Comparison of media frames and audience attitude factors regarding farm animal husbandry

Abstract The practices employed in the husbandry of farm animals are a matter of public debate in Western societies. The media is held responsible by representatives of the industry for fostering critical attitudes toward intensive livestock farming. This prompts the question of the extent to which media frames are associated with the attitudes of the media audience. To investigate this association, a comprehensive online survey was conducted in Germany (n = 1,800) on the attitudes of media audience towards livestock farming. A battery of Likert-scale attitude items, derived from a previously published media frame analysis, was subjected to a principal component analysis (PCA) to infer respective media audience attitude factors. The identified factors were then qualitatively analysed for their association with the media frames found in the aforementioned media frame study. The results show that while there are similarities between media audience attitude factors and media frames, these associations are fuzzy. In contrast to the nine media frames identified in the previous media content analysis, the PCA yielded eight media audience attitude factors. Four media audience attitude factors are rather closely associated with four corresponding media frames. Three media audience attitude factors are associated with three or more different media frames, with only some overlap. The ‘down-playing’ media audience factor shows no association with any media frame. The media audience’s attitudes towards animal husbandry are not clearly associated with the preceding media frames. This suggests that the media audience interprets information provided by the media in slightly different ways. A more nuanced approach to explaining media audiences’ attitudes towards farm animal husbandry practices may therefore be warranted.