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.
USA: Economic Research Service, U.S Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C.
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 30 Document Number: D10576
Notes:
37 pages., ERS staff report - No. AGEX831007. Also available online from Hathi Trust Digital Library., via library catalog., Food manufacturers spent $7 billion in advertising in 1997. Most of
this advertising focused on highly processed and highly packaged
foodswhich also tend to be the foods consumed in large quantities
in the United States relative to Federal dietary recommendations
such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Advertising expenditures on meat, fruits, and vegetables are negligible. In contrast, the
U.S. Department of Agriculture spent $333.3 million on nutrition
education, evaluation, and demonstrations. This is approximately
what the food industry spent on advertising just for coffee, tea, and
cocoa, or for snacks and nuts; slightly more than half (60 percent)
the amount spent on advertising for carbonated soft drinks, and less
than half the amount spent promoting beer, or candy and gum, or
breakfast cereals.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 50 Document Number: C00344
Notes:
AgComm teaching; Also see C02552 in Box 66. Delmar Hatesohl Collection., Paper presented at the Agricultural Communication Conference, Univ. of Missouri 1982, 8pp
