Animal Behaviour In The Media Flashcards
True or false
Certain animals are favoured by the media
This reflects and creates public preferences for animals
True
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
True
What is the process from peer-reviewed article to a media report?
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
What is a peer-reviewed article?
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
What is a press release?
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
What happens in a media report?
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
Who writes a peer-reviewed article?
They’re written by the people who did the experiment/study
What is the format of a peer-reviewed article?
They have a predictable format Abstract Intro Methods Results Discussion
Are peer-reviewed articles formal or informal documents?
Formal document
Who writes the press release?
Press releases are written by the press office from the university or journal or funder
True or false
The press officer will usually create a press release without the help of the author
False
The press officer will usually create a press release with the help of the author to ensure accuracy
True or false
Press releases are used to make the organisation look good by generating high quality research
True
True or false
Press releases can have other aims alined with the organisations interests
True
The RVC’s press release also help promote better animal welfare
True or false
Press releases don’t include quotes from the researcher
False
Press releases may include quotes from the researcher to make them more appealing
Why are press releases often very plain?
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
True or false
Photos are also included in press releases to increase interest
True
What happens when the press release is ready?
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
Who writes a media report?
The media report is written by journalists, reporters, bloggers and others
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
True
How do journalists find the stories?
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
What are the aims of a journalist when writing a media report?
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
True or false
Media publications usually have editors, who’ll get all the articles made by the journalists and decide what to print
True
What are the editors aims?
Get readers/viewers Beat competitors to the story Make money Meet their own publications objectives regarding accuracy Not get sued
What is the result of the aims of the journalist and editors?
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
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?
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
What 7 things must you think about when creating a press release/article?
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
