J. Scott Brennen a Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty At
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SCIENCE IN PIECES: PUBLIC SCIENCE IN THE DEFORMATION AGE J. Scott Brennen A dissertation suBmitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the School of Media and Journalism. Chapel Hill 2018 Approved By: Daniel Kreiss Chris Anderson BarBara Friedman Ben Peters Adam Saffer © 2018 J. Scott Brennen ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT J. Scott Brennen: Science in Pieces: PuBlic Science in the Deformation Age (Under the direction of Daniel Kreiss) This dissertation investigates how puBlic information aBout new scientific research flows through the contemporary media system. Arguing that puBlic science is governed more By entropy than inertia, this project investigates the people, technologies, and processes through which difference is brought into flows of information aBout direct detection of dark matter experiments. Over six empirical chapters, the project considers how three types of organiZational mediators of public science—multi-institution collaBorations, communication offices at national laboratories, and science journalists—translate, move, preserve, and/or deconstruct information. To do so, it draws on diverse methods, including 62 semi-structured interviews with members of these organiZations and an interpretive textual analysis of hundreds of news articles, press releases, and organiZational documents. This project makes three Broad contriButions. First, it provides a detailed account of how science organiZations are adopting new practices, structures, and formats to reach new audiences amid changing technologies, economic pressures, and cultures. Second, it extends Bruno Latour’s circulating reference to present a new descriptive and normative model of the epistemology of puBlic science communication that acknowledges how the reduction of technical complexity can productively afford an iii expansion of puBlic meaning. It argues that good puBlic communication must shepherd the relationships and connections that allow truth to circulate across time, space, and reference, while simultaneously working to open content for puBlic discussion, consideration, and meaning making. Finally, this project considers what happens when these mediations go wrong. Instead of mis or disinformation— information lacking truth—this project recogniZes another form of information degradation: deformation. Deformations are structural artifacts of the contemporary media system: pieces and fragments Broken off in the grinding of disparate logics, systems, technologies, and messages. They emerge when information loses its organization, its formation. OBserving deformation in science and Beyond, this project ultimately argues that despite decades of scholarship on the “information society,” ours is Better recognized as the “deformation society.” iv For Nigel, B.A., M.A., J.D., Ph.D. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS It’s sobering to behold the result of years’ worth of work—more so in recogniZing how many others have helped me along the way. This dissertation simply does not do justice to the aBundance of help and good advice I have received over the past several years. It is no exaggeration to say that without Daniel Kreiss, not only would this dissertation not exist, But I would never have pursued a Ph.D. I might very well now be a science press officer somewhere, writing the same press release again and again and taking my weekends off. For seven years, Daniel has inspired me, pushed me, and found sense when I made none; he has Been my Best advocate and my worst critic. Daniel has reshaped not only how I think aBout the world, But who I am in the world, too. Each member of my dissertation committee has played a notable role in this project. Chris Anderson has shown me what good, rigorous, and theoretically expansive journalism scholarship can and should Be. But also, he has Been a generous and supportive advocate of my work. As has Been Ben Peters, whose enthusiasm and support has helped as much as his exhortations to think expansively aBout media, to ask Big questions, and to look for good stories to tell. BarBara Friedman showed me the pleasure of getting lost in archives and the power that scholarship can wield in the world. Adam Saffer has pushed me to expand my vi toolkit and my scholarship. He has shown me the potential of mixed methods work—even if I have been slow to follow. Beyond my committee, I have Benefited from the help of many others. Allison LaZard came to my rescue when I most needed it. And along the way, she has taught me a great deal about doing rigorous, grounded collaborative research. Had I not met Grayson Rich in a Bar, I never would have found my way to particle physics. He has made introductions, corrected my science, patiently explained Both the complex and the simple, and has never Been afraid to tell me when I was far out of my depth. I also could not have made it through graduate school without the help and support of my family. My mother, Bonnie Brennen, has been a shadow-advisor, a voice of reason, and a tireless promoter of sleep, days off, and the “so what.” Bringing me into the family Business, her patience and support has been legion. My partner, Lorelle Babwah Brennen, has grown nearly as sick of dark matter as I have. She has put up with my monologues, my strict routines, my eBullience and my hopelessness. She has read papers, emails, and cover letters, watched presentations, listened to far more stupid ideas than good ones, and Braved my thin-skinned sulking to give me honest feedBack. For years she has put aside her plans for me: standing still when she wanted to move, and now moving when she wants to stand still. She has made BearaBle long days alone at the computer. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES ............................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 Case Study: LUX ................................................................................................................................... 5 How Science Communication is Changing .............................................................. 10 The Value of Difference: Translations, Reference, and a New Model of Science Communication ....................................................... 13 The Perils of Difference: Information, Misinformation, and Deformation ............................................................................. 20 Science and the Deformation Society ....................................................................... 24 Guiding Research Questions ......................................................................................... 26 Methodological Approach .............................................................................................. 26 Chapter Breakdowns ....................................................................................................... 34 CHAPTER 2: MAGNETOLOGISTS ON THE BEAT: THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION RECONSIDERED ................................................................................. 37 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 37 Literature Review ............................................................................................................. 40 A New Model ....................................................................................................................... 46 Case Study: Methods and Background ..................................................................... 52 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 64 CHAPTER 3: ALWAYS ALREADY MEDIATED: SCIENCE AND MEDIA ............................................... 67 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 67 viii Literature Review and Theoretical Framework .................................................. 69 Methods ................................................................................................................................. 73 Findings: Three Translations ....................................................................................... 74 Discussion and Conclusion ............................................................................................ 91 CHAPTER 4: THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION PRACTICES OF MULTI-INSTITUTION COLLABORATIONS ............................................................................................ 93 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 93 Literature Review ............................................................................................................. 96 Methods .............................................................................................................................. 101 Findings .............................................................................................................................. 102 Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 126 CHAPTER 5: PARTICLE PHYSICS COMMUNICATION: