From human invaders to problem bears: A media content analysis of grizzly bear conservation

Abstract

Across their North American range, grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) occupy a special place in human imagination, as icons of nature's rugged and raw power, to representations of safety risks and economic costs of living with carnivores. Different bear representations can also be found across news media, from controversial and sensational descriptions of attacks, tragic events and conflicts, to scientific accounts of conservation research. News media certainly has the power to pique curiosity, spark debate, or elicit emotional responses through framing and repetition of content. In turn, news stories can influence how people might interpret and internalize information about grizzly bears. Using media content analysis, we examined newsprint stories on grizzly bears across their North American range between 2000 and 2016, to understand message framing and attention cycle, as well as attitudinal expression and representative anecdote conveyed to the readership. We found that human–bear conflict stories are over‐reported compared to other narratives, where a single incidence garners more attention than a story about new scientific findings. We also found articles that included hunting frames largely originated in Alberta, likely due to the threatened species listing and hunting moratorium. Attitudinal expressions included ecological, negative or neutral, and moral sentiments toward bears. The most common representative anecdote conveyed to the readership reflected the dire state faced by grizzly bears. The bear eco‐gossip expressed in the articles we reviewed, which included clear protagonists and antagonists and the occasional man‐bites‐bear surprise, appears to be the diet of manufactured information fed to the public. Results of our study can help scientists and conservationists understand how news media portrays grizzly bears to the public and how this might influence public sentiment toward their conservation, but also identifies the roles that scientists, conservationists and journalists together can play in crafting effective, factual and engaging news stories about bears.

How much Fear? Exploring the Role of Integral Emotions on Stated Preferences for Wildlife Conservation

“…People always own some degree of fear, as it is innate, which translates into stable preferences for wildlife conservation. But this level can be altered by external (Jones et al 2019, Hughes et al 2020. However, the induced emotional state is not stable but context-dependent and likely does not affect long-term preferences.…”

“…Media influence and media effects are topics well studied in the literature (Potter 2012 ). Mass media can produce positive or negative stimuli that affect thoughts, attitudes, emotions and behaviour (Jones et al 2019 , Hughes et al 2020 ). However, the induced emotional state is not stable but context-dependent and likely does not affect long-term preferences.…”

“…Social media may potentially affect fear towards large carnivores, through the provision of extensive information on how predators are dangerous to people (Røskaft et al 2003 , Hughes et al 2020 ). On the contrary, wildlife documentaries, spreading information about the ecological importance of animals and emphasizing positive appearances of wild animals (e.g.…”

“…For instance, extensive information on predators’ dangers may increase people’s negative attitudes via the mediating role of emotions, whereas emphasizing the positive appearances of wild animals, for example cute bears or wolf pups, may increase positive attitudes. Hughes et al ( 2020 ) found that in North America the mass media over-report human-bear conflicts over scientific findings or positive stories about human-bear interactions. Journalists tend to frame stories for readers’ emotional response, dramatizing events and encounters, possibly influencing the public perceptions of bears.…”

Media Content Analysis of Human-Predator Interaction in Indonesia

“…Media massa memiliki peran besar dalam mengomunikasikan kejadian interaksi manusiasatwa liar kepada publik (Bombieri et al, 2018). Pemberitaan oleh media massa seringkali dianggap merefleksikan opini publik (Boissonneault et al, 2005) dan dapat membentuk sikap publik terhadap satwa liar dan konservasinya (Hughes et al, 2020;Sabatier & Huveneers, 2018). Pemberitaan juga dapat memengaruhi pengambilan kebijakan dengan menyuarakan suara pemangku kebijakan seperti dalam kasus penolakan perburuan singa gunung di California (Wolch et al, 1997) atau dorongan pemasangan jaring drum untuk menangkap hiu di Australia Barat (McCagh et al, 2015).…”