{"id":9253,"date":"2017-04-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-06T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress-dev.library.illinois.edu\/funkaces\/17_04\/"},"modified":"2018-03-04T02:06:19","modified_gmt":"2018-03-04T02:06:19","slug":"17_04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/funkaces\/17_04\/","title":{"rendered":"ACDC News – Issue 17-04"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Warning signals to journalists about \u201cbalanced coverage\u201d of environmental issues <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Research reported in Environmental Research Letters <\/em> sends warning signals to journalists who may feel inclined to cover a complex issue by featuring two scientists, one who is convinced of X and one who is not. This search for editorial balance may mislead and confuse because it may not reflect the weight of evidence.<\/p>\n

For example, C. Shearer and associates analyzed public concern about the existence of a \u201csecret large-scale atmospheric program\u201d (SLAP) \u2013 a concern shared by as much as 17% of the adult population in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They showed the evidence to 77 domain experts and asked them about each of the claims made by SLAP theorists. Experts expressed near-unanimous consensus (76\/77) that there was no evidence to support the existence of SLAP.<\/p>\n

Authors called for increased assessment and reporting of existing levels of scientific consensus regarding complex, socially-contested environmental issues. (Note: The need would seem to extend beyond environmental issues. Also, while consensus is not science, awareness of consensus levels may add to understanding and improve media reporting.)<\/p>\n

You can read a follow-up summary and perspective by E. Maibach and S. van der Linden reported in Environmental Research Letters <\/em> here <\/a> .<\/p>\n

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Innovative project by the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Recently we added to the ACDC collection a report in the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) newsletter about a pioneering project by members of the British Guild. They are seeing results of their efforts to help form the first school-based agricultural training centre in Nepal. Their fund-raising efforts also are supporting a project focused on microcredit for a rural women\u2019s group in Nepal.<\/p>\n

Congratulations to the British Guild, partnering with the British charitable organization, Global Action Nepal, in these development efforts.\u00a0 You can read the IFAJ article here <\/a> .<\/p>\n

Five recent articles in the Journal of Applied Communications <\/em> <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Here are the titles and authors of five articles in the fourth 2016 issue of JAC <\/em> . It is published by the Association for Communication Excellence in Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACE):<\/p>\n