Something Fishy in the News
Eva Weitman has learned a lot about reading the news — and a lot about shellfish — over the past few months.
The 21-year-old University of Maine environmental science major has been working with doctoral candidate Brianne Suldovsky on a research project looking at media coverage of Maine and New Hampshire’s shellfish industry to get a better understanding of public discourse on the issue.
Weitman’s contribution involves helping compile a detailed analysis of hundreds of articles from the two states’ newspapers going back more than a decade. The material came from news articles, editorials, op-ed pieces and letters to the editor, and concerned everything from red tide and clam flat closures to the economic benefits of shellfish, how restaurants use shellfish in their menus, and how the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) enforces shellfish regulations, according to Weitman.