25 pages, To foster the responsible development and governance of CRISPR, it is important to understand how agricultural communities perceive and discuss this technology. This study conducted a content analysis of 529 articles from 53 diverse agricultural news publications across sectors and U.S. regions between 2012 and 2022. We analyzed how CRISPR technology is depicted in terms of risk, benefit, social/policy context, quoted experts, and the mentioning of other biotechnologies. Our findings show that from the time that CRISPR was developed for agriculture over a decade ago, agricultural news has consistently reflected a pro-innovation stance, frequently describing its benefits as well as advantages over longer-standing biotechnologies. Industry representatives were quoted most frequently, followed by university scientists and political representatives, while producers and non-governmental groups were quoted least frequently. Technology-related risks (off-target effects, financial risks) were notably lacking, but CRISPR’s social context was covered more extensively, including uncertainties in regulation and consumer acceptance. We discussed the implications for agricultural news professionals, communicators, and future researchers, emphasizing the importance of fostering a more balanced discourse and ensuring informed decision-making within the agricultural sector.
Tucker, Mark (author) and Whaley, Sherrie (author)
Format:
Conference paper
Publication Date:
2000-07-25
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 113 Document Number: C11226
Journal Title Details:
20 pages
Notes:
Presented at the U.S. Agricultural Communicators' Congress,25 July 2000, Washington, D.C.
The Research Special Interest Group, Agricultural Communicators in Education (ACE), 25 July 2000, Washington, D.C.
Akers, Cindy (author), Davis, Chad S. (author), Fraze, Steve (author), Campbell, Meredith (author), and Doerfert, David (author)
Format:
Research paper
Publication Date:
2006-02-04
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 149 Document Number: C24006
Notes:
24 p. Paper presented at the Southern Association of Agricultural Scientists' 103rd annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. [Agricultural Communications Section].
20 pgs., Twelve U.S. states were tasked with developing nutrient reduction strategies to help address hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. To better understand the kinds of messages different stakeholders in these states are likely to encounter about such strategies, we conducted a content analysis focused on the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (INRS). We examined 483 articles in two agricultural and two non-agricultural news outlets. We found that agricultural news outlets more often led with agricultural themes and more often used agricultural representatives as sources. The non-agricultural news outlets more often quoted representatives of environmental groups. News articles infrequently led with science or health themes. The volume of coverage over time in three of the four news outlets appeared followed similar issue attention cycles. Differences among the outlets may lead to differences in stakeholders’ knowledge or views about the INRS and conservation, posing challenges to consensus-building.
