Research Article: Representation of Fracking in Mainstream American Newspapers

This study employed deductive content analysis how hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in online versions of elite American newspapers. The media sources The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post were chosen as the best outlets to analyze to gain insight into the print and digital media that influence public opinion in the United States. A total of 349 articles published from 1851 to May 2014 were included in this study. The study instrument was based on previous media framing studies, including those on hydraulic fracturing and climate change communication, in addition to observations of patterns noted by the authors during an initial round of coding in the interest of relevance. This study examined the tone in which media coverage portrays hydraulic fracturing, thereby influencing social perceptions of the practice. Significant findings from the study are (a) hydraulic fracturing is presented by elite news outlets through conflict, responsibility (blame), and environmental concerns; and (b) water pollution was the main concern portrayed in the articles, which presents hydraulic fracturing mostly as a water-related issue while leaving out other important aspects of natural gas extraction.

[1]  S. Carpenter,et al.  U.S. Elite and Non-elite Newspapers' Portrayal of the Iraq War: A Comparison of Frames and Source Use , 2007 .

[2]  D. Tillitt,et al.  Estrogen and androgen receptor activities of hydraulic fracturing chemicals and surface and ground water in a drilling-dense region. , 2014, Endocrinology.

[3]  Richard C. Stedman,et al.  Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: Marcellus Shale Gas Development and New Boomtown Research: Views of New York and Pennsylvania Residents , 2012 .

[4]  Teresa A. Myers,et al.  The Polls—Trends Twenty Years of Public Opinion about Global Warming , 2007 .

[5]  Anthony Leiserowitz,et al.  “Fracking” Controversy and Communication: Using National Survey Data to Understand Public Perceptions of Hydraulic Fracturing , 2014 .

[6]  Jannette M Barth,et al.  The Economic Impact of Shale Gas Development on State and Local Economies: Benefits, Costs, and Uncertainties , 2013, New solutions : a journal of environmental and occupational health policy : NS.

[7]  Stephen Zehr,et al.  Public representations of scientific uncertainty about global climate change , 2000 .

[8]  T. Eyck,et al.  The National Media and Things Genetic , 2003 .

[9]  Robert M. Entman,et al.  Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm , 1993 .

[10]  Hannah C. Coman.  Balancing Our Needs for Energy and Clean Water: The Case for Applying Strict Liability in Hydraulic Fracturing Suits , 2011 .

[11]  Spiro K. Kiousis,et al.  Explicating Media Salience: A Factor Analysis of New York Times Issue Coverage During the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election , 2004 .

[12]  H. Rifai,et al.  Elucidating hydraulic fracturing impacts on groundwater quality using a regional geospatial statistical modeling approach. , 2016, The Science of the total environment.

[13]  Matthew C. Nisbet,et al.  Communicating Climate Change: Why Frames Matter for Public Engagement , 2009 .

[14]  Klaus Krippendorff,et al.  Answering the Call for a Standard Reliability Measure for Coding Data , 2007 .

[15]  Lisa M McKenzie,et al.  Human health risk assessment of air emissions from development of unconventional natural gas resources. , 2012, The Science of the total environment.

[16]  Thomas O Jemielita,et al.  Unconventional Gas and Oil Drilling Is Associated with Increased Hospital Utilization Rates , 2015, PloS one.

[17]  E. Nelson,et al.  Advanced Fracturing Fluids Improve Well Economics , 1995 .

[18]  R. Jackson,et al.  Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing , 2011, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[19]  Z. Hildenbrand,et al.  An evaluation of water quality in private drinking water wells near natural gas extraction sites in the Barnett Shale formation. , 2013, Environmental science & technology.

[20]  W. Ellsworth.  Injection-Induced Earthquakes , 2013, Science.

[21]  Christopher E. Clarke,et al.  Efficacy Information in Media Coverage of Infectious Disease Risks , 2012 .

[22]  P. Shoemaker.  Communication Campaigns about Drugs : Government, Media, and the Public , 1989 .

[23]  L. Kahlor,et al.  Communicating science: New agendas in communication , 2009 .

[24]  Mark P. Zanna,et al.  Justifying attitudes by appealing to values: A functional perspective , 1988 .

[25]  D. Lazić.  News Analysis of the Fukushima Accident: Lack of Information Disclosure, Radiation Fears and Accountability Issues , 2013 .

[26]  Lindsay H. Hoffman,et al.  Evaluating Public Discourse in Newspaper Opinion Articles: Values-Framing and Integrative Complexity in Substance and Health Policy Issues , 2007 .

[27]  Nicky Hayes,et al.  Everyday Discourse and Common Sense , 2005 .

[28]  R. Ehrlich,et al.  Meteorologically estimated exposure but not distance predicts asthma symptoms in schoolchildren in the environs of a petrochemical refinery: a cross-sectional study , 2009, Environmental health : a global access science source.

[29]  Barbara Zielinska,et al.  Air impacts of increased natural gas acquisition, processing, and use: a critical review. , 2014, Environmental science & technology.

[30]  Lin Fritschi,et al.  Leukemia Risk Associated With Low-Level Benzene Exposure , 2003, Epidemiology.

[31]  Xiang Zhou,et al.  Within the Boundaries of Politics: News Framing of Sars in China and the United States , 2005 .

[32]  Myanna Lahsen,et al.  Seductive Simulations? Uncertainty Distribution Around Climate Models , 2005 .

[33]  Tabitha A. Graves,et al.  Biotic impacts of energy development from shale: research priorities and knowledge gaps , 2014 .

[34]  D Hémon,et al.  Acute childhood leukaemia and residence next to petrol stations and automotive repair garages: the ESCALE study (SFCE) , 2009, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[35]  Nicky Hayes,et al.  Everyday Discourse and Common Sense: The Theory of Social Representations , 2005 .

[36]  Christopher E. Clarke,et al.  A New York or Pennsylvania state of mind: social representations in newspaper coverage of gas development in the Marcellus Shale , 2014, Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences.

[37]  P. Vasterman,et al.  Media-Hype , 2005 .

[38]  Ruthanne Thompson,et al.  Fracking vs faucets: balancing energy needs and water sustainability at urban frontiers. , 2012, Environmental science & technology.

[39]  Ann N. Crigler,et al.  Common Knowledge: News and the Construction of Political Meaning. , 1993 .

[40]  Lee Wilkins,et al.  Risky Business: Communicating Issues of Science, Risk, and Public Policy, Lee Wilkins and Philip Patterson, 1991. Greenwood Press, Westport Press, Westport, CT. 256 pages. ISBN: 0-313-26601-8. $42.95 , 1991 .

[41]  H. Hoeken,et al.  Communication Concepts 6: Agenda-setting , 1998 .

[42]  Z. Hildenbrand,et al.  Rapid Analysis of Eukaryotic Bioluminescence to Assess Potential Groundwater Contamination Events , 2015 .

[43]  Chris Mooney,et al.  Framing Science , 2007, Science.

[44]  Look Paul R. Brewer and Kimberly Gross.  Studying the Effects of Issue Framing on Public Opinion about Policy Issues: Does What We See Depend on How We , 2010 .

[45]  Henry Lee,et al.  North American Oil and Gas Reserves: Prospects and Policy , 2012 .

[46]  L. Antilla.  Climate of scepticism: US newspaper coverage of the science of climate change , 2005 .

[47]  Robert J. Brulle,et al.  Media’s social construction of environmental issues: focus on global warming – a comparative study , 2003 .

[48]  P. Valkenburg,et al.  Framing European politics: a content analysis of press and television news , 2000 .

[49]  C. Davis,et al.  Federalizing energy? Agenda change and the politics of fracking , 2012 .

[50]  T. Engelder,et al.  Natural gas: Should fracking stop? , 2011, Nature.

[51]  Simona L. Perry.  Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: Addressing the Societal Costs of Unconventional Oil and Gas Exploration and Production: A Framework for Evaluating Short-Term, Future, and Cumulative Risks and Uncertainties of Hydrofracking , 2012 .

[52]  J. Peischl,et al.  Methane emissions from the 2015 Aliso Canyon blowout in Los Angeles, CA , 2016, Science.

[53]  L. L. Kaid,et al.  Content Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of the Florida Panther , 2012, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[54]  Dietram A. Scheufele,et al.  What's next for science communication? Promising directions and lingering distractions. , 2009, American journal of botany.

[55]  P. D’Angelo,et al.  Doing news framing analysis : empirical and theoretical perspectives , 2018 .

[56]  Bente E. Moen,et al.  Increased risk of acute myelogenous leukemia and multiple myeloma in a historical cohort of upstream petroleum workers exposed to crude oil , 2008, Cancer Causes & Control.

[57]  Thomas C. Kinnaman.  The economic impact of shale gas extraction: A review of existing studies , 2011 .

[58]  Moon-Hee Chang,et al.  [BTEX exposure and its health effects in pregnant women following the Hebei Spirit oil spill]. , 2009, Journal of preventive medicine and public health = Yebang Uihakhoe chi.