Media Reporting of Radiation Risk in Europe. L.J. Frewer, Department of Consumer Sciences, Early Gate, Whiteknights Road, Reading RG6 6BZ, UK
The question of the impact of the media on public risk perception has been a matter of much debate. For example, it has been argued that public resistance to genetic engineering in Germany was created by the media. It is important to understand what is transmitted in the media in terms of risk information, and relate this to public risk perceptions. At present, there is little empirical research addressing whether there is a correlation between reporting of risk and public responses to potential hazards.
Previous research within the domain of food -- related risk has indicated that perceptually different hazards are characterised by the extent to which they are associated with qualitative and quantitative risk reporting. It is proposed to examine media reporting of different radiation risks within the same framework.
The 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident is likely to result in an increase in risk reporting associated with radiation, particularly in those countries most affected by the original accident. As well as quantitative differences, it is hypothesised that the content of reporting will differ in terms of qualitative information presented according to country. Furthermore, it is postulated that increased reporting of technological risk will produce heightened perceptions for technological hazards in general.
It is proposed to discuss some research questions which lead on from this research. For example, the question of whether the media sets the agenda for public discourse, or reflects the public debate, has not been adequately addressed. The future development of methodologies will be presented as a topic for audience discussion.