The Role of Scientists in the Media
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URL
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
School of Science |
Master's thesis
Authors
Date
2024-09-25
Department
Major/Subject
Data Science
Mcode
Degree programme
Master's Programme in ICT Innovation
Language
en
Pages
71
Series
Abstract
In today's interconnected society, the media play a crucial role in shaping public perception of relevant issues and influencing social norms and policies. Scientists are key figures in the media landscape and their ability to communicate to the public is vital to reduce misinformation and favour informed decision-making. This research offers a comprehensive analysis of how scientists have been featured in global media over the past decade, using an ad-hoc matching process to identify relevant news articles from the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (GDELT). By creating a dataset of news articles that mention scientists, this work provides a unique perspective on global media portrayals, accounting for geographical and cultural differences. The analysis reveals that scientific news constitutes only a small fraction of global coverage, with English-language news, particularly from American outlets, dominating the landscape. The research also evaluates the effectiveness of the GDELT dataset for analyzing media portrayals, noting its strengths and limitations. A case study on climate change demonstrates practical applications of the dataset for understanding media trends. This research contributes valuable insights into the role of scientists in the media, establishing a foundation for future studies and providing tools for further exploration of media portrayals across different contexts.Description
Supervisor
Holme, PetterThesis advisor
Traag, Vincent A.Keywords
scientists, media coverage, media representation, scientific communication, GDELT, climate change