{"id":41210,"date":"2018-10-01T13:29:44","date_gmt":"2018-10-01T17:29:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/research\/?p=41210"},"modified":"2018-10-02T09:09:41","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T13:09:41","slug":"mcgreavy-and-collaborators-examine-medias-coverage-of-dam-decision-making-in-maine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/research\/2018\/10\/01\/mcgreavy-and-collaborators-examine-medias-coverage-of-dam-decision-making-in-maine\/","title":{"rendered":"McGreavy and collaborators examine media\u2019s coverage of dam decision-making in Maine"},"content":{"rendered":"

UMaine researchers Bridie McGreavy and Darren Ranco; students Tyler Quiring, Brawley Benson, and Nolan Altvater; and partners in the Natural Resources Department in the Penobscot Nation<\/a> including Jan Paul, Angie Reed and John Banks are investigating an issue that impacts us all: how news media coverage can shape the public understanding about important science issues.<\/p>\n

In particular, their research asks questions about how news articles represented the Penobscot River Restoration Project<\/a> and the role of Penobscot Nation in the dam removal decision-making process.<\/p>\n

News coverage matters for decision-making about dams<\/h3>\n

McGreavy, an assistant professor of environmental communication, is a UMaine co-Principal Investigator on the Future of Dams Project which is an NSF-EPSCoR Project managed by the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions<\/a> in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire and partner institutions. The project works to link science with decision making about dams in New England. Her team is studying news media coverage of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. The idea for the project came from partners in the Penobscot Nation who wanted to learn about how their leadership of this effort was covered by the press.<\/p>\n

So, together, they decided to examine news articles to find out.<\/p>\n

This focus is important because the Penobscot Nation has decades of water quality data and is a leader in water quality monitoring in Maine. Jan Paul and Angie Reed, collaborators in the Water Resources Program in the Penobscot Nation, have helped the UMaine team learn about the extensive water monitoring efforts that extend into the far reaches of the Penobscot River.<\/p>\n

Reed says \u201cIt\u2019s always an honor to share the work we do to bear witness to the health of the Penobscot River and the many tools we use to protect and restore it. Western science is yet another conversation Penobscot people will have in their thousands-of-years old relationship with and reciprocal responsibility to their river. It opens a dialogue with non-Native people about the willingness to be present for the long-term and continue working regardless of the level of attention received.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the extensive monitoring efforts and the Penobscot Nation\u2019s role in the restoration-related science, when the team analyzed over 300 news articles concerning the Penobscot River Restoration Project, they found although the Penobscot Nation was identified as a key leader in the project, the cultural value and spiritual connection was emphasized while their extensive scientific work was not part of the news story.<\/p>\n\n\t\t