Researchers Analyze Media Coverage of Nanotechnology Risks

Lehigh University researchers studying U.S. and U.K. nanotechnology news coverage from 2000 to 2009 have found relatively few articles about “nanotechnology health, environmental, and societal risks.” Sharon Friedman & Brenda Egolf, “A Longitudinal Study of Newspaper and Wire Service Coverage of Nanotechnology Risks,” Risk Analysis, November 2011. Their article appeared in an issue devoted to nanotechnology risks, communications and labeling. According to Friedman and Egolf, most of the coverage from 29 newspapers and two wire services “focused on news events” and any discussion of risks or scientific uncertainties “was counterbalanced by many more articles extolling nanotechnology’s benefits.” The authors conclude that with the general public’s minimal knowledge about nanotechnology, “this type of coverage could create public distrust of nanotechnology applications should a dangerous event occur.”