Dioxin in the news: From ecologism to enduring values' in press coverage of a science/technology controversy

Miscellaneous · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1991

OSTI ID:7167687

Palen, J A

Dioxin became news about 1970 as a technical term in two controversies: defoliation in Vietnam and pesticide use in the US. Soon it developed into a controversy in its own right, culminating in 1983 and 1984 in the federal buyout of Times Beach, Missouri, the out-of-court settlement of a massive suit by US veterans exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, and other incidents. Media coverage of the controversy, which was voluminous and intense, was widely criticized for exaggerating the human health risks of dioxin exposure, both explicitly and because of the extent and intensity of the coverage. Yet few have studied dioxin new coverage systematically or thoroughly. This dissertation examines New York Times coverage of the emergence of the dioxin controversy out of its precursors in the late 1960s, then goes on to study dioxin coverage through 1988 in the Times and selected magazines. The examination revealed that press coverage of dioxin involved a much broader range of tasks than merely the transmission of health risk information to the public.

• Research Organization: Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
• OSTI ID: 7167687
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
DIOXIN
INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
PUBLIC ANXIETY
PUBLIC HEALTH
RISK ASSESSMENT
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
MATERIALS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
290300* - Energy Planning & Policy- Environment
Health
& Safety
552000 - Public Health