Changes in Science Communication. Current Trends and the Situation in Switzerland

LECTURE SERIES ON SCIENCES AND SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, organized by the Laboratory of Science Communication (LABCS) of the Faculty of Communication Sciences with the support of the InterDisciplinary Institute of Data Science (IDIDS).

Lecture 3. Changes in Science Communication. Current Trends and the Situation in Switzerland

Mike S. Schäfer, Institute for Mass Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich

Wednesday, May 31, 2017
12.30-13.45
room 351
Discussant: Stephan Russ-Mohl

//

Many citizens and decision-makers get information about science mainly, or even exclusively, from news and online media. Accordingly, social science has devoted considerable attention to the analysis of science news coverage. A review of this literature reveals a number of ongoing, substantial transformations: In line with the crisis of legacy media, the rise of online communication and the extension of PR by many societal stakeholders, science communication is changing. Science journalism has come under pressure in publishing houses, and science journalists’ working conditions have worsened. The amount of science news coverage is stagnating, albeit after a rise that lasted several decades, and seems to navigate towards either a more polarized, controversial reporting about politicized issues such as gene editing, or towards a less critical “churnalism” which is stronger influenced by PR efforts than before. The implications of these changes for science communication and societal decisions regarding science communication are considered, with specific focus on the situation in Switzerland.

Mike S. Schäfer is Professor of Science Communication at the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Research (IPMZ) and Director of the Center for Higher Education and Science Studies at the University of Zürich, Switzerland.

//

For further information on the lecture series and on the Laboratory of Science communication (LABCS):