Evolving Repertoires: Nanotechnology in Daily Newspapers in the Netherlands

In new and emerging science and technology, such as nanoscience and nanotechnologies, newspaper coverage is important in a number of ways.1 Newspapers can act as a ‘catalyst’ when reporting on controversial issues, exacerbating the degrees of opposition between actors. However, newspapers may also have a mediating function through the creation of an arena in which proponents and opponents can interact (Rip, 1986). Proponents of the development of new technologies are often concerned about the ways in which new science and technology are represented in the media—and by the results of negative perceptions. Typically, the concern is that print and audio-visual media have the power to form public perceptions. This concern is often overstated. For example, Nisbet and Huge (2006) suggest that in media debates about the regulation of plant biotechnology other national news received more media attention. They argue that in the end, media coverage of plant biotechnology had little effect on public concern.