Ruth, Taylor K. (author), Rumble, Joy N. (author), Galindo-Gonzalez, Sebastian (author), Lundy, Lisa K. (author), Carter, Hannah S. (author), Folta, Kevin M. (author), and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The Ohio State University
University of Florida
Association for Communication Excellence
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
United States: New Prairie Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 15 Document Number: D10430
24 pages., Via online journal., Faculty at land-grant universities are expected to engage in some form of Extension, or science communication, as part of the land-grant mission. However, critics have claimed these institutions are out of touch with their stakeholders’ needs and faculty mainly communicate with others in academia. This engagement with a homogenous group reflects the concepts of echo chambers, where people are only exposed to information that aligns with their beliefs and current knowledge and discredit opposing information. An explanatory mixed-methods design was used to understand land-grant faculty’s engagement in echo chambers. A survey was distributed to a census of tenure-track faculty in the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences to understand respondents’ engagement in echo chambers. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 13 of the survey respondents to further explore their audiences and channels used in science communication to understand their engagement in echo chambers. Survey results indicated faculty did not necessarily participate in echo chambers, but they also did not contribute to an open communication network. However, the interviews found participants were interested in reaching new audiences yet struggled to communicate with stakeholders. The participants also reported wanting to find alternative channels to peer reviewed journals to help disseminate their work. The findings from this study indicated faculty contributed to a type of echo chamber, but rather than viewing their stakeholders’ opinions as false, they simply did not hear the opinions. Agricultural communicators should work with land-grant faculty administrators to identify appropriate audiences and channels for science communication.
Brubaker, McKayla (author), Settle, Quisto (author), Downey, Laura (author), Hardman, Alisha (author), and Oklahoma State University
Mississippi State University
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
United States: New Prairie Press
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 7 Document Number: D10246
19 pages., Via online journal., Mississippi residents were surveyed to determine their perceptions surrounding the The Food Factor brand. The Food Factor is a weekly Extension mass media program that communicates research-based information about food, nutrition, diet, and healthy lifestyles. A researcher-developed survey instrument was used to collect information using Qualtrics. The sample consisted of a representative sample of 404 Mississippi residents over the age of 18. Nonprobability quota sampling was used to examine population segments related to sex, Hispanic vs. non-Hispanic populations, and other racial demographic segments. The respondents were asked about their use and awareness of The Food Factor, where they were split into viewer and non-viewer categories. Viewers were asked about their viewing frequency, perceptions and skills learned related to watching The Food Factor, and their nutrition-related behaviors. Non-viewers were also asked about their perceptions of The Food Factor between branded and non-branded The Food Factor episodes. This study found the The Food Factor brand lacked brand recognition and recall. However, the respondents had a slightly positive perception of the brand. Overall, this study could not conclude that branding of the episodes was making a difference in non-viewers’ perceptions, despite the fact that many previous studies have identified branding as an important strategy in social marketing. Recommendations include a consistent and increased use of the brand, such as subtitles or logos, and future research on the use of branding in social marketing program, social marketing in Extension, and the role of branding in mass media programs.