What the TTIP Leaks Mean for the On–going Negotiations and Future Agreement?

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-241
Author(s):  
Alberto Alemanno

On 1May 2016,GreenpeaceNetherlands released 248 pages of TTIP negotiating texts stemming from previous negotiating rounds. Although it is not the first (and will not be the last) leak since the inception of the negotiation in 2013, this is the first to reveal the US negotiating position regarding 13 out of the 24 TTIP chapters.As such, the TTIP leaks provide an unprecedented opportunity to not only analyse the contrasting positions of the EU and US on several issues in the ongoing negotiations, but also to test the veracity of the competing narratives devised by opponents and proponents of the agreement. To what extent do their respective storylines find support in the actual texts?Supporters of TTIP have proposed fact-checking as an antidote against them is information around TTIP. Yet, having been predominantly advocated and provided for by the EU Commission rather than by the media, institutional fact-checking failed to counter the massive misinformation characterizing the public and political discourse surrounding the negotiations. Unfortunately, when it comes to public perception, the line between pedagogy and propaganda is fuzzy.


2008 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Harlander

Bioethanol is made from sugar- or starch-containing plants that are also used in food production. In the public perception this has led to an emotional resistance against biofuels, which in real terms is not substantiated. Generally biofuels are a political product. Triggered by the oil crisis in the 1970s, fuel ethanol programmes were first launched in Brazil and in the United States. Concerns regarding energy security and sustainability, together with the option of new markets for surplus agricultural production, have led to similar measures in the EU and other countries in recent years. Accordingly, the industry invested heavily in new bioethanol plants — especially in the US — and created an additional demand for maize and wheat, with some record-breaking prices noted in late 2007. A look back into statistics shows a drastic decline in real prices for decades, which have now simply returned to the level of 30 years ago. The grain used for bioethanol is currently only 1.6% in the EU and is therefore unlikely to be the real driver of price development. The European Commission concludes in its review of agricultural markets that Europe can do both: nutrition and biofuels.



2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-207
Author(s):  
Kathryn Shine ◽  
Shane L. Rogers

This study examines Australian teachers (n = 268) and parents’ (n = 206) self-reported perceptions of education news coverage and how the coverage affects them. Overall, the participants reported a perception that news coverage of teachers, schools, the education system and standardised testing was generally negative in tone. Participants reported typically feeling demoralised by negative stories and inspired by positive stories. A high importance was placed upon the public perception of education by participants. However, trust in the media reporting of educational issues was low. An exception to this general pattern of findings was that participants did not place as much importance upon the public perception of standardised testing and reported being less affected by negative or positive stories on that topic compared to the other education aspects. This research is one of the few studies to investigate the potential emotional impact that news coverage of education can have on media consumers.



2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 168-170
Author(s):  
Robin Blake

This virtual event was held as a follow-up to the inaugural Biopesticide Summit and Exhibition at Swansea University in July 2019, and postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Sarah Harding, Communication Director at The World BioProtection Forum (WBF) & Biopesticide Summit opened the event with a few brief words of introduction before handing over to Dr Minshad Ansari, Chairman of the WBF.<br/> Dr Ansari was delighted with the more than 150 attendees already logged into the event with over 300 registered. The WBF was created in 2019 as a non-profit organization to bring together industry and academia for innovation. Dr Ansari thanked the event's supporters – AgBio, Agri Life, Bayer, Bionema, Ecolibrium Biologicals, Koppert Biological Systems, Harry Butler Institute and Sri BioAesthetics, as well as the media partners including Outlooks on Pest Management. He reiterated the need for regulatory reform due to removal of chemical pesticides, demands for organic food, limited biopesticide products registered and a lengthy and costly biopesticide registration process (5 years in EU where there are just 60 products available vs. 2.1 years in USA and where over 200 products are already available on market). The US is clearly in a much better place; in Europe, it is too expensive for SMEs and little progress has been made despite the work of the IBMA (International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association) and others. With respect to the biopesticides market share (value) by region, Europe has 27.7% market share (21.3% CAGR) and yet within UK, the CAGR is limited (unlike other European countries) – there are few products available in the market compared to chemical pesticides. The current biopesticide regulation is complex and not fit for purpose (compare 60 vs 200). Industry is facing a serious problem with pest control following the removal of some chemical pesticides, e.g.European cranefly which has caused many problems to the turf industry and has been impacted by the removal of chlorpyrifos. However, Brexit provides opportunities in the UK through government plans to "Build Back Better" by supporting Green Tech. At the EU level, the EU has committed to reducing use of pesticides by 50% (equating to 505 products) by 2030 so there are opportunities here for biopesticides to fill the market.<br/> Dr Ansari finished his introduction by restating the objectives for the meeting: for the speakers to present and debate the need for reform, their visions for a successful regulatory system, and how the WBF is working towards process reform in UK biopesticide regulation.



2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 86
Author(s):  
Narayana Mahendra Prastya

Tulisan ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis aktivitas hubungan media yang dilakukan oleh Universitas Islam Indonesia, saat kejadian Tragedi Diksar Mapala UII. Kejadian tersebut merupakan krisis karena tidak diduga, terjadi secara mendadak, dan menimbulkan gangguan pada aktivitas dan citra organisasi. Hubungan media adalah salah satu aktivitas yang penting dalam manajemen krisis, karena media massa mampu mempengaruhi persepsi masyarakat terhadap satu organisasi dalam krisis. Dalam situasi krisis sendiri, persepsi dapat menjadi lebih kuat daripada fakta. Batasan hubungan media dalam tulisan ini adalah dalam aspek penyediaan informasi yang terdiri dari : (1) kualitas narasumber organisasi dan (2) cara organisasi dalam membantu liputan media. Data penelitian ini diperoleh dengan mewawancarai wartawan dari media di Yogyakarta yang meliput Diksar Mapala UII. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa media membutuhkan narasumber pimpinan tertinggi universitas. Informasi yang diperoleh dari humas universitas dirasa masih kurang cukup. Dalam hal upaya organisasi membantu aktivitas liputan, UII dinilai masih kurang cepat dan kurang terbuka dalam memberikan informasi. The purpose of this article is to analyse the media relations activities by Islamic University of Indonesia (UII), related to crisis "Tragedi Diksar Mapala UII". This incident lead to crisis because it is unpredictable, happen suddenly, disturb the organizational activities, and make the organization's image being at risk. Media relations is one important activites in crisis management. It is because mass media could affect the public perception toward an organization. In crisis situation, perception could be stronger than the fact. The limitation of media relations in this article are information subsidies. Information subsidies consist of : (1) the quality of news sources that provided by the organization, and (2) how organization facilitate the news gathering process by the media. The data for this article is being collected from interview with journalist from the mass media in Yogyakarta. The results are media want the top management of the universities as the news sources. The information that being provided by public relations is not enough. The university also lack of quickness and lack of openess.



2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 233-253
Author(s):  
Billy Melo Araujo

AbstractThe EU and the US have long called for the linking of trade and labour standards in trade agreements at both the multilateral and bilateral level. This article examines their practice of including labour provisions in trade agreements, with a particular focus on recent attempts to include such provisions on so-called ‘mega-regionals’, which were presented by their proponents as providing the benchmark for labour protection in future trade agreements. It discusses the rationale behind the inclusion of such provisions and their practical limitations, and examines the extent to which mega-regionals address these limitations. It is argued that whilst the EU and the US have been keen advocates for trade-labour linkages, there has also been an unwillingness to convert this rhetoric into practice, raising questions about the extent of their commitment to these values.



2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Valchanov ◽  

The development of the Internet and social media and networks as a media environment and communication channels combined with the specificity of the journalistic profession in the online environment are a factor which contributes to the emergence and proliferation of fake news. The lack of reliable fact checking by the media and the fast news consumption by the public lead to mass disinformation about certain issues or subjects. The current paper examines fake news from several points of view and describes the models of their use – as harmless jokes, as lack of journalistic competence or professionalism and as means of manipulation and intentional misleading of public opinion. The attempts of big media corporations to fight fake news are also described.



2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saketh Sundar ◽  

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, headlines ranging from “Coronavirus forecasts are grim: It’s going to get worse” to “Covid-19 cases and deaths in the US will fall over the next four weeks, forecast predicts” have dominated the news (Achenbach, 2020; Kallingal, 2021). The weekly-published Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 forecasts have become the go-to forecasts for the media, the public, and various levels of government (Cramer et al., 2021). These projections, generated from epidemiological forecasting, not only inform the public’s caution towards the pandemic but are also crucial for officials to create public health guidelines and allocate resources in hospitals (Gibson et al., 2020). But where do these predictions come from?



2021 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-100
Author(s):  
Klara Fischer ◽  
Sebastian Hess

Swedish farmers were surveyed about their perceptions of genetically modified (GM) feed. Livestock in the EU are frequently given feed containing imported genetically modified (GM) crops, with GM fodder often being cheaper for farmers. However, there is also a growing market for ‘GM-free’ animal-based products. While public concerns about GMOs have been studied extensively, less is known about farmers’ views. The limited literature on farmers and GMOs tends to focus on the economic factors influencing their adoption. The present study contributes the perspective of farmers as members of the general public, thus including a broader set of factors known to be relevant for the public perception of GMOs. The results indicated that farmers were worried about: i) unforeseen consequences for the environment, ii) un­foreseen consequences for human and animal health, and iii) the dominance of multinational companies. Farmers who could expect their farm businesses to benefit from existing GMOs were more positive, whereas those who were unlikely to experience any benefits or who could expect their farm business to be adversely affected were more negative. Nevertheless, adherence to a broader set of positive or negative values suggests that Swedish farmers’ perspectives on GMOs go further than pure considerations of farm management.



2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1291-1293
Author(s):  
Kerasia‐Maria Plachouri ◽  
Sophia Georgiou


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 255-275
Author(s):  
Yiqin Ruan ◽  
Jing Yang ◽  
Jianbin Jin

Biotechnology, as an emerging technology, has drawn much attention from the public and elicited hot debates in countries around the world and among various stakeholders. Due to the public's limited access to front-line scientific information and scientists, as well as the difficulty of processing complex scientific knowledge, the media have become one of the most important channels for the public to get news about scientific issues such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs). According to framing theory, how the media portray GMO issues may influence audiences’ perceptions of those issues. Moreover, different countries and societies have various GMO regulations, policies and public opinion, which also affect the way media cover GMO issues. Thus, it is necessary to investigate how GMO issues are covered in different media outlets across different countries. We conducted a comparative content analysis of media coverage of GMO issues in China, the US and the UK. One mainstream news portal in each of the three countries was chosen ( People's Daily for China, The New York Times for the US, and The Guardian for the UK). We collected coverage over eight years, from 2008 to 2015, which yielded 749 pieces of news in total. We examined the sentiments expressed and the generic frames used in coverage of GMO issues. We found that the factual, human interest, conflict and regulation frames were the most common frames used on the three portals, while the sentiments expressed under those frames varied across the media outlets, indicating differences in the state of GMO development, promotion and regulation among the three countries.



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