6533b871fe1ef96bd12d1128
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Stylistic analysis of headlines in science journalism: A case study ofNew Scientist
Katarzyna Molek-kozakowskasubject
JournalismWritingDiscourse analysis"New Scientist"050801 communication & media studiesContext (language use)Public opinion0508 media and communicationsHybridityArts and Humanities (miscellaneous)Developmental and Educational PsychologyScience communicationhybriditySociologySocial sciencediscourse analysisScience journalism060201 languages & linguisticsInformation Disseminationbusiness.industryCommunicationdiscourses of science05 social sciencesCommunity ParticipationMedia studies06 humanities and the artsheadlinesscience journalismlinguistic stylePublic Opinion0602 languages and literatureJournalismPeriodicals as TopicbusinessPeriod (music)description
This article explores science journalism in the context of the media competition for readers’ attention. It offers a qualitative stylistic perspective on how popular journalism colonizes science communication. It examines a sample of 400 headlines collected over the period of 15 months from the ranking of five ‘most-read’ articles on the website of the international magazine New Scientist. Dominant lexical properties of the sample are first identified through frequency and keyness survey and then analysed qualitatively from the perspective of the stylistic projection of newsworthiness. The analysis illustrates various degrees of stylistic ‘hybridity’ in online popularization of scientific research. Stylistic patterns that celebrate, domesticate or personalize science coverage (characteristic of popular journalism) are intertwined with devices that foreground tentativeness, precision and informativeness (characteristic of science communication). The article reflects on the implications of including various proportions of academic and popular styles in science journalism.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-03-29 | Public Understanding of Science |