16 pages, Plagued by recent and historic drought, the need for water storage and management solutions in California is apparent. As a potential solution, the Sites Reservoir project offers an opportunity to a state eager to conserve and better manage water. The Sites Reservoir project involves complexities from a variety of standpoints and stakeholder perspectives. This study investigated the frames and sources used by The Sacramento Bee to communicate about the Sites Reservoir project over a 10-year period. The most frequently used frames throughout the dataset were “policy and government” and “water conscious,” and the sources most frequently utilized for information about the project in the articles were elected officials, government agency representatives, and nonprofit representatives. The findings suggest water management is linked with political activities and supports the assertion that the media tend to focus on the role of policy and political opinion in water management issues. At the same time, the findings suggest the need for water solutions is evident, given the prominence of the “water conscious” frame. Future studies should evaluate frames over time, and investigate the potential nuance between frames used to communicate about water management in different areas of the United States facing water management issues.
7 pages, Pecans are a heart-healthy food, serving as an excellent source of unsaturated fatty acids, micronutrients, and phytochemicals. Despite rapid growth of the U.S. pecan export in global market, domestic pecan consumption has been stagnating, especially in attracting young consumers. This study seeks to investigate the effectiveness of nutrition education brochure that utilizes two information formats-rich media and traditional media-for promoting nutritional knowledge of pecans among young consumers. The experiment followed a between-subjects 2 x 2 design. Four versions of digital brochures were developed to manipulate two independent variables: video (absent vs. present) and recipe (absent vs. present). The findings indicated that including a video in the digital brochure can help increase consumers’ perceived information quality, and recipe content can help increase consumers' trust in the nutrition information and information source. The results also showed that for consumers with a lower prior knowledge regarding pecans, educational materials including a video were more effective than materials without a video. Such strategies to promote pecan consumption could benefit the pecan industry as well as public health.
14 pages., via online journal, As online selling of products like living plants increases, it is increasingly important to understand how millennial-aged consumers perceive the purchasing experience. New-media technologies like social media, e-newsletters, and other forms of digital communication are easily adopted by millennial-aged consumers. One of these tools, 360-degree video, offers novel ways to preview products offered online and look inside local brick-and-mortar stores, which can be visited in person. Sales of horticultural goods online have been slow to be developed by industry veterans, creating ample opportunities available to new ventures. This qualitative study used a series of three focus groups to answer the research questions of RQ1: What challenges exist for garden centers attracting millennials? RQ2: What are millennials preferences for purchasing live plants online? RQ3: What aspects of digital online marketing influence millennials to make decisions? RQ4: What are millennials preferences for 360-degree video? Results of this study indicate 360-degree video is not the preferred avenue for marketing plants online to millennials, however, high-quality photos and video with educational content and the use of social media could be effective.
Online via UI Library Catalog search. 10 pages., Findings of a survey among a sample of 100 farmers in District Sargodha revealed 99% used agricultural radio/TV/FM, 96% used mobile phones, 66% used magazines/newspapers/periodicals, and 61% used social media. Respondents placed highest value on enhancing their productivity.
Online via keyword search of UI Library e-Catalog., Farmer interviews revealed that various forms of agricultural journalism were significant: radio, television, cable network, print media, social media, mobile phone service, and internet websites. Use of some of these was strongly dependent on education level.
Online via Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). 25 pages, Researchers analyzed the spatial dimension and socioeconomic determinants of social media utilization in 3,109 counties in the United States. Subsamples involved metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural regions. Findings compared usage of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and all social media, by region of the nation.
14 pages., Food ecologies and economies are vital to the survival of communities, non-human species, and our planet. While environmental communication scholars have legitimated food as a topic of inquiry, the entangled ecological, cultural, economic, racial, colonial, and alimentary relations that sustain food systems demand greater attention. In this essay, we review literature within and beyond environmental communication, charting the landscape of critical food work in our field. We then illustrate how environmental justice commitments can invigorate interdisciplinary food systems-focused communication scholarship articulating issues of, and critical responses to, injustice and inequity across the food chain. We stake an agenda for food systems communication by mapping three orientations—food system reform, justice, and sovereignty—that can assist in our critical engagements with and interventions into the food system. Ultimately, we entreat environmental communication scholars to attend to the bends, textures, and confluences of these orientations so that we may deepen our future food-related inquiries.
Online from https://doaj.org, Authors examined extension professionals, county agricultural commissioners, and members of farm bureaus and producer groups regarding their behavior and attitudes about use of information and communication technologies (ITCs). Results indicated that extension professionals experienced challenges in using ICTs more than the other sustainable agriculture stakeholders, "creating a technology gap between extension professionals and their clientele." Authors suggested use of an ICT community of practice and clear organizational guidelines for measuring and reporting performance related to ICT.
22 pages., Online via UI electronic subscription, Researchers combined recent national survey data and media reports to quantitatively examine the effects of food scandals and media exposure on food safety risk. Findings suggesed hat media reported food scandals are not significantly related to public concern about food safety risk, suggesting that food risk perceptions may be nationwide rather than region specific. Findings also suggested that more educated citizens with more media exposure were more concerned about food safety risk.
Findings prompt researchers to recommend the use of information and communications technologies with conventional approaches in conservation agriculture knowledge networks.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 170 Document Number: D09007
Notes:
Agri Marketing magazine via AgriMarketing Weekly. 1 page/, Results of 124 agri-marketer responses to the question, "What is your primary source of news about the agricultural industry?"
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 164 Document Number: D08296
Notes:
Presentation at MediaGrowth Executive Summit, Chicago, Illinois, April 5-7, 2017. 30 pages., Describes shifts in media during the past five years and implications for marketing and media organizations, with special emphasis on agriculture.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: D08813
Notes:
Pages 117-143 in Patrick D. Murphy, The media commons: globalization and environmental discourses. United States: University of Illinois Press, Urbana, Chicago, and Springfield. 192 pages.
