Katie Abrams

Feeding the Debate: A Qualitative Framing Analysis of Organic Food News Media Coverage

Consumer interest in organic food has increased in recent years due to concerns over conventional production practices, health standards and environmental protection. Organic food production can be viewed as both an ally and rival of traditional agriculture. Americans tend to be more susceptible to media coverage about production agriculture. Determining how the media frames organic food is important because news frames can determine what becomes salient in conversations from the dinner table to Capitol Hill. This study employed qualitative content analysis methodology to discover how five national newspapers framed organic foods during an 18-month period. Emergent frames included “ethical,” “health,” “production,” and “industrialization.” Emphasis was placed on the ethical and moral reasons to purchase organic food with limited discussion of the scientific evidence for consumer claims of superior quality, safety, and nutrition. Overall, common sources included consumers, industry representatives, and organic farmers. Future research should utilize the identified frames to examine news coverage over a longer time frame and in additional media such as agricultural magazines.

Conversations with Gatekeepers: An Exploratory Study of Agricultural Publication Editors' Decisions to Publish Risk Coverage

The United States’ agriculture industry is impacted by numerous f inancial, human, legal, and production risks. These risks are frequently reported in mass media and agricultural publications. Farmers often use agricultural magazines to help them make production decisions and learn about new technology, which both involve some element of risk. Gatekeeping is the process of determining what information is included in media coverage in which editors serve as gatekeepers and make decisions regarding what topics to report. The purpose of this study was to discover how agricultural publication editors, in their role as gatekeepers, make decisions regarding coverage of risk related to agriculture and to explore the forces that influence this coverage. Researchers interviewed seven purposively selected editors of national or regional agricultural magazines. The f indings indicated that the editors conceptualize risk in agriculture differently from how agricultural risks are reported in the mainstream media for the more general public; many emphasized the issues in terms of marketing or f inancial risk. Editors emphasized that they report on risk from an action angle, providing advice or information on how to mitigate the risk. The public’s perception of agriculture, advertisers, and personal topic preferences were cited as influencers of their risk coverage. When covering risk stories, agricultural publication editors prefer journalists who can write well and have an agricultural background or knowledge of the industry. Future research should be conducted to expand on the results from this exploratory study.

From Opposite Corners: Comparing Persuasive Message Factors and Frames in Opposing Organizations' Websites

The U.S. animal agriculture industry has recently faced increasing pressure from organizations that seek to change or eliminate certain animal production practices. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the persuasive messages factors present on two nonprofit organizations’ websites. The Humane Society of the United States and the Animal Agriculture Alliance have opposing missions with the former advocating for reform in animal agriculture and the latter advocating for stakeholders in animal agriculture. A content analysis of each organization’s website found that the Humane Society’s Factory Farms website had more content overall, more content regarding specific animal agriculture industries, and contained more message strategies indicative of effective persuasion than the Animal Agriculture Alliance. The data suggest that the Humane Society of the United States’ online public relations campaign appeals to both highand lowinvolvement audiences on the topic of animal agriculture, while the Alliance campaign appeals primarily to high-involvement audiences.

Are Alternative Farmers Yielding Success with Online Marketing and Communication Tools for Their Social Capital and Business Viability

To foster direct-to-consumer marketing, some alternative farmers are shifting to online tools like social media. What is unknown, however, is how they use them and what impacts use has on their business. The purpose of this study was to characterize and determine influences and outcomes of alternative farmers’ use of various online communication channels to better understand what they stand to gain (or lose) from participation in these activities as it relates to their farm business viability and social capital. Through survey data of 82 alternative farmers, it was learned their personal use of social media was highly correlated with their business use. Most of their time on the Internet was spent finding farming information and finding and interacting with customers; these activities (along with several others) were positively correlated with online bridging social capital. Personal uses of Facebook were indicative of greater social capital, whereas business uses of any social media were not. For business viability, the more Facebook Page likes their farms had, the more revenue they had, but no relationships were found between their business use of social media and customer loyalty or customer relationship. In sum, alternative farmers’ use of online communication tools was positively related to their social capital and their use of Facebook Pages was positively related to farm revenue. This study provides critical benchmark data to later determine the impact of effective use of these tools.

Agriculturists Personal and Business Use of Online Communication Tools

New programs and efforts are being promoted to help American farmers and ranchers succeed in their efforts, both in their daily operations and in their attempts to reach consumers. Online communication tools may be one way agriculturists can share their stories and market directly to these audience members, but much is unknown regarding the extent to which these tools are being implemented. The purpose of this study was to determine agriculturists’ current use of online communication tools for both personal and business purposes. The target population for this study was members of organizations that serve young and/or beginning farmers and ranchers in three states. An online survey was administered electronically to members of seven organizations, and 185 completed questionnaires were analyzed. The findings indicated websites and Facebook are the commonly used online communication tools for personal and business use. Many tools are not used at all for either purpose. A significant correlation was found between the use of online communication tools in personal and business settings. Additional research is needed to further explore agriculturalists’ use of these tools for both purposes.

Matching Local Food Messages to Consumer Motivators: An Experiment Comparing the Effects of Differently Framed Messages

Past research suggests the local food movement provides economic and social benefits to consumers and producers alike. These benefits might account for the significant increase in local food sales. Despite its increasing popularity, further communications research is needed since a dominant messaging strategy does not currently exist to advance the local food movement. Food quality, healthfulness, and support of local farmers were previously empirically identified as motivating factors to purchase local food; however, they had not been tested comparatively for effectiveness. Based in framing theory and the theory of planned behavior, we sought to test if brief messages framed to target these motivations could bolster cognitive antecedents known to predict behavioral intent to purchase local foods. The experiment was conducted with 408 study participants recruited from general education courses at a large, public university in Colorado. Results showed no difference between the message frames and no effect (compared to the control group message) on any of the measures. These findings suggest consumers are becoming increasingly savvy when it comes to local food advertisements and probably have developed a relatively stable attitude toward local food. We suggest that future research might yield deeper explanatory results if pre-existing attitudes and participants’ elaboration likelihood are considered. Our findings also suggest local food marketers should consider communication strategies and tactics that provide richer information/arguments to consumers; brief ads are likely insufficient.

Identifying Agriculturists' Online Communication Tool Training Needs

Online communication tools, specifically social media, have provided new ways for agriculturists to promote and advocate for agriculture. Although agricultural producers find value in using social media to communicate about agriculture, many are not comfortable using these tools. The purpose of this study was to identify and prioritize training needs of agriculturists regarding use of various online communication tools. The USDA’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program provided funding to develop workshops that would help agriculturists learn to use online communication tools effectively. Members of seven agricultural organizations in three states were sent a link to an online questionnaire, and 185 completed responses were analyzed for this study. Across all tasks, the highest means for perceived importance dealt with website tasks while Twitter and blogging tasks had the lowest means for perceived importance. Many of the tasks respondents were most competent completing were the beginning steps and they were least competent completing more complex uses of social media. Using the Borich needs assessment model, respondents indicated a greater need for training on topics related to websites, other online communication tasks, and Facebook. These results were used to develop a daylong online communications training workshop in each of the states.

Loss Aversion and Regulatory Focus Effects in the Absence of Numbers: Qualitatively Framing Equivalent Messages on Food Labels

Examining effects of qualitatively framing information as nonloss and gain is important because not all messages can be communicated quantitatively to consumers. This is especially the case with many food labels addressing farming methods. Research on loss aversion cognitive bias has shown people react more strongly to messages framed negatively (loss/nonloss) than equivalent information framed positively (nongain/gain). A few studies, however, have shown an opposite reaction when comparing equivalent nonlossto gain-framed information and offered regulatory focus theory as an explanation. Most studies have relied on quantitative descriptors to frame information as gains or nonlosses, but are the cognitive biases explained by loss aversion or regulatory focus still powerful using qualitatively framed information? The purpose of this study was to compare effects of qualitatively framed gain and nonloss messages within food labels on people’s attitudes. Sixhundred-sixty subjects were assigned randomly to one of two treatment groups: nonlossor gain-framed information about environmental impact and animal welfare on a package of chicken or a control group. Results showed no difference between the frames in the effect on subjects’ attitudes toward the product. Marketers and others crafting persuasive messages who attempt to use nonloss or gain framing of information to appeal to consumers’ cognitive biases may be compromising their efforts without using numbers or quantifiable information.

Managing Media Relations: Determining the Reputation of Land Grant Institutions from the Perspective of Media Professionals

In recent years, the land grant university has struggled with public awareness outside of its traditional audiences, indicating a potential disconnect between the general public and the media. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions and awareness of media with regard to the image and reputation of the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). A sample of 150 state and local media professionals was surveyed to assess perceptions and awareness of UF/IFAS. The results indicated that the media’s perceptions of UF/IFAS image and reputation were positive, but their awareness of the institution’s range of program areas was low. Media professionals consider the information provided by UF/ IFAS to be credible, useable, and newsworthy. Respondents said the environment, followed by disaster preparation and recovery were the most important topics to their target audience, while the least important topics to their target audience were 4-H youth development and agriculture. Media professionals were more likely to use UF/IFAS as a source for agriculture and natural resource topics than other topics. Other universities should consider conducting similar research to develop a body of knowledge on media relations at land grant institutions.

A Little Birdie Told Me About Agriculture: Best Practices and Future Uses of Twitter in Agriculutral Communications

Social media sites, such as Twitter, are impacting the ways businesses, organizations, and individuals use technology to connect with their audiences. Twitter enables users to connect with others through 140-character messages called “tweets” that answer the question, “What’s happening?” Twitter use has increased exponentially to more than five million active users but has a dropout rate of more than 50%. Numerous agricultural organizations have embraced the use of Twitter to promote their products and agriculture as a whole and to interact with audiences in a new way. This article addresses current Twitter use trends within agriculture and offers advice for practitioners.