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News coverage of controversial emerging technologies: Evidence for the issue attention cycle in print and online media

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Ashley A. Anderson ,
Dominique Brossard  and
Dietram A. Scheufele
Ashley A. Anderson
Affiliation:
Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030, aander24@gmu.edu
Dominique Brossard
Affiliation:
Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Hiram Smith Hall, 1545 Observatory Drive 324, Madison, WI 53706, dbrossard@wisc.edu
Dietram A. Scheufele
Affiliation:
Department of Life Sciences Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Hiram Smith Hall, 1545 Observatory Drive 309, Madison, WI 53706, scheufele@wisc.edu
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Abstract

This study analyzes the issue attention cycle for print and online media coverage of a scientific publication examining the deaths of Chinese factory workers due to lung damage from chronic exposure to nanoparticles. The results of the nanoparticle study, published in 2009, embody news values that would make the study a prime candidate for press coverage, namely, novelty, negativity, controversy, and potential widespread impact. Nevertheless, mentions of the event in traditional English-language print media were nearly nonexistent. Online media, on the other hand, gave the story greater coverage. This case study exemplifies why online media may not be bound to the same issue attention cycle that print media are for controversial scientific events.

Keywords

Science newsnanotechnologyonline mediaprint mediacontroversyissue attention cyclesemerging technology
Type
Perspective
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 31 , Issue 1-2 , Spring/Fall 2012 , pp. 87 - 96
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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