Looking into the misunderstanding of science on mass media

Author: Yiran Song – University of Science and Technology of China, China

Co-authors:
Rongting Zhou – University of Science and Technology of China

Mass media, which bridge the gap between scientists and public, plays an irreplaceable role in science communication. With the growing popularity of the internet, internet media have become one of the significant avenues to science communication. Nevertheless, errors are frequently found in science news reports today. The misreading of science by mass media has existed for a long time, and this problem has not been solved in the age of internet. Science channels and science news from several influential comprehensive portals are chosen as the sample. The misreading of science among them is subsumed under two broad categories: one is the first order science communication, which includes incorrect science and technology facts and information; the other is the second order science communication, which includes the improper interpretation of scientific conceptions such as scientific spirit and scientific method. The analysis in this paper is based upon the observation of the above-mentioned phenomenon and the interview of some practitioners working for comprehensive portals, and aims at finding out the reasons for the misreading of science by comprehensive portals, including general factors that result in the misinterpretation of science by mass media and the idiographic features of comprehensive portals as one form of internet media.

The author has not yet submitted a copy of the full paper.

Presentation type: Show, tell and talk
Theme: Science
Area of interest: Investigating science communication practices