RE-WRITING THE GENETIC CODE: AN EXPLORATION OF FRAMING, SOURCES, AND HYPE IN MEDIA COVERAGE OF CRISPR by Darryn Jayne McCauley A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communication Spring 2019 © 2019 Darryn Jayne McCauley All Rights Reserved RE-WRITING THE GENETIC CODE: AN EXPLORATION OF FRAMING, SOURCES, AND HYPE IN MEDIA COVERAGE OF CRISPR by Darryn Jayne McCauley Approved: __________________________________________________________ Paul R. Brewer, Ph.D. Professor in charge of thesis on behalf of the Advisory Committee Approved: __________________________________________________________ Kami Silk, Ph.D. Chair of the Department of Communication Approved: __________________________________________________________ John Pelesko, Ph.D. Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ Douglas J. Doren, Ph.D. Interim Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a thesis is hard work, and I have a great deal of people to thank for the help, patience, and support that has kept me going. First, thank you to Dr. Paul Brewer, the chairman of my committee – this project would not have been possible without your patience, guidance, and thoughtful input. Your knowledge and expertise helped me grow my project from the ground up, and for that I am incredibly grateful. Thank you, also, to the rest of my committee: Dr. James Angelini and Dr. Danielle Catona. Your help, from our very first meeting, nurtured this project and gave me a solid foundation for success; I am grateful for both your time and wisdom. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their constant love and compassion. Your ability to cope with my outbursts of deadline stress, mid-project anxiety, and general senioritis made this project possible, and I am so glad you listened to my stress-driven rants, even though you might not have understood what exactly, I was so stressed about. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................... vii LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................... viii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. ix Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1 Framing Theory ...................................................................................... 7 Pressures on Journalists .......................................................................... 9 Framing Effects .................................................................................... 14 Framing Science ................................................................................... 18 Hyped Headlines and Replication Statements ...................................... 25 Intended Audience and Framing .......................................................... 27 2 METHODS ....................................................................................................... 29 Sample .................................................................................................. 29 Content Analysis .................................................................................. 31 Coders and Coder Training .................................................................. 32 3 RESULTS ......................................................................................................... 34 Research Question 1: Common Biotechnology Frames ....................... 34 Social progress ................................................................................ 35 Scientific/Technical uncertainty ..................................................... 36 Public accountability and governance ............................................ 36 Runaway science ............................................................................ 38 Morality/ethics ................................................................................ 39 Economic development/competitiveness ....................................... 40 Conflict/strategy ............................................................................. 41 Middle way/alternative path ........................................................... 42 Research Question 2: Sources Used by Journalists .............................. 43 Research Question 3: Hyped Headlines ............................................... 45 Research Question 4: Replication Statements and Models .................. 46 Research Question 5: Speed of Clinical Translation ............................ 47 Research Question 6: Comparing Newspapers and Science Outlets .... 48 Common biotechnology frames ..................................................... 48 Comparison of sources used by journalists .................................... 50 iv Comparison of hyped headlines and time to clinical translation .... 50 Conclusion ............................................................................................ 51 4 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................... 53 Frame Use and Effects in Crispr Coverage .......................................... 53 Social progress ................................................................................ 54 Scientific/technical uncertainty ...................................................... 55 Public accountability/governance ................................................... 57 Runaway science ............................................................................ 58 Morality/ethics ................................................................................ 60 Economic development/competitiveness ....................................... 61 Conflict/strategy ............................................................................. 63 Overall Frame Use and Audience Effects ............................................ 64 Hyped Headlines .................................................................................. 68 Replication Statements, Models, and Speed of Clinical Translation ... 70 Limitations of the Study ....................................................................... 71 Areas for Further Research ................................................................... 72 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 74 Appendix A NISBET’S TYPOLOGY OF COMMON BIOTECHNOLOGY FRAMES .... 83 B CODING MANUAL ........................................................................................ 84 Instrument A: Background Information ............................................... 84 Instrument B: Biotechnology Frames ................................................... 84 Instrument C: Sources .......................................................................... 88 Instrument D: Headlines ....................................................................... 89 Instrument E: Replication Statements, Models, and Speed of Clinical Translation .............................................................................. 89 Sample Articles .................................................................................... 91 C CODING INSTRUMENT ................................................................................ 94 Instrument A: Background Information ............................................... 94 Instrument B: Biotechnology Frames ................................................... 94 Instrument C: Sources .......................................................................... 94 Instrument D: Headlines ....................................................................... 95 v Instrument E: Replication Statements, Models, and Speed of Clinical Translation .............................................................................. 95 D EXAMPLE ARTICLES: CODING RESULTS ............................................... 96 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1 Timeline of Major Crispr Events and Research Findings ......................... 4 Table 2 Summary: Frequencies of Frame Use in Crispr Articles ......................... 35 Table 3 Summary Table: Comparing Frame Use in Newspapers and Science Magazines ................................................................................................ 49 Table 4 Comparing Source Use Between Newspapers and Science Magazines .. 50 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Newspaper and Science Magazine Coverage of Crispr from 2015- 2018 ........................................................................................................... 6 Figure 2 Frequently Used Words in Hyped Headlines .......................................... 46 viii ABSTRACT In 2015, a small, repetitive section of DNA made international news when it helped scientists modify the genes of a living human zygote. That chunk of DNA, known as Crispr, has become an invaluable tool for genetic editing, with its use by scientists quickly overtaking both other common gene-editing technologies. Innovations using Crispr, from modifying mosquitos to prevent malaria, to creating drought-resistant crops, to the birth of the very first edited babies – twins – in late 2018, have made headlines in news outlets around the world. This