Framing of agricultural biotechnology in news agencies of the Islamic Republic of Iran: A deductive study

Humans have different attitudes towards buying and consuming transgenic crops or cultivating genetically modified seeds. Various factors influence their stance and decisions about agricultural biotechnology, of which the media is one. By highlighting some aspects of this technology and hiding other aspects of it, the media try to create a certain knowledge in the audience. The risky nature of genetically modified products for humans and the environment increases the importance of informed decision making. Therefore, the present article uses the content analysis method to identify frameworks by deductive method, highlighting and tone of agricultural biotechnology news in three important Iranian news agencies. Findings show that only 4.12% of the news studied in the period of this research is about agricultural biotechnology and the rest is related to medical biotechnology. Conflict, political prescription and evaluation, safety and health are the three main frameworks in these news agencies. Given that most of this news are about agricultural infrastructure and biotechnology as a growing field of study, most of it has been written in a positive tone. As a result, the studied news agencies have directed public opinion by highlighting the differences between different groups about different aspects of agricultural biotechnology, providing solutions to resolve conflicts, and its health effects and consequences. They have been more active in the issues of the scientific field of agro-biotechnology than issues of the transgenic products in society.