18 pages, via online journal article, On April 2016, the weekly Farm News cut its ties with veteran freelancer Rick Friday who drew a cartoon that called attention to how much the CEOs of large agricultural corporations are paid. This study examines the determinants of people’s attitudes toward Mr. Friday’s firing. Using data gathered from a national online survey of newspaper readers, this study traced the antecedents of these attitudes. While the incident drew strong negative reactions, we found that public attitudes were strongly mediated by readers’ attitudes toward Big Ag advertisers. That is, those who saw Big Ag in a positive light were more inclined to report less negative attitudes toward the firing. Another factor that influenced public reaction is the way people perceived the relationship between the farm press and their large corporate advertising sponsors. These findings indicated audience awareness of the synergy between content making and profit making in the farm news business, and that readers saw the relationship between big advertisers and the press as not necessarily adversarial. Those in agricultural states tended to see the editorial cartoon and the firing incident as more relevant to their lives than their counterparts in non-agricultural areas. However, the perceived relevance of the editorial cartoon and the firing incident had no bearing on people’s attitudes toward the incident. Implications of the findings on fostering a healthy relationship between farm newspapers, their readers, and the agribusinesses that advertise in them are discussed.
Ferguson, Drewe (author), Lee, Caroline (author), and Fisher, Andrew (author)
Format:
Book
Publication Date:
2017
Published:
Duxford, United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 151 Document Number: D10099
Notes:
318 pages., Available through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library. Patrons outside of the university system should contact the ACDC for assistance accessing text., Via University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library catalog., Advances in Sheep Welfare examines the recent advances made in sheep welfare assessment, handling and management, providing state-of-the-art coverage of the welfare needs of one of the world's most widely farmed animals. The book begins with an introduction to sheep welfare in Part One, with chapters covering biology and natural behavior, sheep production systems, and consumer and societal expectations for sheep products. Part Two goes on to highlight new advances in sheep welfare assessment, before Part Three outlines a wide range of solutions to sheep welfare challenges. The final section looks ahead to the future, considering what sheep welfare will look like in 2030 and beyond. This book is an essential part of the wider ranging series Advances in Farm Animal Welfare, with coverage of cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry.
"It is not the job of an ag news broadcaster or agricultural journalist to be an 'advocate'." ..."covering all sides of a story is a responsibility for any reporter."
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C29852
Notes:
Pages 255-270 in Adam Lindgreen, Martin K. Hingley and Joelle Vanhamme (eds.), The crisis of food brands: sustaining safe, innovative and competitive food supply. Gower Publishing Limited, Surrey, England. 352 pages.
318 pages., Book in the University of Illinois online collection. Search other sources or contact ACDC., Pages 37-51 in Ferguson, D.; Lee, Caroline; and Fisher, Andrew. 2017. Advances in sheep welfare. Woodhead Publishing, Duxford, United Kingdom.
Rose, Kathleen M. (author), Howell, Emily L. (author), Su, Leona Yi-Fan (author), Xenos, Michael A. (author), Brossard, Dominique (author), and Scheufele, Dietram A. (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
SAGE Journals
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 32 Document Number: D10600
19 pages., via online journal., The impact of knowledge on public attitudes toward scientific issues remains unclear, due in part to ill-defined differences in how research designs conceptualize knowledge. Using genetically modified foods as a framework, we explore the impacts of perceived familiarity and factual knowledge, and the moderating roles of media attention and a food-specific attitudinal variable (food consciousness), in shaping these relationships. Based on the differential effects on “negative attitudes” toward genetically modified foods, we provide further evidence that the measures of knowledge are separate concepts and argue against a one-dimensional view of scientific knowledge. We discuss implications for understanding the relationship between knowledge and science attitudes.
