News' Compartmentalization : Implications for Food Biotechnology Coverage

Abstract

This essay explains that some of the news media s challenges and problems in covering agrobiotechnology might be linked to structural organization and traditions within the nation s newsrooms. Within serious news organizations, food biotechnology news often has been perceived as an agriculture food or business story, instead of a science, environment, or investigative story. All these news emphases, or beats, have different traditions and inclinations in news reporting, which may explain how food biotechnology news has been covered by American journalists. This essay notes the importance to increase interest in food biotechnology coverage--especially among science writers within serious news organizations.