Nauka i jej konteksty w e-wydaniach „Faktu”

• Authors: Magdalena Piechota

Title variants

EN

SCIENCE AND ITS CONTEXTS IN ONLINE EDITIONS OF “FAKT”

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Poland entered the 21st century with the aim of transforming its economy into one that is based on knowledge. Completing this goal is largely dependent on members of society, who need to continuously develop their expertise, and learn to transfer it to the economy. Such an attitude to education can certainly be shaped by the media, and not only by opinion-forming quality newspapers and magazines, but also tabloids, whose wide readership makes them particularly influential. This article represents an attempt to examine how the tabloid press depicts science, knowledge, and learning. To that end, an analysis is made of a body of science-related texts published between August 2008 and May 2009 in the online edition of the Polish daily tabloid newspaper “Fakt.” For the purposes of this content and style analysis, the texts are broadly divided into two categories: depictions of the work done by scientists and its effects, and narratives about celebrities which are connected with science or learning. The analysis leads to the following conclusions: 1) science and knowledge account for a significant part of news coverage in “Fakt,” 2) scientific achievements are generally presented as positive and applicable to everyday life, 3) the authority of scientists is used to lend credence to unlikely or trivial information, 4) although scientific news in “Fakt” is occasionally sensationalized (a typical feature of nearly all tabloid texts), citing experts and research results seems to primarily serve to systematize the reader’s knowledge and ideas about the world, 5) learning is typically presented in a favourable manner, yet sometimes this process is suggested to be tiresome, 6) because science and research often demand high expenditure, “Fakt” occasionally reports on them using critical overtones, by means of which it fulfils its role as a defender of “social justice.”

Keywords

EN

SCIENCE; SCIENTISTS; “FAKT”; TABLOID PRESS

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wroclawskiego
• Journal: Oblicza Komunikacji
• Year: 2011
• Volume: 4
• Pages: 165-180

Contributors

author

Magdalena Piechota