Animal Behaviour In The Media

Question 1

True or false
Certain animals are favoured by the media
This reflects and creates public preferences for animals

Answer 1

True

Question 2

True or false

Having a carnivore on the front cover will cause a product to be sold more than if it was a non-carnivore animal

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What is the process from peer-reviewed article to a media report?

Answer 3

When a peer-reviewed article is finished it will often have a press release
The press release will be a simpler version of the peer reviewed article which the public can understand better
The press release is less technical
The press release will then be used to generate a media report

Question 4

What is a peer-reviewed article?

Answer 4

They’re created by the researcher
They’re detailed enough to allow anyone to copy their experiment
It will have statements about:
-the significance of the results
- if the hypothesis is right
Assuming that the research is done with integraty the research should be accurate

Question 5

What is a press release?

Answer 5

Press releases are created by press officers from either journals, funder’s or the university
They will only contain the highlights from the research paper
They are also really accurate, however it may miss out unfavorable details
This is done to maintain the organisation’s reputation
They wouldn’t lie they would just down play it as not that bad
Press releases will use plain/non-technical/normal language

Question 6

What happens in a media report?

Answer 6

Media reports are created by either a journalist or reporter
They will report either all the highlights or only the highlights that are if interest to the audience
The media report may combine information from the peer-reviewed article with different sources
This may be to make it more controversial
The accuracy of the media report can vary
Fake news is sometimes made instead of reporting the facts
The language used in media reports varies
In scientific media they’ll use plain, non-technical language
In non-scientific media they may use more creative non-technical language
The language is always tailored to it’s audience

Question 7

Who writes a peer-reviewed article?

Answer 7

They’re written by the people who did the experiment/study

Question 8

What is the format of a peer-reviewed article?

Answer 8

They have a predictable format
Abstract
Intro
Methods
Results
Discussion

Question 9

Are peer-reviewed articles formal or informal documents?

Answer 9

Formal document

Question 10

Who writes the press release?

Answer 10

Press releases are written by the press office from the university or journal or funder

Question 11

True or false

The press officer will usually create a press release without the help of the author

Answer 11

False

The press officer will usually create a press release with the help of the author to ensure accuracy

Question 12

True or false

Press releases are used to make the organisation look good by generating high quality research

Answer 12

True

Question 13

True or false

Press releases can have other aims alined with the organisations interests

Answer 13

True

The RVC’s press release also help promote better animal welfare

Question 14

True or false

Press releases don’t include quotes from the researcher

Answer 14

False

Press releases may include quotes from the researcher to make them more appealing

Question 15

Why are press releases often very plain?

Answer 15

Press releases are often very plain to encourage journalists to write about it since they can get the information and then write about it is their own way

Question 16

True or false

Photos are also included in press releases to increase interest

Answer 16

True

Question 17

What happens when the press release is ready?

Answer 17

When the press release is ready the press office will:
Send the press release to their journalist contacts
Publish it on the organisations media outlets

Question 18

Who writes a media report?

Answer 18

The media report is written by journalists, reporters, bloggers and others

Question 19

True or false
If the media report is released on TV or radio it may be explained by a presenter
To do this the presenter will need to understand what they’re talking about really well

Answer 19

True

Question 20

How do journalists find the stories?

Answer 20

The press release
Their own research
They may also contact the authors or other sources for more information
This can be done in an interview

Question 21

What are the aims of a journalist when writing a media report?

Answer 21

The journalists aim to:
Get their article published in their publication of choice
Get paid
Get recognition to build their CV if they’re just starting out
Express themselves in their own way as clearly as possible
Meet their own objectives regarding accuracy which will depend on whether they’ve had scientific training

Question 22

True or false

Media publications usually have editors, who’ll get all the articles made by the journalists and decide what to print

Answer 22

True

Question 23

What are the editors aims?

Answer 23

Get readers/viewers
Beat competitors to the story
Make money
Meet their own publications objectives regarding accuracy
Not get sued

Question 24

What is the result of the aims of the journalist and editors?

Answer 24

Due to this media reports are therefore:
Attention-grabbing
Often creative
Written to tight deadlines
Highlight what their audience wants to know
Brief
Include quotes and catchy saying
Almost always have a photo/video

Question 25

The editor often cuts paragraphs at a time to fit articles into the page/schedule
This also happens wherever the editor thinks the audience will get bored
This makes journalists write paragraphs with a rolling structure since each paragraph could be the last one
What does this mean in terms of the media reports structure?

Answer 25

Each paragraph is a complete story getting more and more detailed
The key information is up in the 1st/2nd paragraph
Attention grabbing information is spread throughout the article in a bid to get the editor to keep as much of the article as possible
Each paragraphs final sentence must work as the final sentence to the entire article

Question 26

What 7 things must you think about when creating a press release/article?

Answer 26

1) Why is the topic interesting, surprising and/or important?
2) What did the researchers discover?
3) Are there any easy numbers to communicate?
4) What did the researchers do?
5) Can you relate aspects of the story to the readers?
6) Are there any ‘saying’ that are definitely relevant?
7) Translate all technical terms into accurate lay terms