ABSTRACT
A review of public opinion and communications literature is used to develop an integrated framework for studying media inuence and public perceptions of fracturing impacts and technologies.
As demonstrated by other chapters in this volume, hydraulic fracturing is a highly technical endeavor. However, unconventional production technologies also have
14.1 Overview ....................................................................................................... 251 14.2 Introduction .................................................................................................. 251 14.3 Public Perception of Fracturing Impacts and Technologies ......................... 252 14.4 Media Inuence on Public Perception .......................................................... 261
14.4.1 Agenda-Setting Inuence of the Media ............................................ 261 14.4.2 Media Framing of Issues .................................................................. 262 14.4.3 Mental Models of Issues ................................................................... 263 14.4.4 Selective Processes in Message Consumption ..................................264 14.4.5 Toward an Integrated Model of Studying Media Inuence
and Public Perception of FIT ............................................................265 14.5 Summary and Concluding Remarks ............................................................. 267 References ..............................................................................................................268
important social and cultural dimensions: what different constituencies understand about the issues surrounding energy production; how the public, particularly affected residents and landowners, view the oil and gas industry; the amount of risk people consider acceptable with unconventional production technologies; and, how the fracturing issue is covered or framed in the news and entertainment media. Despite the contentious nature of public debate surrounding fracturing impacts and technologies (FIT) and the accompanying media coverage (e.g., Onishi, 2014), little scholarly work has examined the role of mass media in shaping public perceptions or even served as an information source in this context. In addition, research on hydraulic fracturing as an important social, scientic, and environmental issue is just now beginning to appear in the communication research and public opinion literature (e.g., Shen et al., 2014). Thus, this chapter outlines a theoretically informed research agenda so that a coherent research program can begin to examine the media’s impact on public understanding of fracturing, as well as the attitudes toward this rapidly expanding form of energy production.
