New Genetic Technologies (NGTs) As Mirrored By Mass Media - Semantic Interpretation Patterns Of Novel Genetic Engineering Techniques In German Press Coverage 2012-2023 (NGT)

Biotechnology and genetic engineering have made enormous progress in recent decades, particularly through new genetic technologies (NGTs) such as CRISPR/Cas9, TALENs, ZFNs and meganucleases. These enable precise genomic modifications in model organisms and have opened up a wide range of applications from Agriculture to human health. Despite the potential for improved plant breeding and food production, NGTs have met with political resistance and mixed consumer perceptions in Germany. Nevertheless, they promise healthier food options, more resilient plants and higher yields to address global challenges such as hunger and biodiversity loss.

The media play a crucial role in the public perception of NGTs. However, there is a gap in the understanding of media coverage in Germany. The proposed study aims to close this gap by examining the German media discourse on NGTs and CRISPR/Cas9. This is crucial for a nuanced understanding of the role of the media in the social and political discourse on genetic engineering, especially in light of the current EU debate.

The existing literature on media coverage of biotechnology and genetic engineering is extensive, but has gaps. Research focused mainly on GMOs and Biotechnology in English-language media before CRISPR/Cas9 and NGTs. Recent studies suggest more positive coverage of NGTs, but there is little research looking specifically at Germany or comparing it to other countries. There is a notable gap as no study analyzed the portrayal of NGTs and CRISPR/Cas9 in German media until the EU Commission 2023. There is also a lack of research that goes beyond linguistic analysis and uses technologies such as machine learning. There is only one existing study on this topic.

Based on this gap in the research literature, the project pursues a twofold goal:

• Firstly, semantic patterns of interpretation within the discourse that characterize German mass media coverage of NGTs, in particular CRISPR/Cas9, will be identified and their statistical salience compared. For the first time in the relevant research canon, the content-analytical method of Structural Topic Modeling (STM) will be used, which allows large amounts of text to be examined using machine learning.
• Secondly, the study examines whether and to what extent a development has occurred over time within the public assessment of NGTs that has prepared or accompanied a regulatory opening, such as the EU Commission's recent proposal on genome-edited plants mentioned above.

This interest can be summarized by the following exploratory research questions:

What semantic patterns of interpretation (themes) characterize German mass media coverage of new genetic engineering, in particular CRISPR/Cas9?
• Can an opening of the German public towards gene-edited products with regard to their benefits (e.g. ecological sustainability, efficiency in food production or human health) be determined along the salience of these topics?

The working hypothesis of this project assumes - based on the literature research, the worldwide opening of media perspectives, a cursory look at the latest media discussions and the respective regulatory decisions - that such an opening can indeed be identified for the German debate during the period under investigation, i.e. that negatively judgmental, sceptical patterns of interpretation are losing ground in favour of those that emphasize the advantages of conventional genetic engineering and its possible applications.