[ECOLOG-L] science and the media, the hype problem starts with the university

[David Duffy]

   - [image: Richard Dawkins Foundation] 
   - About 
   - News 
   - Community 
   - Events 
   - Videos 
   - Openly Secular 
   - Store 
   - Donate
   


Communicating Health Science News

   - https://richarddawkins.net/2014/12/communicating-health-science-news/News
   Article 
   - Science 
   - Skepticism 

Dec 24, 2014
0

By Steven Novella

A recent study addresses the problem of sensationalism in the communication
of science news, an issue we deal with on a regular basis. The study was
titled “The association between exaggeration in health related science news
and academic press releases: retrospective observational study
“. The results show two
interesting things – that university press releases frequently overhype the
results of studies, and that this has a dramatic effect on overall
reporting about the research.

The authors reviewed “Press releases (n=462) on biomedical and health
related science issued by 20 leading UK universities in 2011, alongside
their associated peer reviewed research papers and news stories (n=668).”
They found that 40% of the press releases contained exaggerated health
advice, 33% overemphasized the causal connection, and 36% exaggerated the
ability to extrapolate animal and cell data to humans.”

Further:

When press releases contained such exaggeration, 58%, 81%, and 86% of news
stories, respectively, contained similar exaggeration, compared with
exaggeration rates of 17%, 18%, and 10% in news when the press releases
were not exaggerated.

This study points a finger directly at academic press offices as a
significant source of bad science news reporting. This does not let other
links in the news chain off the hook, however.

The problem is worsened by changes over the last decade in the news
infrastructure. The internet and changing business models make it difficult
for large news outlets to maintain specialist journalists and editors.
Therefore science and health news is more frequently being reported by
generalist reporters, and not filtered through a dedicated science editor.
--

Read the full article by clicking the name of the source located below.

VIA STEVEN NOVELLA
SOURCE SCIENCE BASED MEDICINE


-- 
https://richarddawkins.net/2014/12/communicating-health-science-news/


David Duffy
戴大偉 (Dài Dàwěi)
Pacific Cooperative Studies Unit
Botany
University of Hawaii
3190 Maile Way
Honolulu Hawaii 96822 USA
1-808-956-8218

[ECOLOG-L] science and the media

[David Inouye]

There's an interesting editorial on this topic in the 1 April issue 
of Science, 332:13.

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/332/6025/13.full?sid=d95bb84c-6fa9-428e-941d-a2e804ede3d9