scholarly journals AI writing bots are about to revolutionise science journalism: we must shape how this is done

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. E ◽  
Author(s):  
Mico Tatalovic
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Sports Finance ◽  
Digital Press

The rise of artificial intelligence has recently led to bots writing real news stories about sports, finance and politics. As yet, bots have not turned their attention to science, and some people still mistakenly think science is too complex for bots to write about. In fact, a small number of insiders are now applying AI algorithms to summarise scientific research papers and automatically turn them into simple press releases and news stories. Could the science beat be next in line for automation, potentially making many science reporters --- and even editors --- superfluous to science communication through digital press? Meanwhile, the science journalism community remains largely unaware of these developments, and is not engaged in directing AI developments in ways that could enhance reporting.

scholarly journals Understanding the Problem of “Hype”: Exaggeration, Values, and Trust in Science

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Kristen Intemann
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Press Releases ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Value Judgments

Abstract Several science studies scholars report instances of scientific “hype,” or sensationalized exaggeration, in journal articles, institutional press releases, and science journalism in a variety of fields (e.g., Caulfield and Condit 2012). Yet, how “hype” is being conceived varies. I will argue that hype is best understood as a particular kind of exaggeration, one that explicitly or implicitly exaggerates various positive aspects of science in ways that undermine the goals of science communication in a particular context. This account also makes clear the ways that value judgments play a role in judgments of “hype,” which has implications for detecting and addressing this problem.

scholarly journals Framing science: How opioid research is presented in online news media

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Matthias ◽  
Alice Fleerackers ◽  
Juan Pablo Alperin
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Online News ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Related Research ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Media ◽  
Understanding Of Science

Through their coverage and framing, popular news media play an instrumental role in shaping public perception of important issues like the opioid crisis. Using a detailed coding instrument, we analyzed how opioid-related research was covered by US and Canadian online news media in 2017 and 2018, at the height of the crisis. We find that opioid-related research is not frequently mentioned in online news media, but when it is, it is most often framed as valid, certain, and trustworthy. Our results also reveal that the media predominantly present research findings without context, providing little information about the study design, methodology, or other relevant details—although there is variability in what kind of news stories mention opioid-related research, what study details they provide, and what frames they use. Potential implications for the future of science communication and science journalism, as well as the public perception and understanding of science, are discussed.

Retailing science: genre hybridization in online science news stories

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yiqiong Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Press Releases ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
News Production ◽  
University Websites ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Science Discourse ◽  
Discourse Practices ◽  
Science News ◽  
Science Rhetoric ◽  
Promotional Discourse

AbstractThis study explores how marketing and science rhetoric have become entrenched in online science news stories. The schematic structures of a corpus of 270 news stories from three types of website (university websites, the websites of Futurity.org and MSNBC.com) have been analyzed and compared. An eight-move structure identified from the corpus suggests that the genre of news stories is a hybridization of promotional discourse for marketization and science discourse for explanation. Hybridization is first evident in university press releases, which are then spread by the mass media without significant changes. From the perspective of intertextual chains, the emerging discourse practices can be attributed to the power shifting of news production from journalists to science institutions and further from journalistic to scientific norms. In turn, the discourse practices accelerate the shift of power, which could ultimately lead to the loss of independent and critical science journalism.

Stylistic analysis of headlines in science journalism: A case study of New Scientist

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 894-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Molek-Kozakowska
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Stylistic Analysis ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
The Media

This article explores science journalism in the context of the media competition for readers’ attention. It offers a qualitative stylistic perspective on how popular journalism colonizes science communication. It examines a sample of 400 headlines collected over the period of 15 months from the ranking of five ‘most-read’ articles on the website of the international magazine New Scientist. Dominant lexical properties of the sample are first identified through frequency and keyness survey and then analysed qualitatively from the perspective of the stylistic projection of newsworthiness. The analysis illustrates various degrees of stylistic ‘hybridity’ in online popularization of scientific research. Stylistic patterns that celebrate, domesticate or personalize science coverage (characteristic of popular journalism) are intertwined with devices that foreground tentativeness, precision and informativeness (characteristic of science communication). The article reflects on the implications of including various proportions of academic and popular styles in science journalism.

International Perspectives on Science Communication Ethics

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-179
Author(s):  
Bruce V. Lewenstein
Keyword(s):  
Science Communication ◽  
Competing Values ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
Communication Ethics ◽  
International Perspectives

Today, I want to use my own field of science communication, and especially science journalism, to explore some of these competing values. I want to give examples of the kinds of issues that can be raised for students who go overseas, and suggest the types of thinking and learning that these issues can stimulate. 

Novel interfaces in science communication: Comparing journalistic and social media uptake of articles published by The Conversation Africa

2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252110193
Author(s):  
Lars Guenther ◽  
Marina Joubert
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Science Journalism ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Public Science ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
Agenda Setter ◽  
Or Economics ◽  
Media Ecosystem

Science amplifier platforms such as The Conversation have gained popularity in a changing media ecosystem in which the traditional roles of journalists are eroded, and scientists are urged to engage with society. The Conversation constitutes a blend of scientific communication, public science communication and science journalism, and a convergence of the professional worlds of science and journalism. In this study, we investigated the nature and impact of the Africa-focussed edition of this platform, The Conversation Africa. We analysed articles published over a 5-year period since its launch in 2015 ( N = 5392). Contents from South Africa dominate the platform, but contributions from other African countries are increasing. Regarding the role of The Conversation Africa as an inter-media agenda setter, mainstream media more often republished stories related to politics or economics, while stories about social issues such as education, conservation and art were more often shared on social media.

scholarly journals The 2016 Amatrice seismic sequence in the Media

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Musacchio ◽  
Giovanna Piangiamaore
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Main Shock ◽  
Active Part ◽  
Seismic Sequence ◽  
News Stories ◽  
Media Agenda ◽  
First Results ◽  
The Media

<p><em>Media's </em><em>power in setting the public’s agenda for discussion can affect </em><em>perception and debate upon disasters. </em><em></em></p><p><em>In the frame of a dialogical approach to science communication, </em><em>we challenge here the paradigm for which issues that experts considered valuable are not in the Media's agenda. We studied the way Media addressed the Amatrice 2016 sequence and</em><em> discuss story-telling. Specific indicators were analyzed to assess to what extent the scientific coverage, risk reduction and damage issues are covered. </em><em></em></p><p><em>First results show that Media do think valuable to provide public with an in-depth </em><em>scientific coverage and refers to authoritative sources. As time goes by and aftershocks Magnitude decreases a more reflexive thinking is triggered; news stories include more risk reduction indicators than damage. Although memory of past earthquakes is always part of the story one month after the main shock risk reduction disappear from the media agenda. </em></p><p><em>We also explored the level of public engagement in risk reduction and found out that</em><em> Media still seem not believe that citizens should be active part of the debate upon their own safety.</em></p>

scholarly journals On the roles of scientists, press officers and journalists

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. E ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Weitkamp
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Public Engagement ◽  
Science Communication ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Research Institutions ◽  
News Production ◽  
The Public

This issue of the Journal of Science Communication raises a number of questions about the ways that new scientific research emerges from research institutions and in particular the role played by scientists, press officers and journalists in this process. This is not to suggest that the public don't play an equally important role, and several articles in this issue raise questions about public engagement, but to explore the dynamics at play in one specific arena: that of news production. In this editorial I explore the increasing reliance of science journalists on public relations sources and consider what questions this raises for science communication.

scholarly journals Artificial Intelligence in Public Health Dentistry

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. RV1-RV5
Author(s):  
Sahrish Tariq ◽  
Nidhi Gupta ◽  
Preety Gupta ◽  
Aditi Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Correct Diagnosis ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Human Element ◽  
New Knowledge

The educational needs must drive the development of the appropriate technology”. They should not be viewed as toys for enthusiasts. Nevertheless, the human element must never be dismissed. Scientific research will continue to offer exciting technologies and effective treatments. For the profession and the patients, it serves to benefit fully from modern science, new knowledge and technologies must be incorporated into the mainstream of dental education. The technologies of modern science have astonished and intrigued our imagination. Correct diagnosis is the key to a successful clinical practice. In this regard, adequately trained neural networks can be a boon to diagnosticians, especially in conditions having multifactorial etiology.

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