Growing Influence of University PR on Science News Coverage? A Longitudinal Automated Content Analysis of University Media Releases and Newspaper Coverage in Switzerland, 2003‒2017

Authors

  • Daniel Vogler Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society – University of Zurich Department of Communication and Media Research – University of Zurich
  • Mike S. Schäfer Department of Communication and Media Research – University of Zurich

Keywords:

science journalism, public relations, media relations, higher education, automated content analysis, science communication

Abstract

Universities have expanded their public relation (PR) departments in recent years. At the same time, news media have had to cope with reduced resources. This has led scholars to assume a growing influence of university PR on a weakened journalism. However, research on this phenomenon is scarce, and longitudinal research is missing entirely. The study at hand looks at the influence of university PR on science journalism in Switzerland by measuring the effects of media releases on media coverage. It uses large-scale, automated text comparisons combined with manual content analyses. The results show that an increasing amount of media coverage is based on media releases, and that the tone of this portion of media coverage is significantly more positive toward the university. Overall, our findings suggest an increasing influence of university PR on (science) journalism.

Author Biographies

Daniel Vogler, Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society – University of Zurich Department of Communication and Media Research – University of Zurich

Daniel Vogler is Research Director of the Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society - University of Zurich, and Research Associate at the University of Zurich’s Department of Communications and Media Research. His research interests are organizational communication and public relations with focus on higher education.

Mike S. Schäfer, Department of Communication and Media Research – University of Zurich

Dr. Mike S. Schäfer is professor of science communication at the University of Zurich’s Department of Communications and Media Research. He is also Director of the University’s Center for Higher Education and Science Studies (CHESS). His research focuses on science communication, online communication and public sphere theory, issues on which he has published widely.

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Published

2020-05-28

Issue

Vol. 14 (2020)

Section

Articles

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