Centre for Environmental Safety and Security, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Centre for Infectious Disease Control, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands.
Risk Anal. 2021 Nov;41(11):1987-2002. doi: 10.1111/risa.13731. Epub 2021 May 6.
This study aims to increase insights into the potential role of the media in the amplification and attenuation of modern risks in society, by studying the dynamics and contents of the newspaper coverage about the potential health risk posed by rubber granulate in the Netherlands. We thematically analysed 153 national newspaper articles about the risks posed by rubber granulate between September 2016 and February 2017. Our results suggest that newspaper coverage might have contributed to heightened public risk perceptions by presenting the negligible health risk as uncertain, focusing on controversy between authorities and experts, describing responses such as concerns, commotion, and adopted risk mitigation measures by members of the public, and by providing insufficient contextualization on whether hazardous substances in rubber granulate pose a threat to health. The risks posed by rubber granulate is one of the many modern risks that has become subject to heated and mediated public discussions. Our results provide in-depth insights into important content elements in media coverage during such discussions and the impact of these elements on public perceptions. Public health institutes and other authorities might be able to mitigate the amplification of risks through media coverage by means of appropriate preparedness and response.
本研究旨在通过研究报纸对荷兰橡胶颗粒潜在健康风险的报道的动态和内容，深入了解媒体在放大和减轻社会中现代风险方面的潜在作用。我们对 2016 年 9 月至 2017 年 2 月期间关于橡胶颗粒潜在风险的 153 篇全国性报纸文章进行了主题分析。我们的研究结果表明，报纸报道可能通过将微不足道的健康风险呈现为不确定、关注当局和专家之间的争议、描述公众关注、骚动以及所采取的风险缓解措施等方式，为公众对风险的高度认识做出了贡献，并且对橡胶颗粒中的有害物质是否对健康构成威胁缺乏足够的背景化说明。橡胶颗粒带来的风险是众多已成为激烈和媒体报道主题的现代风险之一。我们的研究结果深入了解了此类讨论中媒体报道的重要内容要素以及这些要素对公众认知的影响。公共卫生机构和其他当局可能能够通过适当的准备和应对，减轻媒体报道对风险的放大。
