nisbetmc | January 19, 2008Scholars have long warned about the increasing sound bite nature of our media and political system, but overlooked is the visual nature of this trend. A new study in the Journal of Communication is the first to systematically track and contextualize this troubling tendency of the American public sphere:
Taking Television Seriously: A Sound and Image Bite Analysis of Presidential Campaign Coverage, 1992-2004
This study updates and builds on Hallin's landmark investigation of sound-bite news by documenting the prevalence of candidate image bites, where candidates are shown but not heard (as…
nisbetmc | January 17, 2008Media Matters for America, a liberal media watch dog organization, has released an analysis of sourcing patterns of religious leaders in news coverage. From the intro to the report:
Religion is often depicted in the news media as a politically divisive force, with two sides roughly paralleling the broader political divide: On one side are cultural conservatives who ground their political values in religious beliefs; and on the other side are secular liberals, who have opted out of debates that center on religion-based values. The truth, however is far different: close to 90 percent of…
nisbetmc | January 17, 2008
Michael Pollan was interviewed recently on WNYC about his new book "A Defense of Eating." Well worth listening to...
nisbetmc | January 16, 2008In a report on the 2007 activities of the Center for Inquiry, chair Paul Kurtz adds further to how he differentiates a positive and life affirming secular view of the world from the arguments of the so-called New Atheists. Here's what Kurtz writes:
The new atheism, so-called, provoked widespread discussion because of the publication of several new books denying the existence of God--by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Victor Stenger--all contributors to Free Inquiry. Their views were not new to readers of Center for Inquiry or Prometheus Books publications; but for the…
nisbetmc | January 16, 2008The National Science Foundation has released a PDF version of the 2008 edition of Science Indicators. Every two years, Chapter 7 of the report reviews the latest research tracking public opinion about science and technology.
Over the coming weeks, I will be posting regularly about key implications of the chapter. In the meantime though, I strongly recommend downloading and printing out the chapter which offers a wonderfully detailed look at the cultural authority of science in America.
I also want to point readers to page 10 of the PDF that features a side bar on media effects and science.…
nisbetmc | January 16, 2008I'm told that more than 170 have RSVPed for tonight's Framing Science talk and panel discussion at the House of Sweden in Georgetown. Details here.
nisbetmc | January 16, 2008In reaction to policymaking that they believe ignores or distorts scientific expertise, scientists more and more are assuming direct advocacy roles. The latest sign from today's Washington Post:
Two dozen scientists swarmed over Capitol Hill this week mad as vespinae ( hornets) at what they say is Bush administration meddling in environmental science.
Organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Endangered Species Coalition, the rumpled researchers won time in the offices of more than 20 lawmakers. They are protesting what Francesca Grifo, director of the Scientific Integrity…
nisbetmc | January 15, 2008The Columbia Journalism Review has formally launched a department dedicated to science and environmental reporting. Curtis Brainard, who has been covering the beat at CJR, will be chief reporter. His first online article details the problems and challenges ScienceDebate 2008 faces in gaining news coverage and public attention.
From the announcement about the new CJR dept:
The Observatory will monitor science journalism-covering the coverage-with an eye toward improving the journalism and thereby improving the discourse. It will be a guide to the best and worst of science and environmental…
nisbetmc | January 15, 2008
Conventional wisdom pegs 2007 as the long awaited tipping point in waking the American public up to the urgency of global warming. Yet as I review in my latest "Science and the Media" column at Skeptical Inquirer Online, such optimism runs up against the reality of public opinion.
Despite Gore's breakthrough success with Inconvenient Truth, American opinion today is little different from when the film premiered in May 2006. Gore has done a very good job of intensifying the beliefs of audiences who were already concerned about climate change, but a deep perceptual divide between partisans…
nisbetmc | January 15, 2008This semester at American University, I am teaching an advanced undergraduate/graduate seminar on Political Communication. Needless to say, it's the right time and the right city to be teaching this course. I've included a link to the the syllabus which contains hyperlinks to many of the assigned readings.
Download syllabus
Below is the course description:
This course reviews major areas of research in political communication, connecting this scholarly work to the insights of leading political strategists and journalists. General topics covered include:
A)How political communication and…
nisbetmc | January 15, 2008As funding and budgets flat line at the National Institutes of Health, science organizations are hoping to make NIH funding part of the election discussion. In a smart way, they are framing the issue in terms of social progress with the catchphrase "Science Cures," making personally relevant the value of basic research. Below is a press release from FASEB announcing their new election-oriented Web site at http://sciencecures.org/.
AS 2008 PRESIDENTIAL RACE HEATS UP, FASEB LAUNCHES VOTER EDUCATION INITIATIVE SCIENCECURES.ORG
Bethesda, MD - The Federation of American Societies for Experimental…
nisbetmc | January 12, 2008One of the political predictions I've heard goes like this: since Florida is frequently hit by hurricanes, competency at emergency preparedness is more of a salient consideration for Floridians, and that gives Rudy Giuliani an edge in the primary. What do readers think?
Assuming emergency preparedness is a salient issue for GOP primary voters, it would be a classic example of priming in campaign effects: the more salient an issue for the public, the more likely the issue becomes the chief criteria by which voters evaluate candidates. To see how this works, read this article at the Washington…
nisbetmc | January 11, 2008Next week on Wednesday I will be joined by several stellar panelists for a Science Cafe discussion at the Swedish Embassy aka the House of Sweden. Built last year, the embassy is an architectural marvel sitting on some of the best real estate in the Georgetown waterfront.
You don't want to miss this. I hear that they are expecting an audience topping a 100 and I am sure people will be gathering afterwards to go out for beers in Georgetown. Details below. Notice the RSVP requirement.
For my talk, I will be discussing the paradigm shift in science communication, focusing in on the continued…
nisbetmc | January 11, 2008An editorial by 17 professional societies at the FASEB Journal details the findings of a new survey on public opinion about evolution. The editorial closes by urging new approaches to public engagement, citing and echoing our Framing Science thesis at Science:
These data indicate that Americans respect the expertise of science and education professionals and also look to clergy for guidance on scientific issues of potential relevance to religion. The value of encouraging each of these groups--including scientists who hold religious beliefs--to become involved in promoting quality science…
nisbetmc | January 10, 2008WAMU's Kojo Namdi Show spotlights labor rights for part-time faculty. You can listen to the full show here
Labor Rights for Part-time College Professors
For Washington-area universities, the large pool of professionals willing to teach on a part-time basis is an embarrassment of riches. But some have argued that colleges are over-relying on part-time labor, and underpaying teachers. We learn about a new collective bargaining agreement between George Washington University and a local union of part-time and adjunct staff.
Guests
Kip Lornell, Adjunct Professor of Africana Studies and Music,…
nisbetmc | January 10, 2008The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism conducted an analysis of post-NH newspaper and television coverage and has a critical review of the "reverse direction" narrative.
nisbetmc | January 10, 2008The Clinton team has added a new message guru, advertising and branding wizard Roy Spence. From ABC News.com:
Spence, 60, a longtime friend of the Clintons, is the quirky Austin-based advertising legend who coined the phrase "Don't Mess With Texas," and developed the Southwest Airlines slogan, "You are now free to move about the country."...
...Spence was active early on in the campaign, but will now take on an even greater role, inputting how to rebrand Clinton's message to voters.
"Hillary wants somebody in there that is going to comprehend what messaging conversations are being had, and…
nisbetmc | January 10, 2008Perhaps the best quote on the horse race coverage goes to USC professor Marty Kaplan writing at the Huffington Post:
I wonder whether this humiliating turnabout, played out in real time over a very short period right in front of the American people, could be the MSM's Katrina. Political media, you've done a heckuva job.
nisbetmc | January 10, 2008In a lengthy column at today's Washington Post, media reporter Howard Kurtz pulls no punches in criticizing the horse race coverage that has defined the primary races: "The series of blown calls amount to the shakiest campaign performance yet by a profession seemingly addicted to snap judgments and crystal-ball pronouncements. Not since the networks awarded Florida to Al Gore on Election Night 2000 has the collective media establishment so blatantly missed the boat."
Here's how Kurtz describes the factors contributing to the news media's overwhelming fascination with polls and hyped…
nisbetmc | January 9, 2008Out of all the suggestions that have been thrown around about who should be the next Presidential science advisor, I think Bora over at A Blog Around the Clock might have hit on the best choice and that's Harold Varmus.
As I noted in a previous post discussing the possibility of Francis Collins as presidential advisor, the government's chief science policy person can also be an important public ambassador. In that role, and in dealing with a diversity of constituents and stakeholders, the science advisor needs to be able to communicate science in a way that connects with religious Americans…