Bioethicists as Expert Sources in Science/Medical Reporting

Kruvand, Marjorie

doi:10.1177/073953290903000303

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In this respect, experts such as scientists but also health professionals such as physicians are often the primary source. They increase the credibility of the health story and make it more authoritative (Kruvand, 2009). "Journalists use expert actors in health stories to provide perspective, contribute balance to the story, discuss research implications, and legitimize other research" (Len-Rios et al, 2009, p.318).…”

Section: Sourcing Practices In Health Newsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Human Face of Health News: A Multi-Method Analysis of Sourcing Practices in Health-Related News in Belgian Magazines

Dobbelaer

Leuven

Raeymaeckers

2017

Health Communication

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Health journalists are central gatekeepers who select, frame, and communicate health news to a broad audience, but the selection and content of health news are also influenced by the sources journalists, rely on (Hinnant, Len-Rios, & Oh, 2012). In this paper, we examine whether the traditional elitist sourcing practices (e.g., research institutions, government) are still important in a digitalized news environment where bottom-up non-elite actors (e.g., patients, civil society organizations) can act as producers (Bruns, 2003). Our main goal, therefore, is to detect whether sourcing practices in health journalism can be linked with strategies of empowerment. We use a multi-method approach combining quantitative and qualitative research methods. First, two content analyses are developed to examine health-related news in Belgian magazines (popular weeklies, health magazines, general interest magazines, and women's magazines). The analyses highlight sourcing practices as visible in the texts and give an overview of the different stakeholders represented as sources. In the first wave, the content analysis includes 1047 health-related news items in 19 different Belgian magazines (March-June 2013). In the second wave, a smaller sample of 202 health-related items in 10 magazines was studied for follow-up reasons (February 2015). Second, to contextualize the findings of the quantitative analysis, we interviewed 16 health journalists and editors-in-chief. The results illustrate that journalists consider patients and blogs as relevant sources for health news; nonetheless, elitist sourcing practices still prevail at the cost of bottom-up communication. However, the in-depth interviews demonstrate that journalists increasingly consult patients and civil society actors to give health issues a more "human" face. Importantly, the study reveals that this strategy is differently applied by the various types of magazines. While popular weeklies and women's magazines give a voice to ordinary citizens to translate complex issues and connect with their audiences, general interest magazines and health magazines prefer elite sources and use ordinary citizen stories as a way of "window dressing."

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Section: Sourcing Practices In Health Newsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Human Face of Health News: A Multi-Method Analysis of Sourcing Practices in Health-Related News in Belgian Magazines

Dobbelaer

Leuven

Raeymaeckers

2017

Health Communication

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“…Studies show, for example, that the status within the science system influences journalistic selection, but at least occasionally also the local or regional proximity as well as the accessibility and communication ability of a source and its willingness to provide information quickly and up-to-date. Additionally, what an expert says is of importance, especially in controversy (e.g., Boykoff & Boykoff, 2004;Conrad, 2016;Kruvand, 2009;Kruvand, 2012;Nölleke, 2009;Peters, 1994;Peters, 2014;Rothman, 1990; Schütz-Ierace, 2010).…”

Section: The Selection Problem -Defining Expertise and Identifying Scmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selected by expertise? Scientific experts in German news coverage on Covid-19 compared to other pandemics

Leidecker-Sandmann¹,

Attar²,

Lehmkuhl³

2021

Preprint

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At the time of the corona pandemic, the population has a great need for information. (Mass) Media try to provide the concerned citizens with answers to their pressing questions with the help of scientific actors and their expert knowledge. Scientific experts serve as an important source of information for journalists and for society. Therefore, it is of particular relevance to examine, which scientific actors are discussing scientific issues related to the Covid-19 pandemic publicly via media coverage. Of particular interest is a look at the scientific expertise of the so-called experts, because the quality of the available information stands and falls with it. Our study describes the journalistic selection of scientific experts in German news coverage on Covid-19 compared to other pandemics. We analyze, which experts get a chance to speak in media coverage, how diverse the spectrum of selected experts is and how their scientific expertise is to be assessed. Our findings show that the Covid-19 coverage is dominated by actors from the political executive and less than in previous pandemics by scientific experts. Further, the Corona debate is characterised by a greater diversity of expert voices than the previous pandemic debates and therefore less concentrated on a few individual scientists only. Further, the journalistic selection of scientific experts is biased in favour of those who have a high scientific expertise. On average, media coverage on the Covid-19 pandemic makes references to more reputable and acknowledged scientific experts compared to earlier pandemics.

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“…He distinguishes the successful scientist, the applied problem solver, the advocate of divergent positions and the defender or lawyer [1994, p. 179]. Kruvand [2009] collected the roles of actors in so-called media stories, which are comparable to frames. However, a media story does not necessarily imply to a certain role.…”

Section: The Role Of Experts In Journalistic Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of experts cited in media reports has been analyzed sufficiently [e.g. Huber, 2014;Nölleke, 2013;Kruvand, 2009;Peters, 1994]. However, only deductive methods were used, gained from qualitative surveys of journalists and theoretical concepts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Voices in health communication — experts and expert-roles in the German news coverage of multi resistant pathogens

Wagner¹,

Gurr²,

Siemon³

2019

JCOM

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When it comes to complex topics in the field of health and risk communication, experts are of high importance for the credibility of a news media report. This paper examines the use of experts and their roles in the news media coverage of multi-resistant pathogens by means of a quantitative content analysis of German print and online news. A cluster analysis of the expert statements identifies three different statement frames describing different expert roles. The results show manifest patterns of selected expert sources, which points to professionalized mechanisms of selecting expert sources for news media reports.

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Bioethicists as Expert Sources in Science/Medical Reporting

Abstract: Reporters at six newspapers turn to bioethicists as expert sources to help explain ethical issues in scientific and medical stories. Yet, they often use them as critics or skeptics and use the same few repeatedly.

Cited by 12 publications

References 1 publication

The Human Face of Health News: A Multi-Method Analysis of Sourcing Practices in Health-Related News in Belgian Magazines

The Human Face of Health News: A Multi-Method Analysis of Sourcing Practices in Health-Related News in Belgian Magazines

Selected by expertise? Scientific experts in German news coverage on Covid-19 compared to other pandemics

Voices in health communication — experts and expert-roles in the German news coverage of multi resistant pathogens

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