Genetics & the Media Human Genetics

Author's note with contact information and more details on collegiate affiliation, etc.

Human genetics is a modern issue that moves from the forefront to the background of our global culture. It is not only a scientific endeavor, but it is also an activity laden with political implications, as well as a business opportunity for the media. Human genetics and human cloning become more accessible issues because the practice influences the average citizen more so than before, with or without the average citizen's knowledge. What the average person knows about human genetics and human cloning has been increased and influenced by media representations. The paper will focus on an article that questions the interest of genetic research in the mind of the general public as well as considers why human genetics and human cloning are media-worthy at all.

Article Review: Genetics & the Media

The authors of article are concerned with the media interest in human genetics. The authors are very much concerned with the media representations of human genetics and human cloning. They wish to understand why the media is so curious about this issue as well as the motivations and/or agendas behind all the press attention. The authors coin a phrase for the media attention regarding genetics: "genohype." They imply that the media has infected the general public with genohype as a way to sway public opinion, which could affect elections and legislation regarding the issues.

They suggest that this overexaggeration and oversaturation of the issue in the media does not keep the public informed. Bubela and Caufield argue that what the media does is actually keep the public from participating thoughtfully and accurately in discussion surrounding human genetics and human cloning. The media does not accurately communicate the current research trends or the applications. Instead of appealing to the media consumer's intellect, the media manipulates the media consumer's emotions.
Bubela and Caufield provide examples from various studies that track the inaccuracies regarding human genetics in the media. They observed the repetition of certain keywords or phrases on broadcasts. They decided to narrow their search parameters to print media, focusing on medical journals, newspaper articles, and scientific journals. They found that an expert wrote less than a quarter of the print media examined. A great deal of the media was very brief, as a sort of announcement with little description and no analysis provided. Within the articles scanned, the authors located biases toward what areas of human genetics were reported. They found an uneven distribution of topics concerning genetics, heavily favoring behavioral and neurogenetics. They claim this disparity skews the public view of the issues by not providing a wide enough context within which consumers can consider and decided upon the issues.…