The media, predators and researchers who damage their credibility

debate ● Osmond Ystad

Critical media researchers object when research findings are conveyed as something other than what is in the coverage, wrote Smond Ystad.

The newspapers are there Regarding the increased conflict with predators, ”says Felde Spoonberg In a press release which was posted on Høgskolen i Innlandet (HINN) earlier in December.

Sponberg was delivered in 2020 Bachelor thesis in field management field. It has since been processed and translated into English with Superintendent Christine E. Mathiesen, Associate Professor of Study Evenstadt at HINN, as co-author.

The article is recent Published in GeoJournal.

Based on HINN press release NTB notes In its headline that “local newspapers ignite conflict with predators.” employment Daily News 18 At NRK, the editor of Elverum Østlendingen, one of the newspapers that has written the most about predatory conflict in the past 50 years, has to defend journalism that is presented as suspect.

And but she Something strange happened along the way with the message from how it appeared in his bachelor’s thesis in 2020 to how it was communicated publicly in 2022.

Here are some Excerpts from the conclusion of the bachelor’s thesis:

• “If newspapers had made some changes in their portrayal of wolves and bears, might that have helped calm the conflict?”
• “We need to better understand newspaper portrayals of predators, both by newspapers and the media and by journalists.”
• “That’s why I think a closer look at media and predators can be included as a measure to help de-escalate conflict, because portrayals of predators in the media can have a powerful effect on predatory conflict.”

Three text excerpts It expresses doubt, questioning, and the desire for more knowledge. In an English-language journal article from GeoJournal, the language is tightened and compressed:

“we need Gain a better understanding of newspaper portrayals of these controversial genres and how this affects people’s attitudes. We believe that a growing understanding of the role of the media, and how journalists and the media portray the impact of predators on the management of conflicting species such as predators, is critical in preserving these species for the future.”

what a hell Is what HINN does when uncertainty is conveyed as factual knowledge?

person who has it Take the philosophy exam, which all researchers in Norway must pass, and learn the rules of scientific reasoning and theory. Passing the ex.phil exam must be very difficult without understanding that one cannot stop wanting more knowledge until the knowledge is established.

Sponberg has done just that How predators were mentioned in the media over a period from the 1970s to 2014. During this period, open field grazing with young cattle in wolf territory ceased in favor of predators and other uses of the open field also deteriorated dramatically. Folkeksjonen’s new policy against predators believes this was a huge mistake. The only thing missing is that the liquidation did not lead to major conflicts.

That seems unlikely The conflicts could have been reduced if the local media did not report that wolves had their animals torn apart by sheep breeders, but instead wrote that the wolf had mated. For sheep breeders in Tressel or elsewhere in the wolf region, there is no solace in the fact that the wolf has a rather diverse genetic sequence when the basis for farming is gone. It is not uncommon for a newspaper to write about it covering areas where wolves attack buffaloes when this happens.

Predator policy is and It becomes a policy, and the field is more politicized in Norway than in most other countries. This is related, among other things, to the fact that Norway has a highly politicized agricultural industry. The balance between agricultural interests and species protection for predators should be a topic of political debate rich in perspective. Norway also has a policy of maintaining a wide range of local newspapers, and the purpose of the media policy is to achieve local democracy through political debate.

in much of the West Democracies, trust in authorities and politicians is declining. It is not known to what extent marginalized groups who do not speak out contribute to the erosion of trust. Research should also be open to the fact that there could have been and could have caused larger conflicts if the harmful effects of predatory animal policy on agriculture and other interests were not discussed in the local or national media.

“Many express imperfection confidence in carnivore research in this country,” said Magnus Barmoen, a research fellow at the University College of the Interior, In a press release On the HINN website a little over a year ago. An article on the results has been published in European Journal of Wildlife Research.

When mediating HINN Undergraduate thesis With conclusions questioned as if the questions were magically transformed into research-based knowledge, it’s hard to see how an increase in confidence would be the result. Media critical researchers should instead protest when research conclusions are communicated as something other than what is being covered.