MA in TV and Radio Journalism

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Browsing MA in TV and Radio Journalism by Author "Mc Cluskey, Fiona"

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    Ireland Informed: A Characterization of Science Reporting in the Irish Media
    (Griffith College, 2018) Mc Cluskey, Fiona
    Science and scientific advancement has the capacity to be an exciting topic for the Irish news consumer. Public understanding of science and scientific advancement is important for informed policy making, legislating and funding. The purpose of this dissertation was to develop an understanding of the current landscape of science reporting in the Irish media and to assess if an adequate level of science coverage was achieved. The design of this research was both quantitative and qualitative, building on the research paradigm of Suleski and Ibaraki (2010). I identified and analysed the reporting of science news over a one-month period in 2018, across two television news shows, namely RTÉ News: Six One and TV3: 3News at 5.30, one tabloid and one broadsheet newspaper, namely the Irish Sun and the Irish Independent newspaper and two radio news shows, namely RTÉ Radio One: Morning Ireland and Today FM: The Last Word. Using a set of defined guidelines, 82 examples of science news reporting were identified during the study period and a content analysis was performed. It was found that 0.03% of science research published in peer reviewed journals reached the Irish media audience and there was an average of 1.7% science news coverage in Irish news content. The medical sciences received the most news coverage with an emphasis on cancer science. There was a focus on local relevance in the science news reports studied and although a tenancy toward negative news stories was anticipated, this was not observed. It was established that the level of science news coverage in the Irish media did not correspond to the appetite of the Irish news consumer and can therefore be deemed inadequate.