Public knowledge-making and the media: Genes, genetics, cloning and Mass Observation

Abstract

Media analysis of public engagement with genetics and cloning is dominated by media genre-specific or issue-specific analysis. Such analyses tend to frame genetics as a new technology, and media resources as current and immediate. Broader public discourses tend towards marginalising public knowledge as against expert voices. This article takes a broader perspective to demonstrate that people engage with multiple media genres over an extensive time frame. It explores the findings of Mass Observation directive looking at how people know about genes, genetics and cloning. We detail the specificity of using this research instrument and map the rich and detailed media culture, which emerged. Thus, we provide insight into how media cultures resource public knowledge-making over time. The research also indicates a pro-science and engaged public culture in relation to genetics in the United Kingdom, in which the media are key.