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ePaper created 2013-08-02, 08:40:53 | version 1.25.20
Research in Jülich 2|201322 Research in Jülich 2|201322 Are we about to experience a revolution in scientific commu- nication? Peters: We are certainly experiencing a time of change. The Internet represents a historic turning point in the media world. People use media differently. Today, scientists are expected to be visible in the public arena. However, from my point of view, this doesn’t mean that the system will be revolutionized. Aren’t scientists excited about making use of new opportuni- ties, such as blogs, and addressing the public directly, with- out journalists acting as intermediaries? Peters: Apparently, that’s not the case for the majority of them: the neuroscientists in Germany and the USA who were part of one of our surveys, for example, said that when they read up about science in general, they primarily fell back on journalistic media. They also believed that these traditional media had more influence than new media, and to them, appearing in a renowned medium had greater significance and impact than writing about their views in their own blog. It is doubtful whether many researchers will take the time for extensive on- line activities. In addition, even on the Internet the public will not be able to do without journalism or something else that helps to gauge the significance of a topic. Do scientists really want to be in direct contact with the public? Peters: Scientists are certainly interested in engaging in a dia- logue with the public. However, the majority of them object to giving lay people more influence on decision-making processes within the science community. Our studies show that natural scientists in particular clearly differentiate between discus- sions within the community and discussions with the public. Then this is why there will be no revolution. From your perspective, what are the most influential trends? Peters: Our study with the neuroscientists in particular revealed that scientists want to make their public relations ac- tivities more efficient. They are beginning to select those me- dia that are most important and to delegate PR tasks to public relations departments or external agencies. For interested members of the public, however, there is the danger that PR material could become dominant in comparison to critical and balanced reports. In addition, the expectations that the general public has of science are increasingly communicated directly and interactively, for example by shitstorms against certain areas of research or by influencing areas such as climate research via blogs. The signs are pointing towards change, also for scientific communication. There are experts who are certain that the future belongs to blogs and social networking sites and that traditional science journalism will soon be a thing of the past. However, Jülich communication scientist Prof. Hans Peter Peters is sceptical. He conducted surveys of scientists worldwide as part of several studies. Why Blogging Scientists Won’t Become a Mass Phenomenon