| Title |
U.S. News Media Coverage of Pharmaceutical Pollution in the Aquatic Environment: A Content Analysis of the Problems and Solutions Presented by Actors
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Environmental Management, May 2017
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00267-017-0881-9 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Benjamin Blair, Daniel Zimny-Schmitt, Murray A. Rudd |
| Abstract |
Pharmaceutical pollution in the aquatic environment is an issue of concern that has attracted attention by the news media. Understanding the factors that contribute to media framing of pharmaceutical pollution may lead to a better understanding of the management and governance of this issue, including why these pollutants are generally unregulated at this time. This study conducted a content analysis of 405 newspaper articles (81 had substantive information on the topic) from 2007 to 2014, using the search terms "water" and "pharmaceuticals" in the Chicago Tribune, Denver Post, Los Angeles Times, New York Daily News, New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. We sought to analyze the factors that contributed to the news media presentation of pharmaceutical pollution in the United States, including the presentation of the risks/safety and solutions by various actors. We found that the primary issues in the news media were uncertainty regarding public health and harm to the environment. The primary solutions recommended within the news media were implementing additional water treatment technologies, taking unused pharmaceuticals to predetermined sites for disposal (take-back programs), and trash disposal of unused pharmaceuticals. Water utilities and scientists presented improved water treatment technology, government actors presented take-back programs, and pharmaceutical representatives, while sparsely involved in the news media, presented trash disposal as their primary solutions. To advance the understanding of the management of pharmaceutical pollution, this article offers further insight into the debate and potential solutions within the news media presentation of this complex scientific topic. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 2 | 67% |
| Unknown | 1 | 33% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 3 | 100% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 85 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 85 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 14 | 16% |
| Researcher | 11 | 13% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 7 | 8% |
| Other | 5 | 6% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 5 | 6% |
| Other | 19 | 22% |
| Unknown | 24 | 28% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Science | 14 | 16% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 8 | 9% |
| Social Sciences | 8 | 9% |
| Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science | 6 | 7% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 5 | 6% |
| Other | 16 | 19% |
| Unknown | 28 | 33% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 9. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 15 January 2018.
All research outputs
#4,113,052
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Environmental Management
#292
of 1,914 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#67,449
of 325,190 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Environmental Management
#8
of 34 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,382,440 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 83rd percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,914 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.0. This one has done well, scoring higher than 84% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 325,190 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 79% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 34 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 76% of its contemporaries.