Effects on risk perception of media coverage of a black bear-related human fatality

Abstract

On 19 August 2002 an infant was fatally injured by a black bear (Ursus americanus) in Fallsburg, New York. Based on the social amplification of risk theory, we anticipated that media coverage of the incident would affect perceived bear‐related risk among residents in New York's black bear range. We compared results from a pre‐incident mail survey (March 2002; n = 3,000) and a post‐incident telephone survey (September 2002; n = 302) of New York residents in the same geographic regions to determine whether perception of personal risk (i.e., the perceived probability of experiencing a threatening encounter with a black bear) had changed as a result of the infant death. Additionally, we performed content analysis of news stories published between 19 August and 19 September 2002 (n = 45) referencing the incident. The proportion of respondents who believed the risk of being threatened by a bear was acceptably low increased after the incident (81% pre‐incident vs. 87% post‐incident), corresponding with an increase in print media coverage of black bears during the month following the incident. The majority of media coverage noted the rarity of human fatalities caused by black bears. Stability in risk perception may have been reinforced by media coverage that uniformly characterized the risk of a bear attack as extremely low. Alternatively, existing perceptions of black bear‐related risk may have been reinforced by the short‐term nature of media coverage after the incident. The fatality did not serve as a focus event that motivated stakeholder groups to promote change in wildlife management policy. Additional bear‐related fatalities, however, could create the impetus for a change in risk perception via a social amplification of risk. Wildlife managers should be aware of potential media effects on risk perception and recognize the potential for risk communication to improve the congruence between actual and perceived risk.

Print Mass Media Coverage of Wildlife in the Developing World

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Imagining worse than reality: comparing beliefs and intentions between disaster evacuees and survey respondents

“…Media coverage focuses on dramatic and rare events, such as nuclear accidents and natural disasters, to the exclusion of more common risks like smoking. Evidence shows that both the amount and the nature of media coverage are powerful predictors of public knowledge of events that amplify beliefs (Barabas and Jerit 2009;Nyhan and Reifler 2010), including risk assessments (Gore et al 2005;Frewer, Miles, and Marsh 2002). In other words, coverage amplifies observer risk assessments the more shocking and evocative it is, and the more plentiful it is.…”

Wild Neighbors: Perception of Residents of the Environment of a Fragment of Atlantic Forest in Urban Areas on the Presence and Approximation of Coatis (Nasua nasua)

“…The interactions between wild nature and human beings are often studied through the questionnaires applied to the characters involved in these interactions, analyzing their visions, knowledge, and attitudes, thus orienting themselves to proper conservation and understanding proposals for different species in different situations [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. In this way, the present study aimed to analyze the environmental perception of the interviewees about the coatis' approximation to anthropic areas in an Atlantic Forest fragment in the urban center of Juiz de Fora city, Minas Gerais State.…”