Journalism's Revolution: Understanding Sience to Escape the Politicial Manipulation of Public Discourse on Scientific nd Environmental Issues

<p>Science journalism is in need of repair. Too often interest groups can unduly affect the coverage on controversial issues like global warming or water pollution. I argue this is because the underlying theory of science journalism does not require enough background in science to recognize potential manipulation. If journalists understood the scientific community better, they could better adjudicate competing truth claims like "global warming is real and caused by man" vs. "global warming is a hoax/naturally occurring phenomenon". The proposed theory requires an increased level of intervention on the part of the journalist that is both controversial and, in my view, justified. That intervention should be limited and based on the rhetorical notion of ethos. Specifically, I introduce two new terms: collegiate ethos (the ethos a scientist has within the scientific community) and public ethos (the ethos awarded simply from the title "scientist"). If journalists understood the difference between these two ethoi, they would be able to better educate the public about the peer-reviewed and credible science behind scientific and environmental controversies such that the public cou demand better public policy from its elected representatives.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Humanities

Year

2009

Author dc:creator

• McClay, Laila Abdelal

Contributors dc:contributor

• Mairi Pleggi, PhD
• Martin Anderson, JD, PhD

• Humanities
• Arts and Humanities

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/271

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.dominican.edu:humanities-print-theses-1270