Media Coverage and Treatment of Nonmarket Issues in the Supermarket and Grocery Store Industry

The Supermarket and Grocery Store Industry consists of retailers that are predominantly involved in the procurement and sale of a vast variety of food items. This industry currently faces public policy issues relating to Labeling Regulations, Food politics and Abuses of buyer power. This industry’s issues are vastly covered online by individual journalists, bloggers and organized free-lance writers who seek to spread awareness about farmer’s rights, consumer exploitation as well as environmental hazards. In addition to these sources, a few major media outlets also cover similar issues but by and large, the sources remain fragmented and scattered. Significant literature pertaining to this issue also exists from books and offline sources.    

            There have been ample publications relating to the issue of labeling regulations⁵. Authors such as Calver, Dean, Fiedler and Jankowski (among others) address this issue through their books and also provide appropriate suggestions to best resolve this issue. While these authors remain relatively unknown outside the realm of food retail, their work has gained many plaudits in the academic space, as these titles are extensively used in several university courses within this field. Since these pieces of study were created with the inherent goal of being utilized as scholarly material, ‘media bias’ as per Baron’s Theory of Media Coverage and Treatment is practically absent as there isn’t an inherent desire for the writers/publishers to profit out of its publicity in any way.              

             Websites such as food politic.com¹ and foodretailworld.com² serve as viable information sources pertaining to the issues of food politics. Thepacker.com⁶ is the online version of a weekly newspaper that has been covering food retail news and relative issues, since 1893. These online platforms are established and managed by considerate individuals of society who are passionate about such issues. Among the more niche sources, The New York Times³ and The Wall Street Journal⁴ remain very prominent as well. Since the problem of food politics has a very extensive meaning and encompasses many dimensions of the food retail industry, a lot of these articles target issues that relate to the larger problem. Monbiot, G. (2000) Captive State and Basingstoke: Macmillan (pages 162-208) are publications that further investigate this issue. Based on the nature of this issue, it seems unlikely that the publishers produced this material with even a partial objective to gain profit through sensationalization of this issue or otherwise.

            In terms of the third issue i.e. Abuses of buyer power, a lot of information has been generated by educational institutions and professional organizations studying the business operations of retail organizations as a part of the curriculum or for research purposes respectively. These material resources, existing in the form of research projects and class papers, are widely used in the academic space and are constantly propagated through research initiatives, thus indirectly raising awareness about the issue at hand. A majority of this data is based on the writer’s opinions, thoughts and suggested courses of action. Over time, multiple revisions by different experts from the field help refine the study⁸. The topic of large retailers exploiting consumers through superior group purchasing power, makes for interesting news and has the potential to stir a response from the public. Although instances of perceived monetary gain through academic publication on these issues are sparse, media vehicles such as news channels, newspapers and magazines tend to sometimes blow such issues out of proportion to engage readers and thereby make the most out of the issue at hand. In a sense, they sometimes tend to report the issue as being much larger than what it actually is.  

           The issues in the Supermarket and Grocery Store Industry have received moderate coverage and editorial treatment in the media. The media’s interest in issues such as food politics and labelling regulations remains low on account of their relatively technical and ‘dry’ nature. On the other hand, Abuses of buyer power is a globally advertised issue that claims much intrigue across the globe and is thereby, greatly covered by media platforms.

End Notes

1. http://www.foodpolitic.com/
2. http://www.foodretailworld.com/
3. The New York Times: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/food_and_drug_administration/index.html
4. The Wall Street Journal: http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2013/09/11/hot-in-the-market-the-supermarket-deal/?KEYWORDS=food+retail
5. Labeling Regulations:

·         Calver, G., What Is Packaging Design, Rotovision. 2004, ISBN 2-88046-618-0.

·         Dean, D. A., 'Pharmaceutical Packaging Technology", 2000, ISBN 0-7484-0440-6

·         Fiedler, R. M, "Distribution Packaging Technology", IoPP, 1995

·         Holkham, T., "Label Writing and Planning – A guide to good customer communication", 1995, ISBN 0-7514-0361-X

·         Jankowski, J. Shelf Space: Modern Package Design, 1945–1965, Chronicle Books. 1988 ISBN 0-8118-1784-9.

·         Leonard, E. A. (1996). Packaging, Marcel Dekker. ISBN 0-8247-9755-8.

·         Lockhart, H., and Paine, F.A., "Packaging of Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Products", 2006, Blackie, ISBN 0-7514-0167-6

·         McKinlay, A. H., "Transport Packaging",IoPP, 2004

·         Morris, S.A. "Food and Package Engineering", 2011, ISBN 978-0-8138-1479-7

·         Opie, R., Packaging Source Book, 1991, ISBN 1-55521-511-4, ISBN 978-1-55521-511-8

·         Pilchik, R., "Validating Medical Packaging" 2002, ISBN 1-56676-807-1

·         Robertson, G. L., "Food Packaging: Principles and Practice", 3rd edition, 2013, ISBN 978-1-4398-6241-4

·         Selke, S., "Packaging and the Environment", 1994, ISBN 1-56676-104-2

·         Selke, S,. "Plastics Packaging", 2004, ISBN 1-56990-372-7

6. http://www.thepacker.com/
7. Food Politics: Monbiot, G. (2000) Captive State & Basingstoke: Macmillan, pp. 162-208

8. Abuses of buyer power:  http://www.ftc.gov/ogc/healthcarehearings/docs/030926bloch.pdf