Making a small country count: nanotechnology in Danish newspapers from 1996 to 2006

Abstract

This article presents the results of a content study of how nanotechnology has been framed in Danish national newspapers by taking a random sample of 250 articles published between 1996 and 2006 from a population of 1,062 articles. The articles were analyzed for “dominant frame” and “dominant tone” with respect to risks and benefits of nanotechnology. The findings demonstrate a remarkable positive tone in the articles with a ratio of ten to one in favor of “benefits outweigh risks” versus “risks outweigh benefits.” Using data from this content study the author analyzes patterns of newspaper attention and framing. The data are used in a comparative study to challenge simplistic narratives of general similarities and differences between European and US contexts, making a claim for paying more attention to local cultural and national contexts in studies of media coverage of emerging technologies.

Microblogging and nanotweets: Nanotechnology on Twitter

“…Anderson, Allan et al, 2005;Kjølberg, 2009;Kjaergaard, 2010;Donk, Metag, Kohring, & Marcinkowski, 2012;Groboljsek & Mali, 2012;Veltri, 2012 ▪ Women and the college-educated are also slightly more likely than average to use the service.…”

“…In the few other European countries studied, nanotechnology coverage has been overall positive indeed, for example in Norway (Kjølberg, 2009) and Denmark (Kjaergaard, 2010). The main themes emerged in these two countries were : 'nanotechnology as important for the future' and 'nanotechnology is under control' and 'benefits outweigh risks'.…”

From the laboratory to prime time: science coverage in the main Brazilian TV newscast

“…For example, in the journal Brazilian Journalism Research, out of the 50 articles on journalism published between 2005 and 2008, only five focused on the news conveyed by the TV 7 . When searching for papers on science and technology content in the newscasts, the number of Brazilian research publications is even smaller, with most papers dealing with science coverage in general in the foreign printed press 8,9,10,11,12 or with specific scientific issues such as nanotechnology, 13,14 biotechnology, 16,17,18 and climate change, 19,20,21,22,23 mostly in foreign media. The identification of the position occupied by science in the media, particularly television, would make it possible to check to what extent Brazilians' demand for this kind of information is met.…”

Publics, issues, and nanotechnology in Indian news media

“…These studies range from attempts to elicit the public view on nanotechnology, for instance with the use of opinion polls or focus groups [4][5][6][7][8] or by analyzing the way nanotechnology is framed in the newspapers [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] to more pro-active studies that actively try to involve the public in the development and governance of nanotechnology. [18][19][20][21] While the views of the public are central to these studies, they often take for granted who counts as a member of the public.…”