Images of science in the new media ecology

In this essay, we review and reflect upon past studies of “images of science” and present new results from two recent studies: images of science revealed by a quantitative global survey (Wellcome Global Monitor, 2018) and by a series of focus groups discussions with parents, climate change activism sympathisers, healthcare workers, and post-doctoral researchers in the United Kingdom. The review shows how the images of science change historically, and that different types of materials and methodologies are examined. The global survey shows that a medical image of science is prevalent among people with longer education, while among the lesser educated, an image of science as “scholarship” including poetry (an art) and medicine is more common. Focus group conversations confirm a shift in news attention from edited traditional broadcast media (newsprint, TV, and radio) to user-generated content distributed on social media platforms. In this news media ecology, we typify four images of science in Britain of 2023: an idealised image; a devil’s bargain; a productive machine; and science as a precarious way of life.