ACDC News – Issue 12-09

Extraordinary collection from John Harvey .

The Center has been buzzing during recent weeks with a new and special collection from a widely-respected U.S. agricultural journalist, John Harvey of Wilmington, Delaware. ACDC associate Stephanie Pitts-Noggle has been working on nine boxes of agricultural periodicals that he has contributed. They range in age from the 1800s to recent years. And what makes them extraordinary is that they include 477 Volume 1 Number 1 issues of agricultural periodicals. Yes, they offer 477 examples of innovation in agricultural publishing in the U.S. across a century and a half.

They will be joined by a yet-uncounted number of V1N1 issues that ACDC staff associate Jim Evans is contributing to the Center. John and Jim have been sharing this unusual hobby for decades. They believe the collection—in whatever size it emerges—can be a useful resource during the years ahead.

ACDC staff members have some promising ideas in mind for featuring and using the collection. What ideas might you suggest? Please pass them along because we will welcome them.

Picture of V1N1 Collection Picture of Stephanie Pitts-Noggle with the Farm Journal


Reactions of consumers when they hear about use of nanotechnology in foods. A research team in Ireland used an innovative technique to learn how consumers respond to added information they receive, step by step, about food-related applications of nanotechnology. A small sample of Irish consumers took part in one-to-one conversation with an expert in food-related nanotechnology research. Among the findings:

  • Additional information of both risks and benefits appeared to influence their attitudes positively toward food applications of nanotechnology.
  • The majority said they were confident in their assessments of nanotechnology after taking part in the conversation.
  • A questionnaire after the conversation confirmed that participants were more likely to purchase nano foods after taking part in it.
  • However, acceptance was conditional on potential risks being adequately addressed before nano food products reach the market and the stated health claims being validated.

You can read this paper from the 2011 International European Forum via AgEconSearch at http://purl.umn.edu/122006


More courageous rural reporting . Recently we added to the ACDC collection several reports about honors for courageous rural reporting. They included this award-winning effort:

Stanley Nelson, editor of the weekly Concordia Sentinel , Ferriday, Louisiana, received the 2011 Tom and Pat Gish Award for courage, integrity, and tenacity in rural journalism. This award was presented by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, University of Kentucky. Nelson and the Sentinel investigated an unsolved murder from the era of conflict over civil rights. Detailed reporting in more than 150 stories over a four-year period resulted in threats, office burglary, and some cancelled subscriptions. It also resulted in identification of a living suspect and grand jury investigation. You can learn more about his reporting efforts at http://www.uky.edu/CommInfoStudies/IRJCI/Gish2011.html


How Philippine print media covered agricultural biotechnology. Content analysis provided a 10-year view (2000-2009) of media coverage of agricultural biotechnology in the Philippines, first Asian country to approve the planting of Bt corn. Authors of a recent article in the Journal of Science Communication examined patterns of coverage by three national English-language newspapers. They found during the decade:

  • A trend toward positive to neutral stories
  • Preference for institutional sources of information
  • A shift from sensational to balanced coverage

You can review this article (Volume 10, September 2011) through open access at http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/10/03/Jcom1003%282011%29A01/


Social media and agri-food issues in Germany. Recently we added to the ACDC collection a 2010 article about this subject in the International Journal of Food System Dynamics . Using framing theory, researchers analyzed agri-food content of web-based blogs (2009) and discussion groups (2007-2009) in Germany. Postings from the whole German-speaking social media community on the internet were scanned. Findings revealed trends in numbers of postings during that period, ranging from fewer than 200 to more than 1,000 per week. The top five agri-food issues accounted for almost two-thirds of all 62,803 hits:

  • Renewable resources
  • Agricultural structure in Germany
  • Genetic engineering for agriculture
  • Industrial agriculture
  • Farm animal welfare

All contentious issues were found mainly framed in a two-sided way.

You can read this journal article (“Two sides of the same coin?” Volume 1(3), 2010, pages 264-278) online at http://www.fooddynamics.org .


“There’s a ton of opportunity for you in agricultural journalism.” University of Illinois members of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT) heard that message during early May from three respected agricultural journalists. Guest speakers included Jeanne Bernick, editor of Top Producer ; Holly Spangler, associate editor of Prairie Farmer ; and Mike Wilson, executive editor of Farm Futures . Here are some of the points they emphasized in encouraging students to consider journalism and editorial careers related to agriculture:

  • Farmers need to know what’s going on around the world.
  • Appetites are growing, globally, for information about food and agriculture. “Agricultural journalists must have a role…Don’t be afraid to step forward.”
  • Agricultural journalism is an exciting calling. “Everything I wanted to do I can do through agricultural journalism.”
  • New information technologies permit agricultural journalists to work from home and operate across media platforms.
  • In this multi-media environment, “content providers” may be a new name for this work. As gatekeepers, agricultural journalists follow a special mission of finding and presenting appropriate, credible content.

The ACDC collection includes a wide selection of resources about careers in agricultural journalism. Check with us at docctr@library.illinois.edu for help in reviewing them to fit your interests.


Communicator activities approaching.

  • June 2-5, 2012
    “Adventures in Communications.” Annual institute of the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Tucson, Arizona USA. Information: http://www.communicators.coop
  • June 11-14, 2012
    “Charting a New Course.” Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) in Annapolis, Maryland USA. Information: http://www.aceweb.org
  • August 4-6, 2012
    Agricultural Media Summit in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA. Organized by the Livestock Publications Council (LPC), American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) and Agri Council of American Business Media. Also the annual meeting site of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). Information: http://www.agmediasummit.com

Let’s banish the word “amazing.” So far, that is the top-ranked advice of those submitting entries for the 2012 List of Banished Words. The project at Lake Superior State University highlights nominations for Words Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.

“Banish it for blatant overuse and incorrect use – to stop my head from exploding,” one nominator urged.

Another possible candidate? Nominations continue throughout the year. We wonder how many might nominate “pink slime” as an expression to be banished.

You can read the 2012 list-to-date at http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php


Best wishes and good searching.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions, and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu .

ACDC News – Issue 12-08

Metaphors that farm magazines use about climate change . Researcher Therese Asplund recently identified three metaphors used by the two largest Swedish farm magazines during 2000-2009:

  • Greenhouse metaphor. Highlights temperature and radiation in the atmosphere. Neglects other meteorological aspects (such as precipitation, clouds, snow) and impacts of climate change on natural and social systems.
  • Game metaphor. Highlights positive impacts such as higher yields and increased income) and as winning through mitigation. Neglects negative impacts such as more insect outbreaks, warmer and drier conditions, shorter growing season.
  • War metaphor. Highlights negative impacts (such as crop damage, higher taxes and negative image) and combat/battling for mitigation.

These findings prompted the author to observe that the inconsistent and confusing messages may result in conflicts and disputes. At the same time, she noted, multiple metaphors may “open up new perspectives on the issue of climate change” and allow readers to talk about it from several angles.

You can review this Journal of Science Communication article (Volume 10, December 2011) through open access at http://jcom.sissa.it/archive/10/04/Jcom1004%282011%29A01/


Rural community coverage earns Pulitzer recognition. Editorial staff members of a weekly newspaper serving a small rural community in Maine were named finalists recently in the 2012 Pulitzer Prize program. Editor A. M. Sheehan and Assistant Editor Matt Hongoltz-Hetling of the Advertiser Democrat (Norway, Maine) earned finalist honors in the local reporting category. They were recognized for their “tenacious exposure of disgraceful conditions in federally-supported housing in a small rural community.” Within hours, the coverage sparked state investigation.

The Advertiser Democrat has a history of covering burglaries, poverty, homelessness, internet access, scarcity of doctors, fire services, and other rural issues. You can learn more at www.advertiserdemocrat.com/featured/story/02-16-news-2012pulitzerfinalist-16


Nine best practices for boosting media coverage . Recently we added to the ACDC collection a report about Maisha Yetu, a project that is changing media coverage of health in rural and other areas of Africa. Maisha Yetu (“Our Lives” in Swahili) has been carried out for about a decade by the International Women’s Media Foundation. One unusual idea features several ways to gain buy-in from top editors and top management of media organizations—even memorandums of agreement. Another successful practice features use of in-house journalist/trainers.

You can read this report, “Writing for our lives,” at http://iwmf.org/docs/9464_WFOLforweb2.pdf


So where are we finding information these days? You may be interested in some of the out-of-mainstream journals from which we have recently identified agricultural communications literature for the ACDC collection:

Annals of Internal Medicine

Journal of Foodservice Business Research

Adotas

Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research

Field Methods

Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies

ETC: A Review of General Semantics

South African Journal of Agricultural Extension

Science Technology and Society

Journal of Community Informatics

Please let us know at docctr@library.illinois.edu when—in unusual or usual places—you, too, come across information about the communications aspects of agriculture. We welcome additions you may suggest.


An unusual perspective on how information affects food buying . Studies of the impact of information on food demand often center on foodborne illness or food safety events. Many studies focus on effects of advertising. Less often do they analyze the impact of scientific nutrition information, delivered by multiple media. Using U.S. consumer panel data and content analysis of information in popular media sources, Sakiko Shiratori and Jean Kinsey studied the impact of information on the purchase of omega-3 fortified eggs.

Results showed significant positive impact of nutrition information from the popular media on consumers’ food choices. Authors noted that although mega-3 fortified eggs usually sell at a premium price, “growing knowledge of the health benefits of omega-3 propels their consumption.” They concluded that “publishing in popular media can be said to be an effective communication approach.”

You can read this 2011 conference research paper via AgEconSearch at http://purl.umn.edu/103850


Thanks and best wishes to Michelle Fluty as she leaves the Center after two school years as ACDC student assistant. We congratulate Michelle for completing her undergraduate degree in agricultural communications this month. She also parts with a remarkable record of having checked the entire ACDC collection to be sure documents are filed as intended and in good condition. Perhaps it is surprising Michelle has not gone blind! This sharp-eyed dairy judge inventoried some 37,000 documents about agricultural communicating around the globe. And the inventory project was only part of what she contributed. She will be missed here as an associate and friend.

Picture of Michelle Fluty


Communicator activities approaching.

  • May 21-24, 2012
    “East Meets West for Sustainable Development.” 2012 conference of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AEAEE) in Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand. Information: http://www.aiaee.org/images/stories/AIAEE/2012Conference/flyer.pdf
  • May 28-June 1, 2012
    26th annual National Extension Technology Conference (NETC) in New Orleans, Louisiana USA. Information: http://www.netc2012.org
  • June 2-5, 2012
    “Adventures in Communications.” Annual institute of the Cooperative Communicators Association (CCA) in Tucson, Arizona USA. Information: http://www.communicators.coop
  • June 11-14, 2012
    “Charting a New Course.” Annual conference of the Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) in Annapolis, Maryland USA. Information: http://www.aceweb.org
  • August 4-6, 2012
    Agricultural Media Summit in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA. Organized by the Livestock Publications Council (LPC), American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) and Agri Council of American Business Media. Also the annual meeting site of Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (ACT). Information: http://www.agmediasummit.com

Colorful climate reporting. We close this issue of ACDC News with a 2011 winning entry in the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest sponsored by the English Department, San Jose State University. This annual competition challenges entrants to compose the opening sentence to the worst of all possible novels. Here is the winning entry by Mike Pedersen of North Berwick, Maine, in the Purple Prose category:

“As his small boat scudded before a brisk breeze under a sapphire sky dappled with cerulean clouds with indigo bases, through cobalt seas that deepened to navy nearer the boat and faded to azure at the horizon, Ian was at a loss as to why he felt blue.”

You can read other mind-stretching entries at http://www.bulwer-lytton.com/2011win.html


Best wishes and good searching.

Please pass along your reactions, suggestions and ideas. Feel free to invite our help as you search for information. And please suggest (or send) agricultural communications documents we might add to this unique collection. We welcome them in hard copy (sent to Ag Comm Documentation Center, 510 LIAC, 1101 S. Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801) or in electronic format sent to docctr@library.illinois.edu