SOCIETAL RISK PERCEPTION AND MEDIA COVERAGE

The study compares societal risk ratings by inhabitants of two countri es which differ markedly in terms of geography, economics, politics, a nd ethnic background, but which are similar as regards media coverage. The two populations were represented by a sample of French students a nd a sample of Burkina Faso intellectuals. The overall Burkinabe mean ratings appeared much closer to the mean observed in France (and in th e United States-roughly 40 out of 100) than the means reported for oth er countries like Norway or Hungary. The correlation between Burkinabe and French ratings was very high: .852. The findings argue in favor o f a practically totally determinant effect of the media in risk percep tion.