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Arguments regarding the relationship between media discourse and public opinion have raged for decades, if not centuries. Comparing media coverage of biotechnology between 1992 and 2001 in two national newspapers with national survey data collected in early 2003, an argument is made that a general one-dimensional media effect is not occurring within the US public regarding media discourse. Given the multivalent characteristics of the media and the interpretive filters used by audiences—including ignoring information—even strong slants by the presumed opinion-leading press (the New York Times and the Washington Post) do not predict public opinion on a nascent issue such as biotechnology. While some reflections do appear between the media and public opinion, closer observations show these mirrors to be ephemeral.

Abstract This study highlights some cultural and economic aspects of food. The focus is on Cajun, one of the most popular cuisines in the United States. Interviews, conversations, and observations were conducted with 19 individuals involved in some aspect of processing, distributing, or retailing food in southern Louisiana. The perspective that frames the analysis focuses on the effects of culture and the economic forces that both produce and are a product of cultural processes. I argue that Cajun food is used as a source for both economic and cultural rewards, derived through economic and cultural value‐added processes that occur simultaneously in the preparation of this food. In addition, I consider how these processes are affecting the taste of Louisiana foods.

Art critics straddle the boundaries between art worlds and the public. To legitimate and maintain this role, critics must be able to justify their standing as judges of the creation and display of art. This article draws on Boltanski's and Thévenot's work on the sorts of justifications which arise when joint action is interrupted. Specifically, we look at the justifications embedded in two seemingly disparate critiques – one from Clement Greenberg dating from the 1950s and another by Michael Kimmelman from the 2000s. An investigation of the justifications used within these critiques – separated by over five decades – reveals how boundaries between art and its public have been generated and maintained over the years.

In 1998, a contract was signed between the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) and Novartis in which the latter agreed to give UCB's Department of Plant and Microbial Biology US$25 million over a five year period. This Agreement was the foundation for debates that split the university over issues related to corporate control of the university, the environmental and social consequences of biotechnology, intellectual property rights, and academic freedom. This paper investigates the ways in which the Agreement was presented within the public relations office of UCB and the popular press, as well as reactions to that coverage. Data were collected through archival and web-based searches and interviews with individuals connected to the Agreement.