Building the Science News Agenda
The Permeability of Science Journalism to Public Relations
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21643840 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Suzannah Evans Comfort (0000-0002-3163-5717, Indiana University Bloomington, corresponding author), Mike Gruszczynski (0000-0003-1037-456X, Indiana University Bloomington), Nicholas Browning (0000-0001-5402-7143, Indiana University Bloomington) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 101 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 637-656 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1077-6990 • E-ISSN: 2161-430X |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/10776990211047949 |
| OpenAlex | W4206999274 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 28 |
The current study examines the influence of press releases about scientific studies in terms of their impact on news coverage. Using an innovative approach that allowed for analysis of a large corpus of text and calculation of similarity scores, we were able to trace the uptake of press release materials into news media articles. In some cases, up to 65% of sentences in science news articles reflected high similarity to press release material—a potent indication of how powerful information subsidies can be. While our results contain some good news for public relations practitioners, they also carry a warning for consumers of journalism and for the public science agenda, which may be left vulnerable to bad actors undermining the trust that the public, and journalists, have in science. News organizations that had a history of producing award-winning science journalism were much less likely to draw on press release materials, indicating the importance of topic area expertise in producing independent science journalism
Advertising · Business · Journalism · Media studies · News media · Political science · Press release · Public relations · Science communication · Science education · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Computer Science · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Public Relations and Crisis Communication
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| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2026 (4) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |