The power of perception: How scientific experts’ understanding of media logic affects their media-related behavior

During the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists were heavily reliant on contributions from scientific experts. Despite the often productive collaboration between scientists and journalists, journalistic practices are largely at odds with scientific routines, making scientists not always willing to act as...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Birte Leonhardt, Daniel Nölleke, Folker Hanusch
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG 2025-06-01
Series:Studies in Communication, Media
Online Access:https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2192-4007-2025-2-203
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849703287380508672
author Birte Leonhardt
Daniel Nölleke
Folker Hanusch
author_facet Birte Leonhardt
Daniel Nölleke
Folker Hanusch
author_sort Birte Leonhardt
collection DOAJ
description During the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists were heavily reliant on contributions from scientific experts. Despite the often productive collaboration between scientists and journalists, journalistic practices are largely at odds with scientific routines, making scientists not always willing to act as experts in the news media. Against the background of mediatization theory, we argue that their willingness to play by the media rules depends to a large extent on their assessment and understanding of how the news media work. Through in-depth interviews with 24 Austrian scientific experts, we investigated what they perceive as news media logic and how this shapes their responses to media requests. Interviewees exhibited a reflective understanding of news media logic. Findings suggest that experts’ perceptions of how different media work not only affect their decision whether to reject or accept media requests. In addition, they also shape their individual preparation for media engagements.
format Article
id doaj-art-c906e339128e43159ecd36a106f35ae3
institution DOAJ
issn 2192-4007
language deu
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG
record_format Article
series Studies in Communication, Media
spelling doaj-art-c906e339128e43159ecd36a106f35ae32025-08-20T03:17:20ZdeuNomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KGStudies in Communication, Media2192-40072025-06-0114220323310.5771/2192-4007-2025-2-2031057712192400720252203The power of perception: How scientific experts’ understanding of media logic affects their media-related behaviorBirte LeonhardtDaniel NöllekeFolker HanuschDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, journalists were heavily reliant on contributions from scientific experts. Despite the often productive collaboration between scientists and journalists, journalistic practices are largely at odds with scientific routines, making scientists not always willing to act as experts in the news media. Against the background of mediatization theory, we argue that their willingness to play by the media rules depends to a large extent on their assessment and understanding of how the news media work. Through in-depth interviews with 24 Austrian scientific experts, we investigated what they perceive as news media logic and how this shapes their responses to media requests. Interviewees exhibited a reflective understanding of news media logic. Findings suggest that experts’ perceptions of how different media work not only affect their decision whether to reject or accept media requests. In addition, they also shape their individual preparation for media engagements.https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2192-4007-2025-2-203
spellingShingle Birte Leonhardt
Daniel Nölleke
Folker Hanusch
The power of perception: How scientific experts’ understanding of media logic affects their media-related behavior
Studies in Communication, Media
title The power of perception: How scientific experts’ understanding of media logic affects their media-related behavior
title_full The power of perception: How scientific experts’ understanding of media logic affects their media-related behavior
title_fullStr The power of perception: How scientific experts’ understanding of media logic affects their media-related behavior
title_full_unstemmed The power of perception: How scientific experts’ understanding of media logic affects their media-related behavior
title_short The power of perception: How scientific experts’ understanding of media logic affects their media-related behavior
title_sort power of perception how scientific experts understanding of media logic affects their media related behavior
url https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2192-4007-2025-2-203
work_keys_str_mv AT birteleonhardt thepowerofperceptionhowscientificexpertsunderstandingofmedialogicaffectstheirmediarelatedbehavior
AT danielnolleke thepowerofperceptionhowscientificexpertsunderstandingofmedialogicaffectstheirmediarelatedbehavior
AT folkerhanusch thepowerofperceptionhowscientificexpertsunderstandingofmedialogicaffectstheirmediarelatedbehavior
AT birteleonhardt powerofperceptionhowscientificexpertsunderstandingofmedialogicaffectstheirmediarelatedbehavior
AT danielnolleke powerofperceptionhowscientificexpertsunderstandingofmedialogicaffectstheirmediarelatedbehavior
AT folkerhanusch powerofperceptionhowscientificexpertsunderstandingofmedialogicaffectstheirmediarelatedbehavior