Author: Jonathan Larson
Planning Unit: Entomology
Major Program: Integrated Plant Pest Management
Outcome: Initial Outcome
In May of 2020 there was a New York Time article that focused on the Asian giant hornet, which they dubbed the “murder hornet”. This potentially invasive insect has only been found in the pacific northwest, both in British Columbia, Canada and in the state of Washington. However, the media coverage of this insect unleashed a flurry of people who were afraid they had found it in or near their home. I know that over the course of just two days I had responded to hundreds of inquiries on the topic. I knew that the agents of Kentucky Extension must also be receiving a lot of calls. To try and help them be prepared, I worked to generate an infographic that agents could use on social media, email to clients, share with local media or post in newsletters. After polling the agents, I found that at least 182,197 people saw the infographic through over 20 different Facebook pages run by University of Kentucky personnel. It was also shared through multiple newspaper and television media outlets with a projected audience of 28,500 and newsletters with at least 4,950 subscribers. I also conducted three media interviews on the topic and co-authored a Kentucky Pest News article on Asian giant hornet. Ultimately, I received feedback from agents that described the infographic style publication as “exactly what they needed for Facebook” and that our release of it was “perfect timing, it saved me a lot of hassle.”
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