ABSTRACT
The chronological development of the mad cow crisis presents a quintessential case in which scientists, politicians and representatives of the media responded to uncertainty and created the public meaning and understanding of a complicated issue. In 1996, the BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) issue erupted into a media melee, triggering public alarm and governmental wrangling that threatened the future of European integration and the health of the public. While hindsight revealed leadership to be lacking, the public yearned for accurate information related to their most precious resource-their health. The rhetorical ping-pong match of who would emerge with responsible leadership highlights the uncertainty surrounding the issue. The medical community labeled mad cow disease a veterinary issue. Veterinarians described it as a government/public health issue. The Government, in turn, with no clear communication strategy, termed it as a scientific dilemma and blamed the media for sensationalism. The media, keen to report in the competitive market struggle for a lead story, focused on questionable causal links and the politics of the situation rather than delving into the scientific grounds. The scientists, those who had objective “knowledge”, were relegated to the laboratory while politicians and self-anointed “experts” in the media served as conduits to the public’s understanding of this complicated scientific issue. All of this resulted in a crisis of confidence. The entire British beef industry faced devastating destruction. Trust in the quality of information waned.
