Reports that scientists prefer direct contact with journalists and believe that public information officers play a minor role in disseminating research findings. (FL)

Concludes that journalists and sources share notions about what aspects of a bureaucratic process are worth their attention and that journalists select information in a patterned way, with that pattern determined by the frames of reference of the sources. (FL)

A study investigated the possibility that news sources account for the pattern of journalistic topic selection. It was hypothesized that the proportions of content in raw news materials made available to reporters by sources would be similar to the proportion of content found in published stories, and that the proportions of sources for these raw…

Indicates that the assumption that scientists have no experiences with the press is invalid. Concludes that most scientists surveyed would welcome contact with journalists. (FL)

Reports data that link media use to knowledge of public affairs and this knowledge to voter behavior in local elections. (FL)

Data collected in three recent reseach reports were examined to answer two basic questions about social science coverage in the news media. The first question, whether the media prefer social science stories to other kinds of science questions, was answered affirmatively by three kinds of evidence. First, combined analysis of 1977 and 1979…

Data collected in a 1981 national survey of physical/biological and social/behavioral scientists were used to investigate three research questions: (1) How often are scientists who encounter journalists called upon to discuss topics tangential or unrelated to their research? (2) Will the amount of contact with journalists be related to the number…

Reports on the news gathering behaviors of 24 mass media science writers. Concludes that organizational constraints were the major factors determining news selection strategies, but that individual-level variables came into play at both the information gathering and writing stages. (RL)

Journalists often find that scientists are particularly "difficult" news sources. One possible reason is that the structures within which scientists work do not encourage their members to get involved in the public dissemination of information. Using a national sample of both physical and social scientists, a study sought to discover if…

Researchers have determined that the lay public makes risk judgments in ways that are very different from those advocated by scientists. Noting that these differences have caused considerable concern among those who promote and regulate health and safety, a study examined media coverage of the accident at the Robert E. Ginna nuclear power plant…

The news gathering behaviors of 24 mass media science writers were examined at individual (occupational) and organizational levels through personal interviews, observation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and content analysis of the stories produced. Data indicated that organizational constraints…