After amplification: rethinking the role of the media in risk communication

This chapter responds to the challenge from the proponents of the social amplification of risk framework (SARF) a decade ago, that future research should focus on the interaction between risks (as conventionally calibrated) and "the psychological, social, institutional, and cultural processes" which generate interpretations that may "heighten or attenuate public perceptions of risk and shape risk behavior" (Kasperson 1992, pp. 157–158). In particular the discussion tackles a core, unresolved question at the heart of SARF relating to the mass media's pivotal role as a "station" for relaying "signals" and constructing public representations of risk (Kasperson and Kasperson 1996, p. 97).