Journalism Science And Society

Analyzing the role of journalists in science communication, this book presents a perspective on how this is going to evolve in the twenty-first century. The book takes three distinct perspectives on this interesting subject. Firstly, science journalists reflect on their ‘operating rules’ (science news values and news making routines). Secondly, a brief history of science journalism puts things into context, characterising the changing output of science writing in newspapers over time. Finally, the book invites several international journalists or communication scholars to comment on these observations thereby opening the global perspective. This unique project will interest a range of readers including science communication students, media studies scholars, professionals working in science communication and journalists.

This book examines the main issues and challenges that science journalism faces in the MENA region while analyzing how journalists in these countries cover science and engage with scientists. Most countries in the Middle East and North Africa region have set an ambitious goal for 2030: to transform their societies and become knowledge economies. This means modernizing institutions and encouraging people to embrace Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as part of their daily lives. This books claims that the main vehicle to achieve this goal is science news reporting, as it continues to be the main platform to disseminate scientific knowledge to the general public. Simultaneously, it is also poorly equipped to achieve this task. Interviewing dozens of journalists, the authors looked at specific areas such as the gender divide and its effects on science news reporting as well as the role of religion and culture in shaping journalism as a political institution. The authors conclude that traditional normative assumptions as to why science reporting does not live up to expectations need to be reviewed in light of other more structural problems such as lack of skills and specialization in science communication in the region. In so doing, the book sets out to understand the past, present and future of science news in one of the most challenging regions in the world for journalists.

This book provides a theoretical framework which allows us to understand why and how scientists address the general public. Bucchi's theories on scientific communication in the media make a valuable contribution to the current debate.

Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR and LitHub Winner of the 2021 Science in Society Journalism Book Prize A fascinating and provocative new way of looking at the things we use and the spaces we inhabit, and a call to imagine a better-designed world for us all. Furniture and tools, kitchens and campuses and city streets—nearly everything human beings make and use is assistive technology, meant to bridge the gap between body and world. Yet unless, or until, a misfit between our own body and the world is acute enough to be understood as disability, we may never stop to consider—or reconsider—the hidden assumptions on which our everyday environment is built. In a series of vivid stories drawn from the lived experience of disability and the ideas and innovations that have emerged from it—from cyborg arms to customizable cardboard chairs to deaf architecture—Sara Hendren invites us to rethink the things and settings we live with. What might assistance based on the body’s stunning capacity for adaptation—rather than a rigid insistence on “normalcy”—look like? Can we foster interdependent, not just independent, living? How do we creatively engineer public spaces that allow us all to navigate our common terrain? By rendering familiar objects and environments newly strange and wondrous, What Can a Body Do? helps us imagine a future that will better meet the extraordinary range of our collective needs and desires.

In this controversial essay, Carlos Elías addresses the worldwide phenomenon that is threatening the scientific and economic progress of Western countries. The rise and influence of magic and irrationality in the media, in social networks and at universities is a disturbing phenomenon: many Western students no longer want to pursue STEM (Science, Technologies, Engineering, and Math) careers. This lucid and well-written book addresses one of the key issues of public debate: the deteriorating state of science in Western countries and their governments, and its rise in Asian countries. The author compares two distinct models: the Spanish or Latin model, which closed the door on science with the Counter-Reformation, and that employed by a second group of countries where science was encouraged. Elías suggests that a similar development could now be taking place between Western countries (where the press, television and social science academics are becoming increasingly critical towards science) and Asia, where most prime ministers (and other politicians) are scientists or engineers. This book is intended for STEM educators (both at secondary schools and universities), scientists and academics interested in scientific culture in the era of fake news.

Science communication is a rapidly expanding area, and a key component of many final year undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Authored by a highly regarded chemist and science communicator, this textbook pulls together all aspects of science communication. Complete Science Communication focusses on four major aspects of science communication: writing for non-technical audiences and science journalism; writing for technical audiences and peer-reviewed journal writing; public speaking of science; and public relations. It first showcases how writing in a journalistic style is done and provides a guide for colloquially communicating science. Then, the art of writing scientific papers is conjoined to this idea to make technical manuscripts more digestible, readable, and, hence, citable. These ideas are next taken into the spoken word so that the scientist can engage in telling their science like that natural human art of campfire stories. Finally, all of these communication concepts are wrapped together in a discussion of public relations, providing the scientist with an appreciation for the marketing directors and news disseminators with whom they will work. Written in an accessible way, this textbook will provide science students with an appreciative understanding of communication, marketing, journalism, and public relations. They can incorporate these aspects into their own practices as scientists, allowing them to liaise with practitioners in the communication field.

The explosion of scientific information is exacerbating the information gap between richer/poorer, educated/less-educated publics. The proliferation of media technology and the popularity of the Internet help some keep up with these developments but also make it more likely others fall further behind. This is taking place in a globalizing economy and society that further complicates the division between information haves and have-nots and compounds the challenge of communicating about emerging science and technology to increasingly diverse audiences. Journalism about science and technology must fill this gap, yet journalists and journalism students themselves struggle to keep abreast of contemporary scientific developments. Scientist - aided by public relations and public information professionals - must get their stories out, not only to other scientists but also to broader public audiences. Funding agencies increasingly expect their grantees to engage in outreach and education, and such activity can be seen as both a survival strategy and an ethical imperative for taxpayer-supported, university-based research. Science communication, often in new forms, must expand to meet all these needs. Providing a comprehensive introduction to students, professionals and scholars in this area is a unique challenge because practitioners in these fields must grasp both the principles of science and the principles of science communication while understanding the social contexts of each. For this reason, science journalism and science communication are often addressed only in advanced undergraduate or graduate specialty courses rather than covered exhaustively in lower-division courses. Even so, those entering the field rarely will have a comprehensive background in both science and communication studies. This circumstance underscores the importance of compiling useful reference materials. The Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Communication presents resources and strategies for science communicators, including theoretical material and background on recent controversies and key institutional actors and sources. Science communicators need to understand more than how to interpret scientific facts and conclusions; they need to understand basic elements of the politics, sociology, and philosophy of science, as well as relevant media and communication theory, principles of risk communication, new trends, and how to evaluate the effectiveness of science communication programmes, to mention just a few of the major challenges. This work will help to develop and enhance such understanding as it addresses these challenges and more. Topics covered include: advocacy, policy, and research organizations environmental and health communication philosophy of science media theory and science communication informal science education science journalism as a profession risk communication theory public understanding of science pseudo-science in the news special problems in reporting science and technology science communication ethics.