HPSC1008 Intro to Science Communication

1
HPSC1008 Intro to Science Communication

• Lecture Five
• Science in the Mass Media
• Monday 27th October

2
Science in the News

• What is the medias role in science
  communication?
• Help or hindrance?
• Scientists see it as medium through which to pass
  science information
• But does it do this?
• Is there a mismatch between scientific ideas of
  communication and the mass medias?

3
What are the Mass Media and what are they for?

• A loose but powerful assembly of journalists,
  institutions and media products
• A means of getting something from one place to
  another
• Mass medium reaches a lot of people
  simultaneously
• Tv, radio, newspapers, cinema
• Historically tied up with notions of democracy
• The 4th estate
• Idea of journalist as impartial, objective,
  writes about the truth
• The Times est. 1855
• Daily Mail est. 1896
• First newspaper to have income from advertising
• Relies on mass market
• Commercial nature of mass media changes content?

4
Science and the Media

• Science is not a democracy
• One right answer, all must agree on it
• Tense relationship between sci and media as we
  come towards end of 20th C.
• Journalists critical of science

5
Science says

• Science accused the media of being irresponsible
• Argued that there wasnt enough science in the
  media
• Argued that the science that was in there looks
  bad, is inaccurate and mostly pseudoscience
• This could lead to anti science feelings in
  public
• Argued that science is sensationalised in the
  media.

6
(No Transcript)
7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
How does science make it into the news?

• Journalists usually have access to the things
  they report on
• Politics, sport, theatre, lots of sources
• Science a bit different
• Only one source - journals and scientists
• Often behind closed doors
• Press release v common way of getting science out
  into public sphere
• Frames the science in a manner which fits with
  the news medias needs
• Need to think about the physical structure of the
  paper, as well as the other constraints imposed
  by what else is happening in the world
• Science squeezed out of news?
• Or does it have news value?
• Newsvalues
• What makes it into the news based on
  practicalities of news gathering process and what
  the public wants to read.

10
News value - Frequency

• How often or regularly does it happen?
• Stories journalists can anticipate in advance
• Line up interviews and reserve space in paper
• Readers anticipate, it feels familiar
• E.g. football results every Monday
• Science does not have frequencyit has its own
  timetable

11
News value - Continuity

• Will the story have legs?
• E.g. US election has been in press for months
  before the actual event.
• Journalists can be well versed in issues
• Science doesnt have much in the way of
  continuity.
• Some long running political issues with a science
  basis
• E.g. BSE, GM crops, Climate change
• Generally science happens slowly and on no
  particular timetable though

12
News value - Composition

• What sections are there in the newspaper?
• Readers expect certain things to be in certain
  places
• Politics up front, sport at the back etc
• Room for science?
• Some have a science section

13
News value - Threshold

• How big is it?
• Small earthquake in Chile, no one harmed
• Vs.
• Thousands escape injury in American earthquake.
• Science tends to be moderated and qualified, no
  claim is too small.

14
News value - Unambiguity

• News tends to have a clear good or bad message.
• Science tends not to be ambiguous, at least not
  once its in the public domain.
• Scientists possibly have a cure for cancer
• Not a good headline!

15
News value - Negativity

• Bad news tends to get published more than good
  news - has more newsvalue.
• Because scientists have some control over what
  science goes out into public sphere, tend to only
  hear about good science.

16
News values - Meaningfulness Consonance

• Will the news mean something to the readers?
• Does it confirm or reinforce something that we
  already believe?
• Some science often not meaningful to people
• E.g. why should anyone care about the Higgs
  boson?
• Not meaningful nor have any relation to peoples
  beliefs
• Some areas that do
• Food
• Psychology
• Health

17
News value - Unexpectedness

• Is it a rare or unexpected event?
• Quite a lot of science is unexpected
• E.g. water on Mars
• But rare events are not necessarily familiar to
  people, so doesnt always have meaningfulness or
  consonance.

18
News value - Reliable Sources

• Can we trust this information?
• Science scores very highly on this
• Scientists say
• According to Nature
• Science provides us with peer reviewed knowledge,
  so perceived as trustworthy and pre-vetted

19
News value - Competition

• Scoop!
• Journalists like exclusive stories
• Science doesnt tend to work like this
• Shared knowledge
• Also press agents tend to send out info to all

20
News value - Co-option

• How can we relate this to science?
• Science often is co-opted into other stories,
  where it wouldnt be newsworthy on its own
• E.g. celebrity illnesses
• The fact box

21
News value - Relevance

• Is the story in or about the readers world?
• This explains why there is more news about health
  than particle physics
• Something can be relevant but not meaningful
• E.g. important enzyme discovered
• Relevant to all, but means nothing

22
News value - Facts

• News style - The 5 Ws
• Who?
• What?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• (and How?)
• Science usually provides answers to all of these.
• Have to be meaningful and relevant though.

23
News values - Elite nations or people

• Certain people and countries are deemed more
  newsworthy than others
• So we follow US election, but not the Swiss one.
• Former colonies, allies, holiday destinations
• Likewise some people are more interesting than
  others
• Celebrity culture of mass media
• Science not about particular people or places. No
  such thing as an elite scientist
• Science is supposed to be collaborative and
  international
• Nobel Prizes as close to this as we get

24
News value - Personalisation

• Does the story have the human element?
• E.g. my ill child, Im a cancer survivor, I
  have a mobile phone mast in my garden.
• Science tends not to be personal, not just one
  scientist, a team
• The personal isnt supposed to feature
• E.g. writing up an experiment
• Lots of science (esp medicine) gets personalised
  in the media

25
Science in the News

• Lots of reasons why and how science makes it into
  the news
• Highlights the different communication agenda of
  the mass media
• Science has to fit with media framings to be
  newsworthy

26
Week Five - Task

• Buy two newspapers on the same day one you know
  well, and one you never read.
• Decide what you think counts as science coverage
• Why have you decided this?
• Compare the science coverage in the two papers.
  Think about
• why a particular story made the news
• why some stories are in one newspaper but not
  others
• how other news events shape the news space for
  science.
• Bring all materials to the seminar