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APPENDIX B
Survey of Journalists' Perceptions of
Engineers,
Physicians, and Scientists
As part of this report, a survey was taken of journalists in the print
and electronic media regarding their perceptions of technical experts,
specifically, engineers, physicians, and scientists. The survey was an
attempt to determine the answers to these questions:
1. How often, relatively speaking, do journalists solicit the three
types of experts for comment?
2. How do journalists perceive these experts?
3. Where are journalists most apt to look for these experts?
The eight-question survey was mailed to 1, 1 18 journalists, including
569 science journalists From the mailing list of the National Associa-
tion of Science-WritersJ and 549 generalists. A discrete body of engi-
neering/technology writers was not readily identifiable.
A total of 202 journalists responded, which was a response rate of 18
percent. Of the 549 generalists, 54 ~10 percentJ returned the question-
naire, with 148 j26 percentJ of the science writers responding. Given
this much higher response rate, answers for each of the following ques-
tions were controlled for the type of journalist responding.
Overall, the results of the survey showed that journalists have sub-
stantially less contact with engineers than with either physicians or
scientists. Journalists turned to engineers on only 11 percent of their
stories on health, science, or technology, with little distinction
between science writers {10 percentJ and Conscience writers ~13 per-
centJ. On the other hand, journalists turned to physicians 41 percent of
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APPENDIX B
the time with little difference between the type of journalist and to
scientists 35 percent of the time Science writers, 39 percent; general-
ists, 23 percents . See Table B-1. ~ Only 23 journalists; 11 percent of the
total 202 respondents) turned to engineers before physicians or
scientists.
Respondents were also asked to describe, on the average, how many
engineers, physicians, and scientists they spoke with each week. Over-
all, respondents spoke with 4 times as many physicians or scientists as
engineers. There were differences, however, between science journal-
ists and Conscience journalists. Nonscience journalists contacted only
1.5 to 2.5 times as many physicians or scientists; science reporters
approached 4.5 times as many scientists or physicians.
When journalists were asked whether they thought a description of
the engineer, physician, or scientist as "wooden" was true, somewhat
true, or not true, about three out of four {74 percents said that it is true or
somewhat true for engineers. Only 55 percent thought that the assess-
ment was true or somewhat true for physicians, compared to 50 percent
for scientists.
Responding journalists also were surveyed about where they were
most likely to seek each of the three types of experts. On a scale of one
Most likely) to seven {least likely), reporters were asked to rate the
following sources of contacts: academia, government, industry, profes-
sional society, public interest, trade association, and other.
Reporters were most likely to turn to industry while seeking engi-
neers, with academia, government, and professional societies as next
choices See Table B-2~. When controlling for type of reporter, however,
nonspecialists were more likely to look first to academia and then to
industry, professional societies, and government.
TABLE B-1 Use by Respondent Journalists of Three
Types of Experts {percent)
12.8
42.1
22.6
10.0
41.4
39.4
Experts
Engineers
Physicians
Scientists
Journalists
Nonscience Science Total
11.0
41.5
34.9
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APPENDIX B
67
Table B-2 Journalists' Preferred Use of Institutions
in Seeking Experts
Types of
Institutions
Academic
Government
Industry
Professional society
Public information
Trade association
Other
Engineers Physicians Scientists
2
3
1 4 3
4 2 4
6
s
7
6
Representative terms from entire chapter:
professional society
