Biotech Updates

Framing of Biotech Issues by Newspapers in Britain, Germany and U.S.

May 28, 2010

The Public Understanding of Science journal recently published the study entitled Framing of Science Issues in Opinion-Leading News: International Comparison of Biotechnology Issue Coverage. Researcher Thomas Listerman of University of Uppsala, Sweden tested how biotechnology, a major contemporary scientific debate, was framed and reframed by opinion-leading newspapers in Germany, Britain and United States from year 2000 to 2002.

Results of the study showed that a certain reframing occurs when media attention intensifies, in the form of intense ethical discussion in Germany and more public discussion in Britain. On the other hand, scientific-economic discussion is used by opinion-leading news writers in the United States.

Check http://pus.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/19/1/5 for more details.