Science Coverage in Three Newspapers and Three Supermarket Tabloids

Abstract

Supermarket tabloids more likely to cover stories about medicine and health and devote a greater proportion of the news hole compared to mainstream papers. From developments in superconductivity to the latest in AIDS research, science makes local and national headlines. Newspaper reports provide the public with most of its science news.1 A growing number of papers ranging from the New York Times (circulation 934,616) to the Maine's Lewiston Journal (circulation 12,099) feature weekly science sections.2 Others, like the Philadelphia Inquirer, have no regular science sections but maintain full-time science writers. And virtually all newspapers, from small town dailies to USA Today, feature some reporting on environmental and medical/health issues, written by staff and wire service writers. This news coverage can influence the public's knowledge of science and their attitudes toward science. While science journalism in traditional newspapers receives the most attention from researchers, another form of newspaper-the supermarket tabloid-appears to devote many of its headlines to the coverage of science. And even though many professional journalists regard tabloids as a source of amusement or embarassment, it is important to remember that the National Enquirer boasts an average circulation of 4.5 million readers, readers whose understanding of many science issues can be influenced by tabloid coverage. Past research on mainstream newspapers has indicated that editors may underestimate the public's interest in science.3 That underestimation seems to be changing. Recently there has been a movement in news coverage to include science and health related information as part of regular newspaper coverage. SIPlscope recently published the second survey of newspaper science coverage.4 The survey showed that in 1986 there were 66 newspapers with weekly science sections and 81 newspapers had weekly science pages. This compares with only 19 such sections in 1984. This increasing newspaper emphasis on science and health seems to reflect the public interest. Nunn found that newspaper audiences had a high level of interest in science news with particularly strong interest among those 18-29 years-old.5 Similarly, Miller found 40% of American adults were in science and science policy.6 He labeled half of this group as the attentive public, individuals with a functional knowledge of science and a high interest in science. The other half, labeled as the interested public, lacked the functional knowledge of science but maintained an active interest in science and science policy. The supermarket tabloids, which rely almost entirely on the market appeal of their stories to sell papers, have also recognized the appeal of science related stories. Previous research on supermarket tabloids has not examined the content of stories covered by these papers. Lehnert and Perpich7 interviewed tabloid readers to examine their attitudes and opinions about these newspapers. They found three types of readers. Intent diversion seekers read tabloids for entertainment and enjoyment, preferring topics like celebrity gossip or miracle cures. The distracted information collectors read with less intensity than the intent diversion seekers and were mostly in pictures, medical and diet articles and articles about the waste of government money. The selfish believer group found what they read in the tabloids credible, sought tabloid information for how it applies to their personal lives, and although they found the information in medical articles difficult to process, they saw the stories as credible. The distracted information collectors and the selfish believer groups might well be influenced by the coverage of science in the supermarket tabloids. This study uses content analysis to compare coverage of science in supermarket tabloids with the science coverage in mainstream newspapers. …