Science Journalism and Professional Autonomy

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The chapter highlights the fact that limitations to journalistic and editorial independence do not apply equally to all areas and newsbeats. Some topics, such as politics and economics or foreign policy, are far more sensitive and subject to control and editorial restrictions than others, such as fashion and sport. Science, however, sits somewhere in between. In most cases, journalists are given ample space to debate around a series of issues with almost no interference or editorial restrictions. Nevertheless, this section points out that there are some particular topics in science news which might generate sufficient controversy as to attract attention—and intervention—from the authorities or media owners. In the MENA region, these interventions might be related to areas of science that clash with religious views, government policy or corporate interests, among others. This is all made even more complex by the very blur distinction between what is private ownership and state control of the media in these countries, which furthers the complexity around the professional independence of reporters. In this chapter, the authors argue that professional autonomy is perhaps one of the most important dimensions of professionalism in relation to the production of independent news. Several elements may affect the autonomy of a journalist in their journalistic work, such as the media organisation in which they work or their professional experience and capability to understand and engage with particular issues without having to over depend upon some expert voices and officials. This is in addition to the context in which both the media and individual journalists operate in the MENA region.