Mason, Debra (author), Nanney, Robert (author), and E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University, Athens, OH; E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, Ohio University, Athens, OH
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
1992
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 90 Document Number: C06326
Notes:
James F. Evans Collection, Mimeographed, [1992]. 39 p. Paper presented at the 1992 Convention of the Radio-Television Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication; Montreal, Canada
AGRICOLA FNI 92002562, American science-media relations and regulatory changes concerning nutrition have an influence on the scientific community and the food industry in the UK. This article discusses several of these factors.
Hays, Public perception of agriculture and environmental issues are influenced by mass media reporting. Journalists are concerned about ethics, but typically do not consider the ethical dimensions of their emphases on objectivity and event reporting. These leave the mass media particularly vulnerable to manipulation through staged pseudo events, especially in topic areas such as agriculture and the environment, where reporters are likely to have limited expertise. Objectivity then may be used as a defensive cover. Journalists need to be more wary in reporting staged events designed just for media attention and to recognize the limitations of objectivity in their efforts to present balanced coverage of issues related to agriculture and the environment. (original)
