Physics and the Media - the Importance of Communication

Photo via Flickr user Prateek Rungta

Physics and the Media

the Importance of Communication

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Physics is an

area of study

relevant to

almost everything

we use on a daily

basis, such as

computers, cars,

the internet and

many others

Photo via Flickr user Dimitris Kalogeropoylos

Physics is also

becoming

increasingly

prevalent in the

news and other

forms of media

Photo via Flickr user Steve Calcott

Often, new important experiments

and results appear in the news…

But why?

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This is important – the

most important part of the

scientific process is

communicating results[1]

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Many different

ways to do so

– want to get

earned media mentions[C1]

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Which medium to

use depends on

how significant the

results are

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Scientific Journals are more general, suited

to minor experiments – a fusion between

news and sponsored magazines[C2]

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Press releases

are generally

reserved for

more significant

findings

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Some major institutes (CERN, NASA, etc.)

have their own PR teams, who work to correct

misconceptions and manage public opinion

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These PR teams

will often do

journalism of their

own to generate

discussion and

interest

Photo credit: Patrick Mansell via Flickr user penn state

This is all important – If you can’t share what

you’ve found effectively, people won’t be able

to understand what has been done or why

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Physics is

confusing by

nature – one

of the biggest

challenges is

making it

accessible to

the general

public

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Funding comes from the government and other

external sponsors, so they must be able to

understand what they are giving money to and

why

Photo via Flickr user Sebastien Wiertz

Sponsors will

almost always

look to previous

publications – mostly

articles in scientific

journals[2]

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Types of available media are always

changing – researchers have to evolve with it

Photo via Flickr user Jason Howie

The emergence of

new media types

(social media in

particular) has

required

researchers to be

more engaged in

sharing their work[3]

Photo via Flickr user Brian Evans

Researchers want their work to be shared as

much as possible - this generates discussion,

allowing themselves and others to build on

this work with more research[C3]

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Publishing ensures researchers get proper

credit for the work they have done

Photo credit: Patrick Mansell via Flickr user penn state

Most importantly, it

allows researchers

to communicate

what they have done

in a way that others

can understand

References[1] Feliú-Mójer, M. I. (2015, February 24). Effective Communication, Better Science.

Retrieved February 24, 2017, from https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/effective-communication-better-science/

[2] Bucchi, M. (2008). Theories of Public Communication and Science. In Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology (pp. 57-76). New York: Routledge.

[3] Holliman, R., Whitelegg, L., Scanlon, E., Smidt, S., & Thomas, J. (2009). Investigating science communication in the information age: Implications for public engagement and popular media. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[C1] – Module 2, Lecture 2

[C2] – Module 3, Lecture 2

[C3] – Module 2, Lecture 1

All photos used with permission via the Creative Commons License