Harald Hornmoen (Høgskolen i Oslo): Science communication in the media

According to the dominant model in studies of science communication, scientists are viewed as the original and sole source of knowledge, the journalists as disseminators and the public as the ultimate destination and receivers of this knowledge. However, this model is flawed and the understanding of what science communication is and ought to be is gradually changing within research institutions. So is journalist’s understanding of what their own tasks are when writing about scientific issues. Hornmoen will present different conceptions of science communication and science journalism. He argues that science communication in practice is still strongly influenced by a “dominant view of popularization” and tends to draw a boundary between science on the one hand and the public on the other. He will discuss how both scientists and journalists can contribute to a more critical coverage of science in the media.