It Loses Something in the Translation

This article examines the relationship between public relations practitioner and journalist in the transmission of the language of science to the public. By comparing the output of a public relations office with the newspaper stories that appeared as a result of the office's effort, the authors show that while newspapers simplify both science and nonscience releases, some science stories are less edited than nonscience releases. The findings support the notion that the media sharpen and level science stories, but they also suggest that simple apportionment of releases and articles into science and nonscience categories does not fully explain the process. That is because some science stories are edited differently than other science stories.