Science Communication 2009 Weaver 139 66

8/3/2019 Science Communication 2009 Weaver 139 66

1/29

http://scx.sagepub.com/Science Communication

http://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139The online version of this article can be found at:

DOI: 10.1177/1075547009340345

2009 31: 139Science CommunicationDavid A. Weaver, Erica Lively and Bruce Bimber

Progress, Risk, and RegulationSearching for a Frame : News Media Tell the Story of Technological

Published by:

http://www.sagepublications.com

can be found at:Science CommunicationAdditional services and information for

http://scx.sagepub.com/cgi/alertsEmail Alerts:

http://scx.sagepub.com/subscriptionsSubscriptions:

http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navReprints:

http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navPermissions:

http://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139.refs.htmlCitations:

What is This?

- Dec 9, 2009Version of Record>>

at CAPES on November 21, 2011scx.sagepub.comDownloaded from
http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139http://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139http://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139http://www.sagepublications.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://scx.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://scx.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://scx.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://scx.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navhttp://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139.refs.htmlhttp://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139.refs.htmlhttp://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/vorhelp.xhtmlhttp://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/vorhelp.xhtmlhttp://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/vorhelp.xhtmlhttp://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139.full.pdfhttp://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/http://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/vorhelp.xhtmlhttp://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139.full.pdfhttp://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139.refs.htmlhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navhttp://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navhttp://scx.sagepub.com/subscriptionshttp://scx.sagepub.com/cgi/alertshttp://www.sagepublications.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/content/31/2/139http://scx.sagepub.com/


2/29

Science Communication

Volum 31 Numbr 2

Dcmbr 2009 139-166

2009 Sge Publications

10.1177/1075547009340345

http://scx.sapub.comhostd at

http://onlin.sapub.com

139

Authors Note: Bruc Bimbr, Dpartmnt of Political Scinc, Univrsity of California,

Santa Barbara, C 93106, US

Searching for a Frame

News Media Tell the Story of

Technological Progress, Risk,

and Regulation

David .Wavr

erica Livly

Bruc Bimbr

University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA

How ar th nws mdia framin nanoscal scinc and tchnoloy? Primary

concrns in th litratur hav bn how nws mdia wih risks and bnfits

and how thy classify nano with rspct to nws catoris such as businss,

cultur, discovry, or mdicin. Th authors contribut a nw prspctiv by

focusin on issu frams involvin how storis imply rsponsibility for soci-

tal outcoms from tchnoloy. Th authors dvlop four issu frams for

storis about nanoscal scinc and tchnoloy: prorss, rulation, con-

flict, and nric risk. Ths cut across th fram classifications and story

ton assssmnts mployd prviously in th litratur. Usin data from th

10 larst U.S. nwspaprs for 1999-2008, th frquncy of ach fram ovr

tim is assssd. This study found that prorss and nric risk frams,

which dmphasiz actors and rsponsibilitis, dominatd arly covra of

nano but that frams involvin rulation and th intrplay of markt incn-

tivs and rulatory rsponsibility mainly supplantd prorss frams by

2007.

Keywords: framing, frames, nanotechnology, technology, progress, regulation

Nws mdia hav bn producin storis about nanoscinc and tchnol-oy for at last a dcad, binnin intnsivly at th tim of PrsidntClintons proposal for a U.S. National Nanotchnoloy Initiativ (NNI) in

2000. Nws covra of nanoscal scinc and tchnoloy has rportdly

rown ovr tim (Fridman & eolf, 2005), and th storis in th enlish

lanua prss now numbr in th thousands (Wavr & Bimbr, 2008).

Articles

http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/


3/29

140 Scinc Communication

This body of nws provids an opportunity to xamin how th mdia hav

rspondd to a novl scinc-orintd nws topic that appars to b rowin

in salinc. Nanotchnoloy ncompasss th manipulation of mattr at thscal of 100 nanomtrs or lss, a domain xhibitin a rat many thrmal,

optical, and lctromchanical proprtis that ar novl and somtims vn

startlin. rat dal of buildup has bn mad by som nanoscal scin-

tists and ninrs about th potntially rvolutionary applications of this

tchnoloy in lctronics and computin, mdicin, nry, and a wid

ran of consumr products from txtils to cosmtics, amon othrs. t th

sam tim, many concrns hav bn raisd about potntial problms and

th nd for caution. For nws mdia and othrs communicatin with thpublic, nanotchnolois prsnt an intrsction of issus involvin th

nvironmnt, human halth, risk, scintific discovry, and tchnoloical

innovation. ccordinly, a numbr of possibl approachs to communicat-

in about nanotchnoloy ar availabl to nws mdia. How ar journalists

framin storis about nanotchnolois?

Rsarch so far on th framin of nano nws has xplord issus associ-

atd with risk communication and has focusd chifly on analyzin story

ton and th rlativ mphasis on risks as opposd to bnfits. This work hasshown that nwspaprs hav nrally adoptd a positiv attitud toward

nanotchnoloy and tnd to mphasiz bnfits ovr risks (ndrson, llan,

Ptrsn, & Wilkinson, 2005; Fridman & eolf, 2005; Wilkinson, llan,

ndrson, & Ptrsn, 2007). plurality of storis dscrib nano in trms

of scintific advanc, followd by discussions of th thical, lal, or social

implications (eLSIs; ndrson t al., 2005; Stphns, 2005; Wilkinson

t al., 2007). Findins about th ton and mphasis of storis ar wll sum-

marizd by ndrson t al. (2005): Th ovrall pictur convyd is on of

a mixtur of stron optimism in rlation to th bnfits of nanotchnoloy

combind with concrns about th risks and uncrtaintis about possibl

bnfits or risks (p. 213).1

Th litratur on nano in th nws mdia has not, howvr, xamind in

any dpth how th nws mdia fram causal storis or attribut rsponsibil-

ity for possibl outcoms or rmdis. Framin thory (entman, 1993;

Iynar, 1991; Nlson, Clawson, & Oxly, 1997) provids rasons to

xpct that as nanotchnoloy mrs onto th public anda, citizn

raction as wll as rsponss by policymakrs will b shapd not only byth positiv or nativ valnc of nws covra and th wihin of

risks and bnfits in nws but also by th kind of larr causal storis that

ar implid in nws framsthat is, by how frams imply who is doin

what to whom.



4/29

Wavr t al. / Sarchin for a Fram 141

For xampl, on way journalists miht fram nanotchnoloy dvl-

opmnt would b to dpict it as a cas of th routin procss of scintific

discovry and tchnoloical prorss. This kind of issu fram mihtprim positiv blifs about socital improvmnt from tchnoloy and

miht also imply that nw tchnoloy is natural or loical, diminishin

in salinc th intrsts and dcisions of particular actors who miht b

accountabl for problms or risks, as wll as bnfits. Or a vry diffrnt

way to fram nanotchnoloy would b to dpict it as a rowin collction

of nw products sold by profit-skin corporations and whos safty is

not adquatly rulatd by th rsponsibl ovrnmnt ancis. This

kind of issu fram would likly lvat th salinc of spcific corpora-tions activitis as wll as th potntial rsponsibility of ovrnmnt ru-

lators to protct th public.

In this articl, w xplor th qustion of how nws mdia fram innova-

tion in th cas of nanotchnoloy. W build on th tchniqus and findins

of prvious rsarch by othrs xplorin th ton of covra and risk-bnfit

wihin, addin to this a focus on issu frams and thir implications for

rsponsibility and ovrnmnt involvmnt in th markt. Blow, w dv-

lop a fourfold st of issu frams for nws covra of nanotchnoloy,involvin prorss, rulation, conflict, and nric risks. Our dfinition of

ths frams is dsind to comply with entmans (1993) dfinition of

framin, spcially how frams dfin problms, offr a causal intrprta-

tion or moral valuation, or rcommnd a tratmnt or rmdy. W xamin

U.S. nws covra from 1999 throuh 2008, to look for th frquncy and

dynamics of ths frams ovr tim and across nws outlts. Our findins

show that th framin of nanotchnoloy has bcom mor divrs ovr

tim. W show that th multiplication of frams durin tims of havir

covra is du chifly to incrasd numbrs of storis from mor nws

outlts. W conclud by discussin th implications of ths findins.

Nanotechnology as a Public Issue

It is usful to situat a public issu such as th implications of tchno-

loical innovation with rspct to stas of nws covra and policy mak-

in. In this rard, nanotchnoloys dominant charactristic is its arlysta in anda-buildin and policy-makin procsss. lthouh th Unitd

Stats has had a formal st of rsarch and dvlopmnt (R&D) policis

toward nanotchnoloy sinc 2001, issus involvin rulation, public

halth, or workplac and nvironmntal safty ar at thir arlist stas of

http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/http://scx.sagepub.com/


5/29


discussion by policy lits and rlvant ancis. In Maynard-Moodys

(1992, 1995) trms, nanotchnoloy policy has barly mrd as a topic of

dbat in administrativ arnas such as th environmntal Protctionncy (eP) and th Food and Dru dministration (FD), and it is vn

furthr from rachin th public arna of Conrss. Sinc nws mdia

tnd to focus on dbat whn it rachs th public arna, w should xpct

rlativly littl attntion from th nws mdia to nanotchnoloy compard

with othr issus that ar undr public dbat. Howvr, a discussion has

takn plac about whthr nanotchnoloy miht b vulnrabl to a public

backlash similar to that aainst ntically modifid oranisms in europ

(ndrson, Ptrsn, Wilkinson, & llan, 2009; Sandlr & Kay, 2006). Thisconcrn has motivatd intrst in social scinc rsarch about nanotchnol-

oy within th traditional R&D stablishmnt. Opposition to nanotchnol-

oy has not yt xtndd byond a fw advocacy oranizations. s a public

issu, nanotchnoloy has licitd virtually no dbat or disarmnt

amon lctd officials, althouh an incrasin amount of attntion is bin

ivn by ovrnmnts to potntial problms (Mantovani, Porcari, Mili, &

Widmr, 2009). In nral, nws tnds to b drivn by drama and conflict

narrativs (Bnntt, 2009; Paltz & entman, 1981), a tndncy that xtndsto scintific issus (Nisbt, Brossard, & Kropsch, 2003). This mans that

som of th charactristic drivrs of nws frams and narrativs ar absnt

in th cas of nanotchnoloy.

s of 2004-2005, whn a spat of survy rsarch was rportd, public

awarnss of nano as an issu was low, as would b xpctd from its policy

charactristics (Cobb & Macoubri, 2004; gaskll, Tn eyck, Jackson, &

Vltri,2005; Schufl & Lwnstin, 2005; Schtz & Widmann, 2008).

gaskll t al. (2005) compar mrican and europan attituds, and whil

thy find a ood dal of public uncrtainty about nanotchnolois, thy

find mricans on th whol sinificantly mor optimistic, as thy ar

about othr tchnolois. Schufl and Lwnstin (2005) show in a mul-

tivariat modl that th lvl of attntion to mass mdia shaps th nral

disposition toward scinc, and this prdicts th prdisposition toward

nano. This rsult is consistnt with th nral tndncy of nws mdia to

tll scinc storis positivly and in trms of prorss (Nisbt t al.,

2003). It has also bn shown that knowld intracts with affct in shap-

in attituds toward nanotchnoloy (L, Schufl, & Lwnstin, 2005)and that scintists may b mor concrnd about problms with nano from

pollution and halth risks than is th public at lara rsult that rvrss

th typical rlationship, whr scintists ar mor optimistic about nw



6/29


discovris and th public mor skptical (Schufl t al., 2007; also, s

Bsly, Kramr, & Prist, 2008; Wilkinson t al., 2007).

Framin ffcts on attituds hav bn shown xprimntally withrspct to nano. Cobb (2005) shows modst xprimntal ffcts from

variants on two comptin frams, on associatd with prorss and sci-

ncs capacity to produc tchnoloy that solvs human problms and on

convyin th humanistic viw that tchnoloy cannot solv th problms

of th human condition. That study shows that multipl frams do not pro-

duc opinion ffcts and that frams ar mor ffctiv in influncin atti-

tuds whn thy includ spcific risks. Schtz and Widman (2008) also

find that framin nanotchnoloy producrs as ithr multinational corpo-rations or small and mdium-sizd firms influncs attituds, but bnfit

portrayal dos notthouh this lattr rsult runs aainst th nral xpc-

tation from psychomtric rsarch.

News Framing of Nano

ainst this sttin of individual-lvl rspons to nano, contnt analy-

sis of nws has shown svral main faturs of how nwspaprs ar tllinth story of nano. Fridman and eolf (2005, 2007) find a trnd toward

mor attntion to nano in th nws, but a ood dal of yar-to-yar variation

in covra lvls has also bn shown (Wavr & Bimbr, 2008), raisin

a qustion about th natur of lon-trm trnds in storis rlvant to th

socital implications of nano. n important mphasis of analysis so far has

bn on th ton of covra, spcially whthr ithr bnfits or risks

outwih th othr in th story (ndrson t al., 2005; ndrson t al.,

2009; Fridman & eolf, 2005; Stphns, 2005). This focus on risk-bnfit

wihin is important bcaus of th thortical sinificanc of how com-

munication cus popl to think in trms of losss or ains, and it has found

that th storis tnd to b positiv in ton, spcially in th Unitd Stats.

Rsarch comparin mrican and British mdia covra shows that th

mrican covra tnds to b mor positiv, with a ratr tndncy to

focus on bnfits than risks (Fridman & eolf, 2005; gaskll t al., 2005).

n implicit concrn in this rsarch is that th nws mdia iv an

appropriat balanc whn writin about nano; howvr, many unobvious

subtltis xist in how popl rspond to risk-bnfit communication(Pidon, Kasprson, & Slovic, 2003). establishin an objctiv standard

for balancin risks and bnfits is problmatic; a traditional informal

standard is that th nws mdia should rflct th distribution of xprt



7/29


assssmnts of risks and bnfits (ndrson t al., 2009). Rsarch on

xprt opinion about nano has shown that xprts ar in som cass mor

concrnd about risks than th public (Schufl t al., 2007; also, sBsly t al., 2008). nothr concrn on th part of rsarchrs studyin

nws covra of nano is whthr scinc journalism is succssfully

rachin byond translation of scinc to idntify tradoffs, harms, and

costs (Blum & Knudson, 1997).

Byond assssmnt of story ton, th litratur on mdia covra of

nanotchnoloy has also concptualizd frams in trms of nral topics

associatd with nano, such as businss storis or socital implications sto-

ris (Fridman & eolf, 2005; Wilkinson t al., 2007). ndrson t al.(2005), for xampl, combin risk, rulation, and impact on dvlopin

countris into a sinl nral catory of socital implications, diffrnti-

atin ths from nin othr nral nws frams. Stphns (2005) finds that

27% of storis about nano in a mix of mrican and intrnational paprs

dscrib scintific discovris or projcts, 17% focus on eLSIs, and 11%

discuss nano as a businss topic. Wilkinson t al. (2007) and ndrson

t al. (2005) rport on a sampl of British nwspaprs in 2003 and 2004, in

which 22% dscrib scintific or mdical discovris, 9% dscrib eLSIs,and 15% provid businss storis. ndrson t al. (2009) iv an xcllnt

rviw of this litratur and conclud that th pattrns in nanotchnoloy

covra so far ar nrally consistnt with scinc-rportin practics in

nral, xcpt that th natur of risk associatd with nanotchnoloy is

unsttld, as ar th narrativ approachs.

So th nral pictur from th litratur is that th nws covra con-

tains a mix of risks and bnfits with a nrally positiv valnc and that

storis about scintific discovry, th businss aspcts of nano, and eLSIs

ar th most common. Our thortical concrns pick up at this point. W ar

intrstd in th xtnt to which nws framin prims citizns to think

about th actors and intrsts involvd in scinc and tchnoloy, sp-

cially th rsponsibility of ovrnmnt institutions. W ar motivatd by

lon-standin concrns in th social study of scinc and tchnoloy,

with th comparativ insulation of R&D procsss from th lvl of

dmocratic dbat affordd othr aras of public ntrpris, as wll as th

nrally low lvl of attntion paid by th nws mdia to th xtnt to

which tchnoloy mbodis political and social rlations (Bijkr, Huhs,& Pinch, 1987; ellul, 1964).

W combin ths concrns with work in political communication on

framin. That work shows that frams shap which valus popl associ-

at with th objct of nws (Nlson t al., 1997) and that frams can



8/29


stronly influnc th xtnt to which citizns trat vnts as simply

occurrin autonomously around thm as opposd to rsultin from dci-

sions or actions by spcific actors, such as lctd officials (Iynar,1991). n important implication of this work is that frams can shap

how much citizns blam victims for thir misfortun rathr than assin-

in rsponsibility to ovrnmnt or othrs for pattrns of problms or

harms. In his classic formulation of issu framin, entman (1993) offrs

th followin dfinition: To fram is to slct som aspcts of a pr-

civd rality and mak thm mor salint in a communicatin txt, in

such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal inter-

pretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation [italicsaddd] (p. 53). W ar intrstd in xtndin prvious work particularly

with rspct to th lattr part of entmans dfinition. Prvious rsarch

has classifid nano storis with rspct to broad catoris such as sci-

nc fiction, scintific discovry, mdical projct, businss, fundin of

nano, and so on (.., ndrson t al., 2009) but has bn ambiuous

about how nws storis dfin problms, iv moral valuations, or

imply tratmnt rcommndations. Spcifically, rsarch so far has

faild to addrss clarly how nws frams approach th rlationshipbtwn th markt, th stat, and th public intrst. Th nral busi-

nss fram found by a numbr of rsarchrs, for xampl, could rflct

a narrativ mphasis on conomic opportunity, walth, corporat strat-

y, and prorss or could mphasiz rsistanc by corporations to

proposd halth and safty rulations. W s th crucial componnt of

nws frams about nw tchnolois as rstin on how thy prim th

public to think about th intrsts of corporations in brinin products to

th markt or xposin workrs to potntial risks in th workplac, th

rsponsibility of rulators to protct public safty, and th intrsts of

th R&D stablishmnt in this systm.

Potential Issue Frames for Science and Technology

To dvlop a st of issu frams that addrss ths aspcts of nws cov-

ra adquatly, w consultd svral sourcs. W rad widly in th

enlish lanua prss about nanotchnoloy to idntify common thms

and narrativ approachs to th markt, ovrnmnt, and oranizations withan intrst in rulation, and th R&D procss. W thn rad a ran of lit

sourcs about nano that w suspctd miht hav an influnc on th nws

mdia. Ths includd public documnts of th NNI, th eP, and th



9/29


FD, as wll as th Wb sits and rports of many NgOs, includin Frinds

of th earth (FOe), grnpac, and eTC group (eTC). From all ths

sourcs combind, w idntifid four major issu frams rlvant to ourthortical intrsts. Ths frams appar to captur a rat dal of th

varianc in how storis ar told by both lits and journalists; thy satisfy

entmans (1993) dfinition of promotin a particular problm dfinition,

causal intrprtation, moral valuation, and/or tratmnt rcommndation

(p. 53); and thy nrally cut across th nws fram catoris mployd

by othr rsarchrs.

Progress frame. Th first fram w idntifid in our scan of th nwsmdia, ovrnmnt officials, and NgOs involvs prorss. This is a ra-

sonabl startin point, bcaus as Nisbt t al. (2003) obsrv, nws covr-

a of scinc oftn is framd around th ida that th trajctory of rsarch

and dvlopmnt throuh tim is charactrizd by prorss and that intl-

lctual prorss in scinc and tchnoloy lads to social prorss. Th ky

lmnts of th prorss ida ar that scintific discovry and th procss

of tchnoloical dvlopmnt ar in an important sns natural, as

opposd to politically or conomically intrstd, and that th applicationof discovris to th human condition is similarly straihtforward. s a

nral principl, frams ar rootd in cultur, rstin in shard symbols or

shard mntal associations btwn roups of idas or valus and ways of

intrprtin obsrvations. Blif in prorss arisin from th linka of

tchnoloical chan to improvin social conditions is a common lmnt

of mrican cultur, and it is rflctd in th tradition of nws covra of

scinc and tchnoloy.

Prorss has indd bn a cntral thm in statmnts from officials of

th NNI, and w would xpct to s this thm chod in nws covra.

On of th cntral mssas of th NNI is th dsir to us social rsarch

and policy to optimiz tchnoloical prorss by boostin bnficial

rsarch whil anticipatin and rmdyin any potntial costs or sid

ffcts. Th yar aftr Clintons announcmnt, Roco and Bainbrid

(2001) wrot for th NNI in th excutiv Summary of th first major U.S.

ovrnmnt rport on th socital implications of nano; thy xplicitly

mployd th trm progress to charactriz tchnoloys major implica-

tions for halth, walth, and pac in th upcomin dcads, dscribin thfdral ovrnmnts rol as srvin to acclrat that prorss. Thy

dscribd th nd for rsarch on th socital implications of nanotchnol-

oy, which includ ducational, tchnoloical, mdical, nvironmntal,



10/29


thical, lal, tc. and addd that such rsarch will boost th chancs for

NNIs succss and hlp th nation tak advanta of nw tchnoloy

soonr, bttr, and with ratr confidnc (p. iii). In othr words, a bttrundrstandin of th socital implications of tchnoloy srvs to advanc

and optimiz tchnoloical innovation, rathr than srvin as a foundation

for rulation or rprioritizin of R&D policy. This rport, alon with a

follow-up documnt in 2005, is nrally considrd by rsarchrs to b a

ky documnt in th public discussion of nano (s Lwnstin, 2005;

Stphns, 2005).

In nws covra, th prorss fram mphasizs th bnfits to socity

that flow from a natural procss of discovry and application and minimizsissus of rsponsibility, choic, prioritis, and rulation. W associat this

fram with th position of th U.S. R&D stablishmnt, as wll as with th

norm in much popular nws rportin on scinc and tchnoloy. Bcaus

nanotchnoloy has not yt fully rachd th public arna, bcaus no risk

vnts or cass of dirct harm hav occurrd, and bcaus socital conflict

about nano is vry low, w xpct journalists to commonly mploy prorss

frams as a form of dfault approach to storytllin. Prvious rsarch su-

sts that prhaps a fifth of nws storis about nano mphasiz prorss(ndrson t al., 2005; Stphns, 2005; Wilkinson t al., 2007).

Regulation frame. Th scond fram w found mphasizs rulation.

Most nw tchnolois rach a sta of diffusion into socity whr rula-

tory action by ovrnmnt taks plac. This may occur arly in a tchno-

loical lif cycl, as in th cas of stm cll manipulation, or lat, as in th

cas of th history of automobil safty and nvironmntal protction.

Nanotchnolois ar at a vry arly sta of diffusion, but thy includ a

wid ran of applications with potntial rulatory rlvanc, includin in

mdical dianostics and tratmnts, food packain, cosmtics, and sub-

stancs subjct to nvironmntal and workplac disprsion. Our radin

shows that discours about rulation by public officials and othr lits

bcam availabl in th mid-2000s. In 2005, th Prsidnts Council of

dvisors on Scinc and Tchnoloy (2005) rviwd th NNI and mod-

stly broachd th topic of rulation, statin that furthr fforts should b

mad to valuat th potntial toxicity of som nanotchnolois and that

whr harmful human or nvironmntal ffcts ar provn, appropriatrulatory mchanisms should b utilizd by th prtinnt Fdral ancis

(p. 3). Th followin yar, a roup of iht public intrst roups ptitiond

th FD to rulat nanoscal matrials by tratin thm as novl sub-

stancs subjct to scrutiny for safty, instad of continuin to classify thm



11/29


as homonous with thir micro- and macroscal quivalnts. Th sam

yar, th eP issud a notic that it would subjct nanomatrials in washin

machins to rulatory scrutiny whr manufacturrs mak rm-killinclaims about th ffcts of th nanomatrials. Th FD hld a public mt-

in in 2006 on rulation of nano, and in 2007, it announcd that it would

not tak rulatory action. n xpandd ntwork of roups followd up th

2006 action in 2008 with a mor spcific ptition to th eP dmandin

rulatory action on th us of nanosilvr in psticids.

Th public intrst roup eTC provids a classic statmnt of a rula-

tory prspctiv on nanotchnoloy. In Rport somtims citd as influ-

ntial on public discours (Lwnstin, 2005; Schtz & Widmann, 2008),eTC (2003) stats that nanotchnoloy poss horrndous social and nvi-

ronmntal risks and that th producrs hav larly vadd rulatory

scrutiny (p. 4). grnpac is mor xplicit about th qustions of rspon-

sibility that form th rulation fram for th mor nric eLSI issu:

Th intrsts of thos who own and control th nw tchnolois larly

dtrmin how a nw tchnoloy is usd (rnall, 2003, p. 4). FOe (2007)

stats, Sunscrn manufacturrs ar incrasinly usin this unrulatd

tchnoloy (p. 3) and th rsult is novl halth and nvironmntal risksthat cannot b prdictd from convntional matrials (p. 4).

Prvious rsarch on nwspapr covra of nanotchnoloy has shown

th sinificanc of eLSI thms, thouh without spcifically xaminin th

attribution of rsponsibility for rulation. Our rulation fram capturd

storis mphasizin corporations that us nanotchnoloy in production

procsss or that brin products to markt, consumrs who may b harmd

by th actions of ths corporations, or ovrnmnt ancis with rsponsi-

bility for actin to protct th public. This mphasis on th markt-

consumr-rulation triad constitutd our rulation fram.

Conflict frame.Th third fram that mrd in our scannin of nws,

ovrnmnt documnts, and NgO statmnts is a variation on th rula-

tion fram that w suspctd would b sufficintly important to considr

on its own. This fram involvs nanotchnoloy as th nw locus of con-

flict. Traditional nws mdia tnd to favor story subjcts and frams

involvin drama, which frquntly involvs conflict amon th actors

(Bnntt, 2009; Paltz & entman, 1981). W hav no rason to doubt thatthis nral prdilction would apply in th cas of storis about nanot-

chnoloy. In that cas, w would xpct that ths storis miht dscrib

th struls btwn traditional advrsaris in th political systm

namly, corporations and nvironmntal or consumr roups, such as



12/29


thos that ptitiond th FD and eP for rulation. In 2003, eTC

calld for a lobal moratorium on nano rsarch and a rcall of all prod-

ucts, potntially sttin th sta for conflict with businsss. lso, antwork of activists aainst nano matrials conductd public protsts in

th europ and th Unitd Stats in 2004 and 2005, tartin spcific

businss roups, such as th rtailr eddi Baur, and svral nano busi-

nss alliancs and confrncs.

Our conflict fram diffrs in mphasis from a rulation fram by draw-

in attntion to disputs amon spcific socital intrsts or actors.

Rulatory action is rlvant to a story framd around conflict, but in a

rulatory fram, w would xpct to find mphasis on th adjudication ofcomptin intrsts by ovrnmnt rulators. rulatory fram miht

likwis discuss calls for or aainst rulation but would mphasiz ov-

rnmnt as an actor and its rsponsibility for protctin th public at lar

from harm. Th conflict fram focuss on th conflict itslf and on compt-

in claims or intrsts.

Generic risk frame. Th fourth and last fram focuss on nric risks.

In this approach to tllin th story of nanotchnolois, th journalistmiht provid backround on nanotchnoloy, dscribin potntial eLSI

aspcts and idntifyin potntially risky outcoms of innovation but would

avoid framin tchnoloy as xplicitly appropriat for rulatory consid-

ration, as a locus of conflict or disarmnt, or as inhrntly prorssiv.

Th nric risk fram includs a wait-and-s attitud about th ood and

bad aspcts of nw tchnolois and avoids attributin rsponsibility.

Storis framd in this way also avoid th boostrism of th prorss fram,

which is ithr implicit or xplicit about th fact that nw tchnolois flow

naturally from nw discovris and will on th whol improv socity. W

suspctd that a rat dal of th nws covra found by othr rsarchrs

to prsnt a mix of risks and bnfits would in our schm xhibit ithr

this nric risk fram or th prorss fram.

Ths four frams rprsnt a ran of approachs to tllin storis

about nanotchnoloy. Idntifyin th prsnc and frquncy of ths

frams in nws covra would hlp advanc our undrstandin of th

likly public rspons to nanoscal scinc and tchnoloy and would pro-

vid clus about th dynamics of fram buildin by th nws mdia durinth xtndd priod in which nanotchnoloy rmains low in public sali-

nc but also appars to b approachin closr to a plac in dbat within

th administrativ and public arnas.



13/29


Hypotheses and Research Questions

Has any of ths four frams mrd as dominant in nwspapr covr-

a of nano? Nws frams ar blivd to b sticky; that is, onc a nw

issu is framd in a dominant way by th nws mdia, chans in framin

ar typically difficult (Nisbt t al., 2003). For this rason, th arly sta

of nws covra, in which th nws mdia sarch for a fram for a nw

topic, is of particular intrst. If on of th abov frams has diffusd

widly in nws covra, it is likly to b influntial in shapin public

opinion and to rmain dominant unlss substantial nw dvlopmnts altr

journalists approach. On th othr hand, rsarch shows that in nral,xposur to multipl frams, as wll as citizn discussion with othrs

xposd to diffrin frams, tnds to rduc th framin ffcts (Druckman,

2004; Druckman & Nlson, 2003). This would imply that if th framin of

nano is contstd, thn nws mdia influnc on public opinion via framin

mchanisms is likly to b wakr than in th cas of a dominant fram.

W xpct that th nws mdia will b spcially attntiv to th ms-

sas of public officials rathr than th mssas of intrst roups or othr

actors in civil socity, spcially in th absnc of conflict or diffrin pr-spctivs amon officials. Bcaus of th prominnc of mssas from th

nanotchnoloy stablishmnt itslf and th avoidanc of dp namnt

with nano by rulatory officials, w would anticipat that nws framin

would rflct an official fram from th fdral R&D stablishmnt, which

is xmplifid by th statmnts of th NNI and is dominatd by prorss.

W xpct that th prorss fram would b mor prvalnt than th nric

risk fram, its chif rival as a dfault approach to nws. Th fact that th

nws mdia hav bn shown to xhibit a prdisposition toward dscribinscinc and tchnoloy in trms of prorss strnthns this xpctation,

which forms our first hypothsis.

Hypothesis 1: Nws covra of nanotchnoloy is dominatd by th prorss

fram.

Th history of nanotchnoloy as an mrnt public issu ovr th past

dcad has faturd a limitd numbr of proto-rulatory vnts: spcific

warnins to th public about hazards, calls for rulatory action by intrst

roups, and ractions in som cass by rulatory ancis. W xpct that

such vnts would produc shifts in th framin of nws from th dominant

prorss fram to rulatory and conflict frams. But w also xpct that in

th absnc of sustaind disarmnt amon public officials or conflict



14/29


amon socital actors to driv nws, journalists will fall back on th

prorss fram as a dfault approach to tllin storis about scinc and

tchnoloy. This xpctation constituts our scond hypothsis.

Hypothesis 2: Nws covra of nanotchnoloy will xhibit tmporary shifts

toward rulation, risk, and conflict frams in rspons to political dvlop-

mnts, followd by a rturn to th dominant prorss fram.

Th nws mdia do not spak with on voic. lthouh a classic xpcta-

tion is that lit nws outlts tnd to mov in concrt with on anothr,

chans in th structur of nws mdia in th past dcad indicat divr-nc amon individual-outlt nws andas and a dclin in atkpin

capacity. On th topic of nanotchnoloy spcifically, prvious work by

two of th authors of this articl has shown that rlativly littl corrspond-

nc xists in covra volum btwn th New York Times, othr lit

paprs, and th local nws (Wavr & Bimbr, 2008). Th sam study

found that wir storis, spcially from th ssociatd Prss (P), xrtd

th larst sinl influnc on covra of nano in both local outlts and

bi-city nwspaprs, xcpt for th Times. s th structur of th nwspa-pr businss procds throuh th prsnt crisis of rstructurin and loss of

rvnu, it is prudnt to attnd to cross-outlt variation in framin. W s

no basis for formulatin spcific xpctations about th dirction of varia-

tion in framin, so w pos a rsarch qustion.

Research Question 1: r particular frams idntifiabl with particular nws

outlts?

Method

Our mthod involvd collctin nwspapr storis about nano usin

LxisNxis, codin thm for th prsnc of th four frams, and thn

analyzin th frquncy of frams to xamin th hypothss and

rsarch qustion.

Period Under StudyTh NNI was announcd by Prsidnt Clinton in 2000. W dfind our

window for nws collction from th yar prior to his announcmnt and

continuin to th prsnt. Our sampl thrfor starts on January 1, 1999,

and nds on Sptmbr 31, 2008.



15/29


News Outlets

W dfind th population of nws outlts of intrst to b th larst-circulation nwspaprs in th Unitd Stats. Usin th Sptmbr 30,

2006, fiurs from th udit Burau of Circulation, w first chos th 10

larst paprs: USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los

Angeles Times, The Denver Post, Chicago Tribune, The Washington Post,

New York Daily News, New York Post, and The Houston Chronicl. W

usd LxisNxis to conduct full-txt sarchs of ths, with two spcial

cass. LxisNxis provids sarchs only of abstracts of th The Wall

Street Journal rathr than of th full txt, so data on that papr ar basd

on th abstracts. LxisNxis dos not archiv th Chicago Tribune,so w

supplmntd our sarch with sarchs within NwsBank for that papr.

In addition to th 10 nwspaprs, w includd th P as a distinct sourc

of nws. Local nws covra of nanotchnoloy in th Unitd Stats is

dominatd by P storis, and as many as half of th storis in major, bi-

city nwspaprs also oriinat from th P. Howvr, ths storis as thy

appar in distribution ar invisibl to sarchs in LxisNxis bcaus

licnsin policis do not prmit LxisNxis to includ wir storis as thy

appar in th nws stram (Wavr & Bimbr, 2008). For xampl, an Pstory carrid byLos Angeles Times, The Denver Post, and USA Today will

appar in LxisNxis only onc, as an articl sourcd from th P, and its

prsnc in th thr paprs will b invisibl. Fridman & eolf (2005) ar

snsitiv to this problm, thouh it is not widly rconizd and poss

substantial validity problms for studis attmptin to dtrmin which

nws storis actually rach thir audincs. Th problm is spcially acut

for attmpts to study local nws about issus of national scop, sinc th

bulk of such nws oriinats from wirs and othr syndicatd sourcs. Wthrfor focusd our study on national nws, and w includd a sparat

sarch for P-producd storis, thouh w could not know how widly

ths wr circulatd.

News Stories

common practic in rsarch on nanotchnoloy in th nws has

involvd conductin broad sarchs on all nws storis about nano, anapproach typically implmntd usin sarchs on th variants of two

trms: nanotechnology and nanoscience (gorss & Lwnstin, 2005;

Stphns, 2005). ndrson t al. (2005) us nano, nanotechnology, grey

goo, and nanobot/nanorobot. Fridman & eolf (2005) us a rfind



16/29


approach, idntifyin storis about nano that also pass a Boolan tst com-

binin trms rlatin to th nvironmnt, halth, risk, and rlatd prob-

lms. This focuss th sampl on nws that dscribs th thical, lal, orsocial aspcts of nanotchnoloy. In constructin our nws sarch, w

xtndd thir tchniqu usin two stps, th first dsind to b inclusiv

usin automatd sarchin and th scond to rfin th rsults usin

human inspction of th storis.

First, w sarchd for storis containin any prmutation of nano

(nano!)particularly nano, nanoscinc, nanoscal, and nanotchnoloy

and any on of th followin: risk!, toxic!, priva!, survillanc, disast!, oo,

slf-rplicatin, swarm, slud, thic!, unthical, rulat!, ruls, harm!, dan-r!, halth, illnss, sick, nvironmnt!, standards, law, lal, policy, ovrn,

ovrnanc, saf!, hazard!, controvrs!, dama, or concrn!. lso, usin

Boolan oprators, w xcludd storis that includd nanosecondand ppl

Corporations Nano lin of products. Th rsult of this stp was 1,763 storis.

Our scond stp was human scrnin of ths. Consistnt with prvious stud-

is, ths storis wr ovrwhlminly dominatd by covra of R&D brak-

throuhs, writ-ups of businss opportunitis associatd with nano, and

scinc-orintd storis about intrstin faturs of nano. W considr suchstoris to constitut intrnal covra of scinc and tchnoloy, bcaus of

th tndncy to focus xclusivly on scintific and tchnoloical dvlopmnt

or to offr positiv spculation from scintists and ninrs thmslvs about

potntial applications of thir work, which ar invariably positiv. Th unsur-

prisin conclusion from this stp is that journalists tnd to tll positiv storis

about scinc and tchnoloy. Bcaus so many of ths storis do not addrss

socital or human concrns at all, thy form a wak indicator of how nws

mdia fram th intrsction of tchnoloy and prorss, rulation, and

political conflict, when journalists are actually addressing such issues.

Thrfor, w stipulatd that th bulk of nws covra of scinc and tch-

noloy compriss storis about discovris and invntions, without attntion

to eLSIs. W dsind our analysis to xamin what happns whn th nws

mdia o byond such storis and attmpt to addrss broadr implications, in

ordr to form a mor strinnt tst of our hypothss.

Thrfor, our scrnin stp filtrd th data st for storis in which

journalists attmpt to addrss som potntial concrn, sid ffct, risk, or

problm associatd with tchnoloical innovation. To do this, w handcodd th full-txt rsults2 of this sarch to fla storis includin at last

on potntial social, thical, halth, nvironmntal, or rulatory concrn.

Storis passin this filtr numbrd 137. W assssd th rliability of th



17/29


codin for this scrnin stp usin two codrs and a rliability sampl of

157 storis drawn from a larr st of raw sarchs usin our Boolan

oprators in th LxisNxis databas. Cohns kappa is 0.71.

Coding for the Frames and Reliability

W dvlopd codin critria for th four frams, xaminin th lad

fram in ach of th 137 storis. W dfind th lad fram as that con-

taind in th titl and lad pararaph tothr. Thr ar svral rasons for

our dcision to focus on th lad fram. Th first is that w viw th lad

fram as intrinsically important. For radrs scannin many storis lihtly,th lad fram may b th only fram thy ncountr. For thos radin a

story mor closly, th lad fram sinals to thm what th articl is about

and how to intrprt subsqunt txt. W also notd that lad frams in

nwspapr storis hav bn shown to b rliabl as proxis for codin full-

txt contnt for hih lvls of aration and small numbrs of contnt

catoris (lthaus, edy, & Phaln, 2001). For our purposs, ach fram

was a dichotomous variabl, for four variabls.

Our rliability procdur for this stp was as follows. First, w pilotdour codin schm usin two codrs and a st of 25 storis drawn from

nws outlts not includd in th study samplthat is, outlts not amon

th 10 larst nwspaprs. Th codrs scord ach fram sparatly as

prsnt or absnt, producin four variabls for rliability tstin. Rliabilitis

of th pilot round wr mixd, so th codrs rpatd pilot rounds of 50

nw storis for svral itrations, with trainin btwn th itrations.

total of about 10 hours of trainin was rquird. For th final rliability st,

w usd all th storis from th top 10 nwspaprs (N= 82) for th priod

2000 throuh 2007 as a rliability sampl, and both codrs codd all storis.

Th valus of Cohns kappa wr as follows: prorss fram, 0.83; rula-

tion fram, 0.89; conflict fram, 0.78; and nric risk fram, 0.78. Data

from on codr for th ntir data st wr thn usd for th analysis.

Results

To provid a contxt for analyzin th frquncy of th four frams, it isfirst usful to xamin th ovrall volum of nws covra. W do this by

quartr-yar, from 1999 throuh th third quartr of 2008. cross th whol

priod, th avra numbr of storis pr quartr from th top 10 paprs is



18/29


2.3lss than 1 pr month. In addition, th P producd an avra of

about 1 story pr quartr. Bcaus LxisNxis dos not includ storis car-

rid in th top paprs that oriinatd from wir srvics includin P, whav sparatly producd an stimat of th siz of this problm (Wavr

& Bimbr, 2008). In a study of th priod from 2006 to 2007, th most

activ priod, w found that a littl ovr half of th storis about nano run-

nin in major paprs wr producd by P. Usin this fiur, w stimat

that th actual volum of nws in th top paprs was prhaps 4 to 5 storis

pr quartr, which is tantamount to assumin that ach P story was carrid

on avra by 2 of th top 10 paprs. Ths fiurs confirm that nanotch-

noloy was not hih on th nws anda.Thr is a ood dal of variation around ths mans, as Fiur 1 shows.

Nws covra ros from non in th first quartr of 1999 to a modst pak

in 2000, in rspons to th announcmnt of th NNI. ftr modst attn-

tion to th NNI, th story count fll throuh 2002 to th point whr non

Not: Cumulativ story count, by quartr, for th 10 larst-circulation U.S. paprs and th

ssociatd Prss.

Figure 1

Volume of news on nano, 1999-2008



19/29


of th major paprs or P producd a story mtin our critria for 9

months. Journalists attntion rturnd to nano in 2003, whn th story

count startd oscillatin in an upward trnd to paks of 5 to 7 storis prquartr in th top 10 paprs in lat 2006 and arly 2007.

Contrary to th nral xpctation that nano is risin on th nws

anda, w do not find an upward trnd in nws producd by th top 10

paprs ovr th past 5 yars. For th priod from th third quartr of 2003

to th third quartr of 2008, th story count actually trnds downward

somwhat but is chifly charactrizd by oscillation. simpl linar fit to

story count ovr tim shows ssntially no trnd (R2= .02).

Our first hypothsis prdicts that th dominant fram is prorss. Toanalyz fram counts, w trat P as a sinl sourc and combin it with

covra from th top 10 paprs, for a total of 11 sourcs. Ovr th ntir

priod for th 11 sourcs, th frquncis of th four frams ar as follows:

prorss, 40%; nric risk, 37%; rulation, 18%; and conflict, 5%. Th

diffrnc btwn prorss and nric risk is not sinificant at th .05

lvl, whil th othr diffrncs ar sinificant pairwis in t tsts and

across all four frams in an analysis of varianc. This rmains tru whn P

storis ar rmovd. W thrfor rjct Hypothsis 1 for th whol priod.Th prorss and nric risk frams occur at similar frquncis, whil th

rulation and conflict ar mor uncommon. Th data would support a

modification of Hypothsis 1 that would stat that tothr, th nric risk

and prorss frams ar dominant.

Whn w plot th frquncy of frams ovr tim, two trnds stand out

that bar closr xamination, as dpictd in Fiur 2. Th first is that th

initiation of th NNI in 2000 was covrd by th nws mdia ntirly usin

th prorss and nric risk frams. In th 3-yar priod 1999 throuh

2001, w find 14 prorss-framd storis and 7 nric riskframd storis,

which is supportiv of Hypothsis 1 for this priod alon.

ftr th ris in covra in 2003, journalists aain favord th prorss

and nric risk frams, but in mid-2004, thy ban incrasinly framin

storis around rulation. Thouh rulation-framd storis droppd off in

2007 and 2008, prorss-framd storis did as wll.

Th composition of frams in th nws stram can b visualizd diffr-

ntly by xaminin th fraction of ach yars nws framd in ach of th

four ways. Fiur 3 prsnts th data this way, showin th incrasindivrsity of fram typs ovr tim. Hypothsis 2 prdicts that th prorss

fram will srv as a dfault approach to storytllin, to which journalists

will rturn followin tmporary shifts in frams to covr rulatory or



20/29


conflict-basd issus. Th data do not support this xpctation, sustin

instad that journalists approach to framin is divrsifyin ovr tim.

Thr ar at last two possibl xplanations for th incrasin divrsity offrams ovr tim. Th first is that vnts such as th ptition to th FD and

th ePs announcmnt about rulatin nanosilvr licit storis framd

around th objcts of covra: rulatory ancis and issus. Onc journal-

ists start covrin storis this way, thy may b lss likly in th futur to

rturn to th dfault prorss fram. That is, th incras in fram divrsity

rflcts a broadnin of journalists viwpoints about nano. Th scond

xplanation is that th ris in th numbr of storis about nano in th mid-

2000s simply rflcts th viw and frams of a larr numbr of nws outlts.

W xplor ths two possibilitis by xaminin whthr a corrlation

xists btwn th numbr of storis and th divrsity of frams. To do this,

w us th Hrfindahl indx (H), which masurs concntration (or its

invrs, divrsity). H varis from a hih of 1, which indicats complt

Not: Cumulativ story count, by yar, for th 10 larst-circulation U.S. paprs and th

ssociatd Prss combind.

Figure 2

Frequency of the four news frames, 1999-2008



21/29


concntration in a sinl actor or unit amon Ntotal actors (.., only on

fram appars), to a low of 1/N, which mans that ach actor or unit shars

an qual fraction of th total (.., ach of th four frams appars 25% of

th tim). W comput a valu ofHfor ach yar, and thn for ach nws

outlt. For th yarly analysis,Hvaris from 1 in 2001 and 2002 to a low

of 0.34 in 2006, whn prorss, rulation, and nric risk appard in

narly qual numbr. Th Parson corrlation btwn Hand numbr of

storis pr yar is .65 (p= .04). ood dal of th fram divrsity in th

mid-2000s is corrlatd with mor storis bin publishd. Whn w calcu-

lat H across publications, by aratin ach outlts storis ovr th

whol tim priod, w can s whthr a rlationship xists btwn th

numbr of storis each publication producs and th numbr of frams itmploys. Hr w find a corrlation of.34 that dos not rach sinificanc

(p= .41). This susts that it is mainly cross-publication variation that

Not: Proportion of all storis xhibitin ach of th four frams, by yar, in th 10 larst-

circulation U.S. paprs and th ssociatd Prss combind.

Figure 3

Composition of news by frame, 1999-2008



22/29


producs divrsity in frams. Paprs that prfr on or two of th frams

hav a nral tndncy to stick with ths whthr thy publish fw ormany storis. So whn an vnt taks plac and mor outlts covr a story,

ach brins a portfolio of fram prfrncs to th mix, with th rsult that

th mor th outlts that covr nano, th ratr th numbr of frams that

ar availabl to th public.

Variation at th lvl of individual nws outlts is th subjct of

Rsarch Qustion 1, which inquirs whthr particular nws outlts

favor particular frams. W tabulatd th apparanc of ach fram in

covra by th nwspaprs, as shown in Tabl 1. Som of th valus arconsistnt with th nral intuition about th orintation of th paprs.

The Wall Street Journal, for instanc, carrid no storis with a rulation

fram and had th larst fraction of prorss frams in th sampl. This

is consistnt with th rputation of thJournal for consrvativ ditorship

with an mphasis on fr-markt activitis. The Washington Post, on th

othr hand, mployd th rulation fram th most and th prorss

fram th last, which is also consistnt with its focus on national politics

and, spcially, Washinton institutions. Th New York Times, th outlt

with th most storis, was scond to th Journal in th fraction of storis

mployin th prorss fram. Yt for th most part, th nws outlts ach

mployd a mix of frams. Th valus ofHacross th outlts ran from

Table 1

Frames by Publication

Story Rulation Conflict Prorss gnric

Publication Count (%) (%) (%) Risk (%) Ha

ssociatd Prss 33 27 0 45 27 0.36

Chicago Tribune 5 40 20 40 0 0.36

The Denver Post 2 0 0 50 50 0.50

The Houston Chronicle 14 21 0 36 43 0.36

New York Times 33 3 9 52 36 0.41

USA Today 5 20 0 40 40 0.36

The Wall Street Journal 6 0 17 67 17 0.50The Washington Post 27 26 4 15 56 0.40

Not: Th followin ran no storis: Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, andNew York

Post.

a. Hrfindahl indx.



23/29


0.36 to 0.5, indicatin that individual outlts mploy diffrnt frams for

diffrnt storis, and as Tabl 1 shows, this ffct is only wakly a rsult

of th numbr of storis ach papr producs.Our conclusion about Rsarch Qustion 1 is that whil som outlts

xhibit fram prfrncs, such as The Wall Street Journal and th prorss

fram, th bir pictur is that journalists mploy a mix of frams across

all nws outlts, and this mix rw substantially btwn 2003 and 2008.

Th primary st of dvlopmnts that ld to th shift in nws covra

toward rulation took plac in 2005 and 2006. W xamind ths in

som dtail to bttr undrstand how covra by spcific outlts rflctd

unfoldin dvlopmnts in administrativ arnas. Covra framd aroundrulation ban on Dcmbr 5, 2005, with an articl in th The

Washington Post sayin, Momntum is buildin in Conrss, nviron-

mntal circls and in th industry itslf to bf up fdral ovrsiht of

nanomatrials (Wiss, 2005). Th story citd prssur from public roups

for rulators to act dcisivly about nano, includin discussion at a Hous

Scinc Committ harin, an xprt rport from th Woodrow Wilson

Intrnational Cntr for Scholars about th xtnt of nanomatrials in th

marktplac, and criticism of an eP voluntary stwardship proram bywhich corporations could choos to adopt basic safty standards. Thr

days latr, th P ran a vry similar story, citin discussions at th

National Institut of Occupational Safty and Halth (NIOSH), th Wilson

Cntr rport and work by othr acadmics, and claims by nvironmntal

advocacy roups (Smith, 2005). Th followin month, anothr rport by

th Wilson Cntr sayin fdral rulations wr inadquat to protct

th public licitd storis with rulation frams by th P, th Post,

and th Chicago Tribune. In pril 2006, th ptition to th FD for rula-

tion of nano by a roup of nvironmntal and consumr roups licitd

rulation-framd storis by th P, th Post, and The Houston Chronicle,

whil th New York Times put out a nric risk story. Lat in 2006, th

eP issud its announcmnt about rulatin rm-killin claims, and

shortly thraftr, th city of Brkly issud a local ordinanc rquirin

firms producin or handlin nanoparticls to disclos th fact. P pro-

ducd svral rulation storis about eP and Brkly, th Post pro-

ducd two, and USA Today and The Houston Chronicle ach producd

on. In arly 2007, th New York Times producd its first and only storywith a rulation fram.

Th brif sur in storis about rulation thrfor rflctd th intrac-

tion of svral strams of vnts with rportin by ky nws outlts,



24/29


spcially th P and The Washington Post. Th first stram compriss

xprt rports about nanotchnoloy and socity publishd in 2005 by th

NNI, th U.K. Royal Socity and Royal cadmy of eninrin, and, pr-haps most prominntly in th Unitd Stats, th Woodrow Wilson Cntrs

Projct on emrin Nanotchnolois. Th scond stram of vnts was

advocacy by public roups such as grnpac, th National Rsourcs

Dfns Council, and eTC, which had bn activ for svral yars in callin

for public policy chan and vn conductin protsts. Th third stram was

attntion to th issu by administrativ ancisFD, eP, and NIOSH

and to a lssr xtnt th Hous Scinc Committ and th city of Brkly.

Th conflunc of ths dvlopmnts in ths thr stramsrports byxprts, advocacy by public roups, and attntion from policymakrsin lat

2005 and 2006 licitd rulation-framd storis from som nws outlts,

whil othrs stuck prdominantly with storis framd around prorss or

nric risk.

Discussion

Prvious rsarch has shown a prdilction on th part of nws mdia to

tll storis about scinc and tchnoloy in positiv trms and to mphasiz

a nral thm of prorss whil rflctin a wid varity of topical appro-

achs to nano, from scinc fiction to businss opportunitis. Our work

shows that whn on cuts across such catoris to inquir about how th

nws mdia trat qustions of rsponsibility and th rol of th stat with

rspct to th markt, th answr is quit intrstin. Th prorss fram,

which dmphasizs th rol of corporations and ovrnmnt in favor of an

mphasis on th natural unfoldin of scinc, has diminishd in fr-

quncy ovr tim in storis about th socital implications of nanotch-

nolois. It dominatd arly covra, almost crtainly as a rflction of th

boostrism of th NNI. Th mid-2000s saw a ris in storis framd around

rulation, and to a lssr xtnt conflict, and contrary to both our own

xpctations and th nral trnd in th litratur, th nws mdia did not

simply rturn to rlianc on prorss as th chif fram for nano followin

th dcras in activitis involvin rulators aftr th mid-2000s. By th

nd of our study priod in 2008, with th ovrall volum of nws trndindownward, th most common fram was nric risk, followd by rula-

tion, thn prorss, and finally conflict. This is a substantial chan from a



25/29


dcad ao, whn prorss frams dominatd covra and xmplifid th

prspctiv of th NNI at that point.

W viw this as a positiv rflction on journalism. Clarly th bst sci-nc journalism os byond th translation of scinc for th public by

providin contxt and th basis for citizns to connct thir own valus and

political judmnts to tradoffs involvd in scinc and tchnoloy. W

bliv this mans also oin byond mrly placin tchnoloy in a n-

ral businss or social contxt. It ntails idntifyin th intrsts of th

playrs involvd in innovation, as wll as th rsponsibilitis of lctd

officials who ar accountabl for rprsntin conflictin intrsts and for

protctin public safty. In nws framd around prorss, th rsarchntrpris is ssntially slf-corrctin, as it chifly producs socital

bnfits and can also, with sufficint car and xpnditur, anticipat th

problms or risks it itslf crats and can corrct ths. Traditional

prorss-framd storis and rports of discovry not only typically fail to

prim popl to think about rsponsibility, thy may also activly imply to

radrs that scinc dvlopmnts just happn. s Iynar (1991) has

shown, whn popl viw th dvlopmnts around thm in an vnt-cn-

tric way rathr than in a thmatic contxt, thy ar lss inclind to think intrms of rsponsibility and accountability. W find it ncourain that th

incras in attntion to nanotchnoloy by th nws mdia in th mid-

2000s has ld to a divrsification of frams and that th consqunc so far

has not bn a rturn to prorss-framd journalism. In th cas w hav

xamind hr, crdit os sinificantly to th P and The Washington

Post.

Our study was dsind to xamin only storis in which th nws

mdia attnd in som way to thical, lal, or social concrns with nanot-

chnoloy, which mans that w xcludd th vast majority of nws covr-

a that simply rports on dvlopmnts in scinc and tchnoloy. W

would xpct thos storis to b framd narly univrsally around prorss,

and this tmprs our conclusions about th practic of framin by scinc

journalists. Our findins show that whn nws mdia do attnd to thical,

lal, or social concrns associatd with nanoscinc and tchnoloy, thy

ar choosin amon th rulation, nric risk, and prorss frams, with

th conflict fram a distant fourth. W thrfor hop that a larr fraction

of storis about scinc and tchnoloy would addrss ths issus, andwould do so with frams othr than prorss.

It is too soon to draw conclusions about how nanotchnoloy will

far in th nws mdia in th lon trm. It is clar that th divrsity of th



26/29


27/29


rnall, . H. (2003). Future technologies, todays choices: Nanotechnology, artificial intelli-

gence and roboticsa technical, political, and institutional map of emerging technologies.

London: grnpac environmntal Trust.Bnntt, W. L. (2009).News: The politics of illusion (8th d.). Nw York: Parson.

Bsly, J. C., Kramr, V. L., & Prist, S. (2008). exprt opinion on nanotchnoloy: Risk,

bnfits, and rulation.Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 10, 549-558.

Bijkr, W., Huhs, T. P., & Pinch, T. (1987). The social construction of technological systems:

New directions in the sociology and history of technology. Cambrid: MIT Prss.

Blum, D., & Knudson, M. (eds.). (1997).A field guide for science writers. Nw York: Oxford

Univrsity Prss.

Cobb, M. (2005). Framin ffcts on public opinion about nanotchnoloy. Science

Communication, 27, 221-239.

Cobb, M., & Macoubri, J. (2004). Public prcptions of nanotchnoloy: Risks, bnfits, andtrust.Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 6, 395-405.

Druckman, J. N. (2004). Political prfrnc formation: Comptition, dlibration, and th (ir)

rlvanc of framin ffcts.American Political Science Review, 98, 671-686.

Druckman, J. N., & Nlson, K. R. (2003). Framin and dlibration: How citizns convrsa-

tions limit lit influnc.American Journal of Political Science, 47, 729-745.

ellul, J. (1964). The technological society. Nw York: Knopf.

entman, R. M. (1993). Framin: Toward clarification of a fracturd paradim. Journal of

Communication, 43, 5158.

eTC group. (2003). The big down: Atomtechtechnologies converging at the nano-scale.

Winnip, Manitoba, Canada: uthor.Fridman, S. M., & eolf, B. P. (2005). Nanotchnoloy risks and th mdia.IEEE Technology

and Society Magazine, 24, 5-11.

Fridman, S. M., & eolf, B. P. (2007, Dcmbr 18). Changing patterns of mass media

coverage of nanotechnology risks. Prsntation for th Projct on emrin

Nanotchnolois, Woodrow Wilson Intrnational Cntr for Scholars, Washinton, DC.

Rtrivd May 5, 2009, at www.nanotchprojct.or/procss/fils/5920/woodrowwilson-

washintondc182007final.pdf

Frinds of th earth. (2007).Nanotechnology and sunscreens: A consumer guide for avoiding

nano-sunscreens. Mlbourn, Victoria, ustralia: uthor.

gaskll, g., Tn eyck, T., Jackson, J., & Vltri, g. (2005). Nanotchnoloy: Cultural supportfor tchnoloical innovation in europ and th Unitd Stats. Public Understanding of

Science, 14, 81-90.

gorss, J. B., & Lwnstin, B. V. (2005, May). The salience of small: Nanotechnology cover-

age in the American press, 1986-2004. Papr prsntd at th annual confrnc of th

Intrnational Communication ssociation, Nw York.

Iynar, S. (1991). Is anyone responsible? How television frames political issues. Chicao:

Univrsity of Chicao.

L, C. J., Schufl, D. ., & Lwnstin, B. V. (2005). Public attituds toward mrin

tchnolois: examinin th intractiv ffcts of conitions and affct on public attituds

toward nanotchnoloy. Science Communication, 27, 240-267.Lwnstin, B. V. (2005). What counts as a social and thical issu in nanotchnoloy?

HYLE: International Journal for Philosophy of Chemistry, 11, 5-18. Rtrivd uust 28,

2007, from www.hyl.or/journal/issus/11-1/lwnstin.htm#ad



28/29


Mantovani, e., Porcari, ., Mili, C., & Widmr, M. (2009).Mapping study on regulation and

governance of nanotechnologies (FraminNano Projct Consortium). Rtrivd May 22,

2009, from www.framinnano.u/imas/storis/FraminNanoMappinStudyFinal.pdfMaynard-Moody, S. (1992). Th ftal rsarch disput. In D. Nlkin (ed.), Controversy:

Politics of technical decisions (3rd d., pp. 3-25). Nwbury Park, C: Sa.

Maynard-Moody, S. (1995). Manain controvrsis ovr scinc: Th cas of ftal rsarch.

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 5, 5-8.

Nlson, T. e., Clawson, R. ., & Oxly, Z. M. (1997). Mdia framin of a civil librtis con-

flict and its ffct on tolranc.American Political Science Review, 91, 567-583.

Nisbt, M. C., Brossard, D., & Kropsch, . (2003). Framin scinc: Th stm cll contro-

vrsy in an a of prss/politics.Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 8, 36-70.

Paltz, D., & entman, R. (1981).Media power politics, Nw York: Fr Prss.

Pidon, N., Kasprson, R. e., & Slovic, P. (eds.). (2003). The social amplification of risk.Cambrid, UK: Cambrid Univrsity Prss.

Prsidnts Council of dvisors on Scinc and Tchnoloy (2005). The National

Nanotechnology Initiative at five years: Assessment and recommendations of the National

Nanotechnology Advisory Panel, Washington, DC. Rtrivd July 15, 2005, from www

.nano.ov/FINL_PCST_NNO_RePORT.pdf

Roco, M. C., & Bainbrid, W. S. (eds.). (2001). Societal implications of nanoscience and

nanotechnology. Washinton, DC: U.S. National Scinc and Tchnoloy Council,

Subcommitt on Nanoscal Scinc eninrin and Tchnoloy.

Sandlr, R., & Kay, W. D. (2006). Th gMO-Nanotch (dis)analoy? Bulletin of Science,

Technology & Society, 26, 57-62.Schufl, D. ., Corly, e. ., Dunwoody, S., Shih, T.-S., Hillback, e., & guston, D. H.

(2007). Scintists worry about som risks mor than th public.Nature Nanotechnology,

2, 732-734.

Schufl, D. ., & Lwnstin, B. V. (2005). Th public and nanotchnoloy: How citizns

mak sns of mrin tchnolois.Journal of Nanoparticle Research, 7, 659-667.

Schtz, H., & Widmann, P. (2008). Framin ffcts on risk prcption of nanotchnoloy.

Public Understanding of Science, 17, 369-379.

Smith, M. (2005, Dcmbr 8). s nanoparticls ntr our livs, stppd up rsarch urd on

potntial risks. ssociatd Prss. ccssd from LxisNxis.

Stphns, L. F. 2005. Nws narrativs about nano S&T in major U.S. and non-U.S. nwspa-prs. Science Communication, 27, 175-199.

Wavr, D. ., & Bimbr, B. (2008). Findin nws storis: comparison of sarchs usin

LxisNxis and gool Nws.Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 85, 515-

530.

Wiss, R. (2005, Dcmbr 5). Nanotchnoloy rulation ndd, critics say. The Washington

Post. ccssd from LxisNxis.

Wilkinson, C., llan, S., ndrson, ., & Ptrsn, . (2007). From uncrtainty to risk?

Scintific and nws mdia portrayals and nanoparticl safty. Health, Risk & Society, 9,

145-157.



29/29


David A. Weaver, M (Univrsity of North Carolina), is a PhD candidat in th Dpartmnt

of Political Scinc at th Univrsity of California, Santa Barbara, whr h studis political

communication.

Erica Lively, MS (Univrsity of California, Santa Barbara), is a PhD candidat in th

Dpartmnt of elctrical and Computr eninrin at th Univrsity of California, Santa

Barbara, whr sh studis optical communications tchnoloy.

Bruce Bimber, PhD (MIT), is a profssor in th Dpartmnts of Political Scinc and (by

affiliation) Communication at th Univrsity of California, Santa Barbara, whr h studis

diital mdia and politics.

Science Communication 2009 Weaver 139 66

Documents

Transcript of Science Communication 2009 Weaver 139 66