Abstract
Different regulations about the permission and approval rate of biotechnology and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) between the USA and Europe have been controversial for decades. While there is a wide scientific coverage of what may be the cause of this divergence, little is known about the role that popular media play in the related political discourse. We analyzed the media coverage of biotechnology topics in both the USA and UK from 2011-2013 by examining two opinion-leading newspapers. We test the hypothesis that the respective media content reflects differences in transatlantic policies towards biotechnology. The two newspapers differed in reporting intensity but were alike in their content about GMOs: with the central actors being scientists and NGOs, arguing mostly in the field of the agricultural sector, the debate seems to be locked in a stalemate of potential risks re-iterated against potential benefits, with none of the two positions clearly dominating the discourse.
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Acknowledgments
It is a great pleasure to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. George Baourakis and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh) that presented me with a most memorable learning experience and an inside look into the world of science and research. First and foremost, I could not but thank Dr. Kostas Karantininis for his invaluable guidance, advice, support, and encouragement, both in times of excitement and disappointment. My deepest appreciation goes also to Drs. Gaskell and Bauer for all their academic work that has always been an enormous inspiration for me.
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Galata, L., Karantininis, K., Hess, S. (2014). Cross-Atlantic Differences in Biotechnology and GMOs: A Media Content Analysis. In: Zopounidis, C., Kalogeras, N., Mattas, K., van Dijk, G., Baourakis, G. (eds) Agricultural Cooperative Management and Policy. Cooperative Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06635-6_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06635-6_16
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