Science Communication on Nanotechnology in the Brazilian Media

Résumé 0

"This paper examines the communication on nanotechnology in Brazilian media associated to the interests and values of different social groups, and explores which kind of communication models they use and which kind of contents they privilege. Three different media were analysed: the science features of the broadcast TV show Bom Dia Brasil (“Good Morning Brazil”); the science column of the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper; and a non-random sample of Nanotecnologia do Avesso (“Nanotechnology Inside Out”), a chat show on web TV. The timeframe was established between 2008 and 2010, a period that follows the four best-financed years of Brazilian nanotechnology policy, after the launching of a national program in 2004. The methodological approach was quantitative and qualitative content analysis. The study concluded that communication of nanotechnology in Brazilian media is characterized by tensions and polarisations. On the one hand, the conventional media support the stabilisation of nanotechnology and emphasise its potential for innovation with discourses based on linear models. On the other hand, the alternative media expose the instability of nanotechnology, accentuate its risks with dystopic discourses and highlight the need for the application of the precautionary principle and the establishment of regulations."