#46 Communicating emerging science during a pandemic with Kathleen Hall Jamieson

About Our Guest:
Jamison is a Professor of Communication at he University of Pennsylvania Annenberg School for Communication, Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, and the co-founder of FactCheck.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. She received the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences in 2020 for her nonpartisan work in public discourse and the development of science communication to promote public understanding of complex issues.

Her guest lecture, which we are not unable to publish here, was sponsored by the Center for Science Communication Research and co-sponsored by the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics.

Find Kathleen Hall Jamieson online:
University of Pennsylvania Faculty Page
Kathleen Hall Jamieson on Google Scholar

Show Notes: 
0:01: Introduction of Kathleen Hall Jamieson
1:26: Science reporting during a pandemic
4:31: The rise of COVID-19 misinformation 
6:19: Eroding trust in science and the media
7:26: Understanding what makes a credible study
8:31: Hydroxychloroquine as a case study for misinterpreted studies
11:10: Establishing credibility
13:34: How doctors and scientists have changed their interactions with the media
16:28: Journalists' responsibility to convey information accurately
18:32: The lack of nuance present in issues reporting
20:22: Eroding boundaries between experts and non-experts in public opinion
23:29: Information fatigue during the pandemic
28:05: The need for context in reporting changes in pandemic science
2841: Digital capacities and the Zika virus outbreak
30:58: Why reporting lessons from the Zika virus failed to transfer to the COVID-19 pandemic
32:21: Journalists' being overwhelmed by the COVID-19 pandemic
32:59: "Hearing" the public and use of language in reporting
34:45: The power of lexicon and appropriate application of language
39:11: Communication solutions
39:50: Challenges for broadcast versus print journalists
46:43: Opinion presented as journalism
47:01: The responsibility of social media platforms to present accurate information
50:41: Political systems versus scientists

Read the transcript for this episode

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