Research Diffusion and Journalism, 1988

Journalists are important communicators of scientific research data to the general public as well as public officials and private actors who directly benefit from its use. The form and content of this type of journalism has considerable influence on what information is made available to the users. Consequently, a systematic overview of the factors affecting this type of journalism is important. The objective of this project was to expand the knowledge of researchers and journalists concerning research data in the mainstream media, as well as developing ideas to facilitate communication between them. In addition, an educational program was developed for the Norwegian Journalism School. The project was conducted using a content analysis of a sample of articles concerning scientific research from daily newspapers. Researchers and journalists were then contacted and questioned about the article's content and their experience with journalistic coverage of scientific research. The respondents were 249 scientists and 109 journalists. The sample consisted of scientists interviewed in 13 Norwegian daily newspapers, and the journalists who interviewed them. The response rate was 77 percent.