Newsworthy Spaces: The Depiction and Analysis of Science News Articles in the UK Print Media - Coursework Example

Science and Communication Newsworthy spaces: The depiction and analysis of science news articles in the UK print media Contents This paper contains the following topics: Introduction Brief Background Analysis and Discussion News Values Conclusion References Appendices Introduction: “Understanding the world is a kind of joy, and I find that every time people, ordinary people, understand some aspect of nature they hadnt grasped before - why the sky is blue, why the moon is round, why we have toes - they are delighted. This is a delight first in the joy of knowledge itself and second because it gives them some intellectual encouragement: they discover theyre not so dumb as they had been told they were” Carl Sagan, 1998 According to a latest survey by Eurobarometer for the European Commission, 80 per cent of the general public is highly interested in news related to science and technology as compared to 65 per cent who showed interest in sports. The survey also revealed that about 57 per cent of the general public believed that scientists must communicate their work through various means, while 66 per cent of them believed that the government must take active steps to involve the youth and get them interested in scientific issues (The Guardian, 2010). The significance of science related articles, goes beyond the purview of enlightenment of individuals, and includes the betterment and development of the civilization as a whole. Awareness regarding happenings around us, is not only the fundamental right of all individuals but it also enables and empowers them to take timely decisions; and stringent steps which benefit the society. The absence of such information may rob the nations of its critical human resource and ultimately lead to a loss of its competitive edge, in the long run (Hartz & Chappell, 1997; Weigold, 1998). The key objective behind this study is to observe, assess and analyze the range of science related news articles in four of UK’s leading national newspapers in terms of the amount of attention given to certain news; the intended impact of such news stories on the general public; the manner and style of presentation of such articles etc. Background: The newspapers selected for this study are: The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent and The Daily Mail. These newspapers are selected randomly, but the focus is on the publication of science related articles, in all the four selected papers. The period for which the articles will be studied and analyzed is: June 2010 to December 2010. Analysis and Discussion: The articles from the selected news papers will be analyzed on the basis of the focus and main idea behind the science news published; the news values created by them; the style of presentation – i.e. the use of pictures; its relativity to science and their overall impact on the general public. The various science related articles which appeared in the leading UK newspapers include: The Guardian The following news articles appeared in the Guardian between the period: "Doctors warns of flu crisis"; "Polar bear could be saved if emissions are cut, says new study"; "Climate change calculations put millions at risk, says new report"; "Ratcliffe activists found guilty of coal station plot"; "Aspirin: the worlds humble true wonder drug"; "Hydrogen bus launched on London tourist route"; "Scientists investigate potential new lemur species"; "Sperm stem cells can be turned into insulin-making cells to treat diabetes"; "Imagine eating if you want to lose weight, say scientists". The Telegraph: "The consequences of too little or too much sun"; "Sunbathing: key health points examined"; (17th Dec, 2010); "Sunbathing can be good for you, say health charities" (16th Dec, 2010); "Brain fully matures in middle age"; "Second big freeze to hit"; "Cant learn a foreign language? Not true, say scientists"; "Voyager reaches edge of solar system"; "Solar storm could knock out power grids and satellites"; "Think yourself thinner with fantasy diet". The Independent: "Arctics vanishing sea ice presents polar bear with a new danger - grizzlies"; "Bees knees? Not if theyre tired"; "How come you didnt see the whole of the Moon?"; "Just thinking about treats can stop cravings"; "Under the microscope: What effect does sugar have on our bodies?"; "Climate change: In the balance"; "Science grapples with the concept that alien life may be among us"; "Discovery boosts chance of alien life"; "Inconvenient truths about our evolution"; "When planet earth looks like art"; "Cloned animals offer no food safety risk, panel advices"; "How the demise of the dinosaurs led to super-sized mammals"; "Stem cells could help blind patients to see within six weeks"; "Doubts raised about study that unlocked genetics of a long life"; "Hubble telescope will go out in a blaze of glory" The Daily Mail: The following news articles appeared in The Daily Mail between the period: “What God looks like in your brain: Scans show more activity when religious people meditate”; “Quantum mechanics, invisibility cloaks, and water on Mars: The biggest scientific breakthroughs of the past decade”; “Why new genes (that evolved a million years ago) are just as vital to life as old ones”; “Polar bears can survive global warming ‘but only if temperatures rise stay below 1.25 C”; “Smart chip implant the size of a match head will combat chronic pain by blocking spine signals”; “Saturns most Earth-like moon Titan has volcanoes that spew ice instead of lava”; “The gun that can destroy an enemy 100 miles away and fire bullets at eight times the speed of sound”; “Stunning solar tsunami gives scientists new clues about what makes the sun explode”. Focus and Main Idea: The main focus of the stories published in all the four newspapers was on three key topics i.e. Public health and well being; Environment and global warming and space research, among others. Of the total 40 articles 17 focused on public health and well being; 12 on environment and global warming; 6 on space research and the rest (5) on miscellaneous topics. Presentation and format of the articles: Almost all the articles studied contained pictures and images (see appendix 1) while some also included videos (in case of online newspapers). Such graphic representation helps the reader in analysing and understanding the information sought to be conveyed in a better manner. Certain complicated terms and concepts used can be clarified through graphic representation, making it easier for the general readers to understand the complicated information in a better manner. News Values: The research related to analysis of news values of stories, originated from the attempt made by media scholars to ascertain and examine the trend in news published by journalists, and understands the pattern of stories published by them – as to why certain stories were chosen to be published over others etc. The discussion regarding news values and its relative significance was first pointed out by Galtung and Ruge in their study The Structure of Foreign News which stressed on a total of twelve distinct categories, on which news articles can be assessed. These include: frequency, threshold, unambiguity, meaningfulness, consonance, unexpectedness, continuity, composition, reference to elite nations, references to elite people, reference to persons, and reference to something negative (Galtung and Ruge, 1981). According to them, the number of news values adhered to by the journalists / articles the more likely it is to be covered. Some such news values are analysed in the table below: Sr.# News Value Paper 1 Paper 2 Paper 3 Paper 4 1. Frequency 4 5 3 2 2. Continuity Yes Yes Yes Yes 3. Composition 2 3 2 2 4. Threshold No Yes Yes No 5. Unambiguity No Yes Yes No 6. Negativity Yes No No No 7. Meaningfulness Yes Yes Yes Yes 8. Consonance No No Yes Yes 9. Unexpectedness No Yes Yes Yes 10. Reliable source Sometimes Sometimes Yes Yes 11. Competition No No Yes Yes 12. Co-option Yes Yes No No 13. Relevance Yes Yes No No 14. Facts Yes Yes Yes No 15. Elite nations No No No Yes 16. Elite People No No No No 17. Personalization Yes Yes Yes Yes Paper 1 – The Guardian Paper 2 – The Telegraph Paper 3 – The Independent Paper 4 – The Daily Mail Frequency – is measured on a scale of 1 – 5, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest Composition – 1 = low, 2 = average, 3 = high Conclusion: “Science is a long movie and the news media generally take snapshots” John Schwartz, 2003 This belief / notion has been substantiated with the help of the recent survey conducted by Eurobarometer, which emphasizes on the willingness of the scientists to divulge meaningful information to the media for consumption by the general public, and the subsequent reluctance of the general public to accept and trust such information published in popular media. The analysis of the news articles showed that although articles related to various topics were covered by the print media, the depth and presentation was suitably edited for the general public, i.e. for the layman. This is mainly because the aims of the two groups i.e. scientists and journalists differ significantly from each other. The scientists are mainly concerned with contributing to the field of science and pursue truth, while journalists are more concerned with protecting and safeguarding common human interest and sensationalism (Weigold, 1998). The topics covered by the news media, as well as the manner in which it is presented to the public, hence are adapted in accordance with these different ideologies and goals. The degree of homogeneity of science based articles published in all the four newspapers mentioned above, is relatively higher – more in terms of topic selection rather than content. Most of the articles in all the newspapers studied, focused on health related issues followed by environmental issues and global warming. This indicates the readers strong liking towards environmental and health related issues as it directly affects their lifestyles and also they are more relatable and understandable as compared to articles focusing on complex discoveries and inventions. Furthermore, it is also observed that topics related to environment and global warming often managed to gain headlines and front page coverage while other science related articles were restricted mainly to science sections. All the articles were found to be aptly supported with graphic representations and videos (in case of online newspapers) which made it more appealing for the general readers. In conclusion, the amount and type of news covered under this section is merely a glimpse of the vast field of science, and only the stories that can grab eyeballs and readership or which can be sensationalized find their way to the final cut. References: Boyce, T., (2007). Health, Risk and News: The MMR Vaccine and the Media, Peter Lang Publication, Pp. 120 – 126 Hartz, J., & Chappell, R. (1997). Worlds apart: How the distance between science and journalism threatens Americas future. Nashville: First Amendment Center Schwartz, J., in Pollack, H. N., (2003). Uncertain science - uncertain world, Cambridge University Press, Pp. 23 The Guardian, (2010). Science News [Online] Accessed: December 17, 2010 from: The Guardian (2010). Survey Suggests half of EU citizens believe scientists are dangerous [online] Accessed: December 17, 2010 from: The Telegraph (2010). Science Latest [Online] Accessed: December 17, 2010 from: The Independent (2010). Inside Science [Online] Accessed: December 17, 2010 from: The Daily Mail (2010). Science & Technology [Online] Accessed: December 17, 2010 from: Weigold, M. (1998). Science Communications Research: A literature Review. [Online] Accessed: December 17, 2010 from: < http://science.nasa.gov./scicomm/ > Appendices: Images published in the newspapers: 1. Polar bear could be saved if emissions are cut, says new study, The Guardian Source: The Guardian (2010). Available at: 2. Voyager reaches edge of solar system, The Telegraph Source: The Telegraph (2010) Available at: < http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8201280/Voyager-1-reaches-edge-of-solar-system.html > 3. Stem cells could help blind patients to see within six weeks: The Independent Source: The Independent (2010) Available at: < http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stem-cells-could-help-blind-patients-to-see-within-six-weeks-2140301.html > 4. Saturns most Earth-like moon Titan has volcanoes that spew ice instead of lava, The Daily Mail Source: The Daily Mail, Available at: < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1338877/Saturns-Earth-like-moon-Titan-volcanoes-spew-ice-instead-lava.html > Read More