Communicating risks linked to food – the media's role

The article draws on the experience of journalists, largely in the UK, to provide an overview of the media landscape regarding food safety. The spotlight shines on the print and electronic media coverage of risk, including how editors select stories and develop content, level of detail and tone. There is exploration of “scare stories” and explanation of why some issues are afforded more weight and space than others. The text highlights examples of news reports, mainly from the UK media, about food safety and the measures that communicators can take to ensure risk-related issues are reported clearly and proportionately. The paper touches on trust, the interpretation of data and the tensions between journalistic values and scientists.