43. Verification and Balance in Science News: How the New Zealand Mass
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VERIFICATION AND BALANCE IN SCIENCE NEWS: HOW THE NEW ZEALAND MASS MEDIA REPORT SCIENTIFIC CLAIMS A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Laura A. Sessions _______________ University of Canterbury 2003 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION................................................................... 2 1.1. In the beginning there was Lyprinol…............................................................. 2 1.2. The impetus for this research............................................................................ 3 1.3. Media constraints: Beyond resources to the social production of news ........ 5 1.4. Assumptions of this research............................................................................. 6 1.5. Definitions ............................................................................................................ 6 1.6. Thesis outline....................................................................................................... 7 1.7. Research goals..................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2: SCIENCE COMMUNICATION AND THE SOCIAL PRODUCTION OF NEWS: A LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................... 9 2.1. The public understanding of science................................................................. 9 2.1.1. Why is the public understanding of science important?...........................................9 2.1.1.1. The deficiency model: Benefits for science and the state....................... 9 2.1.1.2. The rational choice model and a scientifically literate public............. 11 2.1.1.3. The context model: An audience-centred approach ............................. 12 2.1.2. The role of the mass media in science communication..........................................13 2.2. A brief history of science journalism.............................................................. 16 2.3. The science – journalism divide....................................................................... 19 2.4. Media theory: The social production of news ................................................ 22 2.4.1. The theory of ‘gatekeeping’ ................................................................................22 2.4.2. A hierarchical model of the forces shaping media content.....................................24 2.4.2.1. Individual-level forces .......................................................................... 25 2.4.2.2. Routine forces ....................................................................................... 26 2.4.2.3. Organisational forces ........................................................................... 32 2.4.2.4. External forces...................................................................................... 35 2.4.2.5. Ideological forces ................................................................................. 37 2.4.2.6. Comparing factors at different levels................................................... 37 2.5. Forces shaping science content in the mass media ........................................ 39 2.5.1. Individual level..................................................................................................39 2.5.2. Routine level.....................................................................................................40 2.5.3. Organisational le vel...........................................................................................42 2.5.4. Institutional level...............................................................................................43 2.5.5. Ideological level................................................................................................44 CHAPTER 3: CORNGATE: A CASE STUDY IN VERIFICATION AND BALANCE ....................................................................................................... 45 3.1. Introduction....................................................................................................... 45 3.2. Defining objectivity........................................................................................... 46 3.2.1. A comprehensive conceptual framework.............................................................47 3.2.2. The ritual of objectivity ......................................................................................50 3.3. A brief history of journalistic objectivity ....................................................... 52 3.4. Criticisms of the objectivity norm................................................................... 56 3.5. Verification........................................................................................................ 57 3.5.1. Verification in science news...............................................................................59 3.5.2. Consequences of not verifying scientific claims ...................................................61 3.6. Balance............................................................................................................... 63 3.6.1. Problems with balance in science reporting..........................................................65 3.6.2. An alternative strategy: the weight of evidence ....................................................68 3.7. Corngate: An example of verification and balance gone bad....................... 69 3.7.1. Background .......................................................................................................69 3.7.2. Media coverage of Corngate...............................................................................72 3.7.2.1. Before the book release ........................................................................ 72 3.7.2.2. Day 1, July 10: The official book release ............................................. 73 3.7.2.3. Day 2, July 11: Scientists come forward.............................................. 74 3.7.2.4. Day 3, July 12: And still no independent verification…....................... 77 3.7.2.5. July 13-15: The balancing act .............................................................. 80 3.7.3. Verification in Corngate .....................................................................................82 3.7.4. Balance in Corngate ...........................................................................................87 3.7.5. Results of these practices....................................................................................89 3.8. Conclusions........................................................................................................ 93 CHAPTER 4: A SURVEY OF NEW ZEALAND JOURNALISTS WHO REPORT SCIENCE .........................................................................................100 4.1. Introduction..................................................................................................... 100 4.2. Methods ........................................................................................................... 101 4.3. Results.............................................................................................................. 103 4.3.1. Journalist attributes .......................................................................................... 103 4.3.2. Media attitudes toward science ......................................................................... 105 4.3.3. The use of scientific sources.............................................................................. 110 4.3.4. Coverage of maverick science .......................................................................... 112 4.3.5. The weight of evidence approach...................................................................... 113 4.4. Discussion........................................................................................................ 115 4.4.1. Science reporting without the specialists ........................................................... 115 4.4.2. Time constraints .............................................................................................. 117 4.4.3. The effects of scientific training and work experience ........................................ 118 CHAPTER 5: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF NEW ZEALAND SCIENCE NEWS 122 5.1. Introduction: The New Zealand media environment .................................. 122 5.1.1. News organisations and their audiences............................................................. 122 5.1.2. Regulatory bodies ............................................................................................ 124 5.1.3. Deregulation and its impacts on the New Zealand media .................................... 125 5.1.3.1. Deregulation and public service broadcasting................................... 126 5.1.3.2. Deregulation and foreign ownership.................................................. 127 5.1.3.3. The impact of deregulation on NZ news today................................... 129 5.1.4. A crisis of faith: The NZ media today ............................................................... 131 5.1.5. Goals of this content analysis ............................................................................ 132 5.2. Methods ........................................................................................................... 133 5.2.1. Why content analysis?.....................................................................................