Andrea C. Lloyd

Hydraulic fracturing is a highly contested political issue, with pro-fracking recognizing innate economic benefits and auto-fracking vocalizing worrying environmental and health risks. Anti-fracking networks in the UK framed fracking issues in such a way that expanded their membership, resulting in political actors who had access to policymakers to push the narrative to the forefront of the governmental agenda. In the US, anti-fracking made traction in the public using celebrities and entertainment media, but lacked the political connections to reach policymakers. Essentially, a larger amount of the population knew about the issue, but policy did not change because pro-fracking networks held essential access to policymakers.

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Oft forgot is the importance of and ability to influence public opinion on a local, state, and national level. Currently, major issues include a lack of awareness and understanding in the public. Both pro-and-anti-fracking networks can seize this opportunity to saturate the media with framed messages to convince the public to their side of the debate.  Bringing fracking to the forefront of the public mind allows the networks, with the help of the media, to set the public agenda. To complete this task, anti/pro-fracking networks will need to find strategic partners to effectively and efficiently reach target audiences collectively. Networks will then need to create frames of fracking issues that resonate with the particular public, and finally use those frames to push through the media deluge.

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