Carlos Vogt

Reporting on health-related research in two prestigious Brazilian newspapers

OBJECTIVES: The dissemination of health-related news through newspapers can influence the behavior of patients and of health care providers. We conducted a study to analyze the characteristics of health-related research published by two leading Brazilian newspapers. METHOD: We retrospectively evaluated health-related news published in the electronic versions of the newspapers Folha de São Paulo and O Estado de São Paulo over a period of three months (July through September, 2009). Only articles mentioning medical research were included. The articles were categorized according to topic, source, study location and the nature of the headline. We also analyzed the presence of background information on the topic, citations of medical periodicals, national contextualization and references to products or companies. RESULTS: Scientific research articles corresponded to 57% and 20% of health-related articles published by Folha de São Paulo and O Estado de São Paulo, respectively. Folha de São Paulo published significantly more articles about national studies, and most articles were written by its own staff. In contrast, most articles in O Estado de São Paulo came from news agencies. Folha de São Paulo also better contextualized its reports for Brazilian society. O Estado de São Paulo tended to cite the name of the periodical in which the study was published more frequently, but their articles lacked national contextualization. CONCLUSION: The results showed a significant difference in the way in which the studied newspapers report on health-related research. Folha de São Paulo tends to write its own articles and more frequently publishes the results of national research, whereas O Estado de São Paulo publishes articles that originate in news agencies, most of which have little national contextualization.

Master's Degree Program in Scientific and Cultural Communication: Preliminary reports on an innovative experience in Brazil

The multidisiciplinary Masters Degree Program in Scientific and Cultural Communication (MDCC) began in the first semester of 2007. It is offered by the Laboratory of Advanced Studies in Journalism (Labjor) of the Creativity Development Nucleus (NUDECRI) and by the Institute of Language Studies (IEL), both of which are entities the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP). The program is also supported by the Department of Scientific and Technological Policy (DPCT) of the Geosciences Institute (IG) and by MediaTec - Media and Communication Technologies Laboratory of the Multimedia Department (DMM) of the Art Institute (IA). The objective of the MDCC is to train and enable researchers with in-depth theoretical knowledge about current questions related to science communication. A global vision of the systems of science and technology are joined together with an understanding of a solid, contemporary literary and cultural repertoire. The interaction among subjects offered in the MDCC seeks to provide an education that allows critical reflection about the main accomplishments of science, technology and culture in our current society and the way in which the mass or specialized media have worked in order to communicate these accomplishments. The areas of research focus on the analysis of cultural production and science communication within the most diverse means of information, such as print, radio, television and electronic media. There is a special emphasis on areas such as science and technical history and the sociology of science, as well as other spaces of science and cultural communication, such as museums, forums and events. In todays contemporary world, where scientific advances and technological innovations permeate political and commercial relations, the formulation of a science policy that assures reflection about national production and its competitive placement in the national and international market are an imperative that cannot be postponed. In this context science communicators who work at the interface between science and society have a unique responsibility. Having global knowledge of the S&T system in order to intervene through a critical perspective in the process of scientific production, in the policy of fund-raising and in the allocation of funding is essential to the practice of scientific journalism. Research on scientific journalism is just beginning in Brazil. It is therefore necessary for some concepts to cross over to university researchers in research centers who may work in the field, be it with the analysis of what scientific journalism and science communicators do or with the analysis of current advances in science and technology and their accessibility in present-day Brazil. The social responsibility of journalists who specialize in covering scientific matters is great and needs to be shared with scientists. Both should work cooperatively, although not necessarily in complicity. The

Public perception of science: a preliminary analysis and interpretation of the questionnaire data applied in the city of Campinas, Brazil

Carlos Vogt, Rafael de Almeida Evangelista, Marcelo Knobel a Full Professor at the Universidade Estadual de Campinas; President of the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp); Coordinator of the Laboratório de Estudos Avançados em Jornalismo (Labjor), Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Prédio da Reitoria V – 3o piso, 13.083-970, Campinas – SP. Brazil; President of the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp). cvogt@uol.com.br b Researcher at the Laboratório de Estudos Avançados em Jornalismo (Labjor), Unicamp c Associate Professor at the “ Instituto de Física Gleb Wataghin” , Unicamp; Coordinator of the “ Núcleo de Desenvolvimento da Criatividade (NUDECRI), Unicamp