), Helsel, Emily M. (author), Getchell, Morgan C. (author), Smith, Julia M. (author), Merrill, Scott C. (author), and University of Central Florida
The Ohio State University
Morehead State University
University of Vermont
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2017
Published:
United States: New Prairie Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 4 Document Number: D10178
17 pages., Via online journal article., Crises, by their nature, demand effectively designed and quickly delivered instructional messages that compel stakeholders to take appropriate actions to protect themselves and their assets. The challenges of crisis communication are intensified in crises involving unanticipated and relatively unknown disease outbreaks with the potential to spread exponentially. This study assesses the communication challenges and opportunities in such volatile crises through an analysis of the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea virus (PEDv) outbreak that severely threatened the United States pork industry in 2013 and 2014. Interviews were conducted with 13 individuals directly involved in developing and distributing risk and crisis biosecurity messages during the PEDv outbreak. Participants were selected based on affiliation with the National Pork Board, American Association of Swine Veterinarians, university extension, or their swine industry expertise. Four generalizable implications emerged: 1) the advantage of maintaining flexibility in crisis communication planning; 2) the value of audience analysis and message adaptation; 3) the importance of understanding not only what to do, but also why the recommended actions are essential; and 4) the utility of risk/crisis communication and education both prior to and during a crisis event.
