Announcement of a 2002 Sigma Delta Chi award entry in the category, Investigative reporting - newspaper/wire service. Mike Lee of theTri-City Herald, Kennewick, Washington, received the award. Investigation uncovered 15 years of flagrant law-breaking and abuse by two farmer brothers. Actions involved disregard of state and federal laws and regulations, including illegal water and air pollution. Series titled, "Bitter Harvest."
Jones, Sandra C. (author), Waters, Louise (author), Byrne, Fiona (author), Iverson, Don (author), Sutherland, Max (author), Gold, Julian (author), and Puplick, Chris (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2012
Published:
Australia
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 155 Document Number: D07139
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 185 Document Number: D00591
Notes:
Via blog site. 9 pages., Author describes a proposed clearinghouse for data from state, county and municipal governments in North Carolina to serve nine rural newspapers.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 160 Document Number: C26254
Notes:
From the Lexington Herald-Leader, Lexington, Kentucky, via Knight Ridder Tribune Business News. 2 pages., Describes career of Al Smith, long-time host and producer of the public affairs television show, "Comment on Kentucky." He previously headed a chain of rural weekly newspapers in Kentucky.
International Programme for the Development of Communication, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Format:
News release
Publication Date:
2004-02-03
Published:
India
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 152 Document Number: C24721
Notes:
Retrieved September 16, 2006, 1 page., Describes a monthly selection of rural reportage from a wide range of local and community newspapers from different parts of India. "A considerable number of mainstream newspapers are now using 'Grassroots' as a source of rural news features."
21 pages, Journalists who cover rural areas in the United States say they are afraid to report on hate groups, and this fear is exacerbated by close community ties and limited resources among rural journalists. We examine the concept of “hate speech” as a boundary object, analyzing in-depth interviews with U.S. journalists reporting in rural communities (n = 33) to better understand how rural journalists report on hate. We find that rural journalists articulate a clear definition for hate speech but struggle to apply that definition to events within their communities, even as they articulate numerous forms of hate. Journalists often dismissed acts of hate using the residual category of “not hate, but … ” to signal something that they felt was out of place or unsuitable but did not rise to the legal definition of hate speech and thus was not worth reporting on. This approach ends up challenging journalists’ normative commitments to their communities and exemplifies their desire to avoid an objectivity trap.
Irani, Tracy (author), Ruth, Amanda M. (author), and Muegge, Melissa (author)
Format:
Research report
Publication Date:
2005-05-31
Published:
USA
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 143 Document Number: C22250
Notes:
Available in CD and paper formats., Presentation at conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE), San Antonio, Texas, May 31, 2005. 16 pages.
Lazer, William (author), Kelley, Eugene J. (author), Meyer, R. E. (author), Kelley, William T. (author), Grubb, Kenneth A. (author), Hollander, Stanley C. (author), Copulsky, William (author), and Michigan State University
Union Oil Company
University of Pennsylvania
Department of Commerce
Grace Chemical Research and Development Company
Format:
Abstract
Publication Date:
1957-04
Published:
USA: American Marketing Association
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 164 Document Number: D08236
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 146 Document Number: D06631
Notes:
Raw data responses to a survey conducted by the Ethics Committee of the American Agricultural Editors' Association among 431 participants at the 2012 Young Farmers and Ranchers Leadership Conference, American Farm Bureau Federation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Februaty 18-20, 2012. 1 page with accompanying committee member correspondence.
DeRosier, Christopher (author), Sulemana, Iddisah (author), James, Harvey S. Jr. (author), Valdivia, Corinne (author), Folk, William (author), and Smith, Randall D. (author)
Format:
Online journal article
Publication Date:
2015
Published:
SAGE Journals
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 32 Document Number: D10599
19 pages., via online journal., We empirically examine the reporting on biotechnology in Kenyan and international newspapers between 2010 and early 2014. We identify news articles that reported on biotechnology and analyze their use of words to determine whether there is a balance in the reporting of perceived risks and benefits. We also consider how the sources used in news articles and how the publication of the Séralini study of rats fed genetically modified maize affect the balance of reporting of perceived risks and benefits. We find that in Kenyan news reporting, more articles mention perceived benefits than risks, but when risks are mentioned, new articles contain more references to risks than to benefits. We also find that sources affect the reporting of perceived risks and benefits and that the Séralini study increased the likelihood that perceived risks are reported in Kenyan news reporting, but not in international newspapers.
Page 26 in Extension Circular 521, Review of Extension Research, January through December 1958, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. Summary of a research paper for a Master of Science degree in agricultural journalism, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 1958. 66 pages.
18 pages., Article 6, Via online journal., The discovery of the antibiotic Aureomycin as a growth promotor for the livestock industry was viewed as revolutionary in 1950. The use of antibiotics as growth promoters in livestock, however, has been questioned by health professionals concerned with the role this use might play in the development of antibiotic resistant bacteria. As a public health issue, newspapers have covered this topic since its discovery. Media, such as newspapers, have used frames to discuss the topic over time as new discoveries have occurred, policy changes have been implemented, and food animal production has changed. The purpose of this study was to determine the frames and sources used by national U.S. newspapers when discussing the topic of antibiotic use in livestock and antibiotic resistance. A quantitative content analysis was conducted on three national U.S. newspapers from 1996 – 2017 and found three primary frames were used when discussing antibiotic use in livestock and antibiotic resistance. The content analysis also indicated that over 90% of the news articles contained a scientific source when communicating about this scientific topic. Based on the frames identified some readers are being ill-informed about this topic and could be using this information in their decision making without having all of the facts. Science communicators should prioritize the inclusion of scientific sources in their writing as they communicate about complex, controversial topics.
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.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C23819
Notes:
Reviewed 3/13/2006 at http://www.poynter.org/content/content_view.asp?id=83144, Via Poynteronline. 8 pages, Discusses values and methods of computer assisted reporting (CAR) programs at newspapers. Cites an example involving an investigative series, "Boss Hog, North Carolina pork revolution." Reporters used CAR to enrich some stories about links between Murphy Farms and state policies involving sewage disposition regulations on hog farms.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Document Number: C15133
Notes:
Volume 1, Detailed chronology of magazines of this period. Includes a section on "Agricultural Papers," with a discussion about establishment of the Agricultural Museum in 1810. "... it was not until 1810, apparently, that any periodical was devoted wholly to agriculture."