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Restricted Voices in the New Zealand GM Debate: An Analysis of New Zealand Metropolitan Newspaper Coverage (1998 to February 2002)

The discovery of genetically modified (GM) food in New Zealand in 1998 prompted a highly politicized debate about GM or biotechnology. In response, the government established a Royal Commission on Genetic Modification in May 2000. The Royal Commission and public opposition to GM, evident in large public protests, made the issue highly newsworthy. For many people the news media represent their main source of information on GM and the issues surrounding it. The news media are able to influence the public agenda by making some issues more salient in the minds of the public. Moreover, by highlighting certain attributes, the news media can suggest the most important aspects of these issues. Given the concern surrounding GM and its potential importance to the New Zealand economy, it is important to understand how the New Zealand press framed the GM debate. A content analysis of metropolitan newspaper reportage of the GM debate between 1998 and 2002 revealed that readers were offered a very narrow range of frames by which they could judge the issue and that some newspapers underrepresented some groups and their viewpoints. The results bring into question the ability of the press to act as a facilitator of public debate about GM and similar issues in the future.