Mediating Social Science

Social scientists have made a huge contribution to understanding the media. But what is the interface between social scientists and the media? How does social science come over in news and current affairs in both the print and broadcast media? Mediating Social Science provides an accessible and authoritative guide to understanding the interaction between social science and the media. The authors examine media production, the nature of media texts, the role of new sources, the general social and political context of mass communication, and the ways in which media outputs are assimilated by audiences. They explore a number of applied areas: the interaction between journalists and social scientists; publicity-seeking activities of universities, research institutes, and government departments; the attempts of individual social scientists to gain notice; the social policy environment surrounding social scientific research and its dissemination; pressures from funders; and the public understanding of social science in the news. Mediating Social Science will be required reading for students of sociology, cultural studies, communication, and media studies.