Biotech Updates

Philippine Media Reportage on Biotech

July 15, 2011

A complex and often contentious topic such as biotechnology can be integrated into the mainstream of news reporting and eventually evolve from an emotional discourse to one that allows informed decision making. This was the general conclusion of Mariechel Navarro and colleagues in their research paper on Print media reportage of agricultural biotechnology in the Philippines: a decade's (2000-2009) analysis of news coverage and framing published in the Journal of Science Communication.

The top three newspapers Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Philippine Star were analyzed to determine media attention on the technology. Biotechnology news was generally positive but not high in the media agenda. News coverage was marked by occasional peaks brought about by drama and controversial events which triggered attention but not long enough to sustain interest.

An advanced online copy is available at http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/10/03/Jcom1003%282011%29A01.