Science journalism: Supplanting the old media?

Brumfiel, Geoff

doi:10.1038/458274a

Cited by 127 publications

(122 citation statements)

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“…Although this alternative system of public communication is already forming, it is unclear whether it will finally supplant or merely supplement science journalism (70,78,79). Some expect that science journalism will successfully transfer to the Internet, leading to online versions of well-known news media, adapted to the characteristics of the Internet (e.g., interactivity, hypertext structure, and multimedia).…”

Section: Challenges Of the Present And Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Gap between science and media revisited: Scientists as public communicators

Peters

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

261

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The present article presents an up-to-date account of the current media relations of scientists, based on a comprehensive analysis of relevant surveys. The evidence suggests that most scientists consider visibility in the media important and responding to journalists a professional duty—an attitude that is reinforced by universities and other science organizations. Scientific communities continue to regulate media contacts with their members by certain norms that compete with the motivating and regulating influences of public information departments. Most scientists assume a two-arena model with a gap between the arenas of internal scientific and public communication. They want to meet the public in the public arena, not in the arena of internal scientific communication. Despite obvious changes in science and in the media system, the orientations of scientists toward the media, as well as the patterns of interaction with journalists, have their roots in the early 1980s. Although there is more influence on public communication from the science organizations and more emphasis on strategic considerations today, the available data do not indicate abrupt changes in communication practices or in the relevant beliefs and attitudes of scientists in the past 30 y. Changes in the science–media interface may be expected from the ongoing structural transformation of the public communication system. However, as yet, there is little evidence of an erosion of the dominant orientation toward the public and public communication within the younger generation of scientists.

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Section: Challenges Of the Present And Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

Gap between science and media revisited: Scientists as public communicators

Peters

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

261

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“…For Norwegian journalists, getting permanent employment and specializing in one field has become difficult, as newspapers are increasingly forced to rely on all-round and freelance journalists. Media researchers have warned that it is difficult to live up to the ideals of critical and thorough journalism, particularly political and science journalism, under the current strained circumstances (Barnett 2002;Brumfiel 2009;Göpfert 2007) In some contrast to studies on experiences of encounters between researchers and journalists that have reported conflict, the few in-depth studies of researchers' motivations, such as Smith et al's interview study among cancer researchers and journalists from the US (Smith et al 2010), have found strong general support of communicating research through the media. The authors report that "Interviewees frequently articulated the value of mass media in communicating scientific information as being either obvious or unquestionable."…”

Section: Theoretical Framework and Analytical Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

High Stakes

Carlsen

Riese

2016

Nordicom Review

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Researchers are key sources of an increasing amount of research news in the media. Hitherto, the meagre empirical literature on researchers' media performances has been divided in two strands: one indicating that researchers are generally motivated to report their research in the media, and the other paradoxically reporting negative experiences of and conflict with journalists. The aim of the present study was to explore Norwegian researchers' motivations for participating in and experiences of journalistic interviews. We find that researchers' main reason for seeking media coverage is that they want their findings to be of use to society. This makes it essential to avoid errors or misleading framing of the news report. Despite strong motivations to do so, the researchers experience that communicating through the media is stressful and that their motivations for seeking media attention are in conflict with the motives of some research journalists. The study reveals a link between researchers´ motivation for seeking media coverage and their experiences of conflict with journalists.

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“…In advanced countries, some scientists are reaching the public through science blogs, thus possibly supplanting some science journalism. 24 Although in the current study, only two journalists mentioned the power of the Web in facilitating science journalism, other Ghanaian journalists may also see advances in ICT as a boon to covering science. Greater use of ICT could benefit such coverage in two main ways.…”

Section: The Future Of Science Journalism In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 95%