On Friday, September 8, BSA held a workshop on Risk and the Media, Research Officer, Ausma Bernotaite presented her work on risk frames of Golden Rice, a genetically modified food product, representation in the Philippine and Bangladeshi media.
Bernotaite drew on her work of contested media representations of GMO risk in Bangladeshi and Philippine media to argue that through different focus of GM food and public health perceptions and voicing arguments of varying groups of stakeholders, the two countries were able to construct radically different public discourses in the mainstream newspaper media. With a particular focus on a GM food product called Golden Rice, Bernotaite noted that the different forms in which these contentions were portrayed are in line with the quick research, field trial and document submission for further approval.
BSA’s Risk and Society Study Group has been an important research cluster at the University of Kent. This year’s event focused on risk in the media, and upcoming events will further explore the role of risk plays in social sciences.