CAP 2005, ESO Headquarters, Garching

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV

Trends in Contemporary Public Science CommunicationTrends in Contemporary Public Science Communication

Claus Madsen, ESO Public Affairs Department

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Trends in Public Communication | Contemporary Science Communication | Astronomy Communication | Institutional Communication |

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV – CAP 2005, ESO Headquarters, Garching, June14-17, 2005

– Trends in Public Communication– Contemporary Science Communication– Astronomy Communication– Institutional Communication

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV

Trends in Contemporary Public Science CommunicationTrends in Contemporary Public Science Communication

Trends in Public Communication

– The omnipresence of public communication– The blurring of private/public sphere– The technology-driven information pressure– The technology-enabled information flow– Public communication as a business model– News do not ‘happen’, they are ‘made’ and ‘placed’– For the public: Fast access, questionable quality– For communicators: The challenge of the zapper society

– All practice communication; few understand it

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV – CAP 2005, ESO Headquarters, Garching, June14-17, 2005

Trends in Public Communication | Contemporary Science Communication | Astronomy Communication | Institutional Communication |

Contemporary Science Communication

– New concepts: PUS, PAS– Focus on target groups– Better understanding of means– Professionalization of science communication– Good-bye to classical ‘popularisation of science’– Hello to sophisticated communication methods

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV – CAP 2005, ESO Headquarters, Garching, June14-17, 2005

Trends in Public Communication | Contemporary Science Communication | Astronomy Communication | Institutional Communication |

Contemporary Science Communication

– Delivering information to the public (hypodermic model)– Creating awareness/soliciting support – ‘feel good’ PR– Attracting young people to S&T professions– Education

Classical scienceClassical sciencecommunicationcommunication

Classical scienceClassical sciencecommunicationcommunication

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV – CAP 2005, ESO Headquarters, Garching, June14-17, 2005

Trends in Public Communication | Contemporary Science Communication | Astronomy Communication | Institutional Communication |

– ‘We’re all in the same boat’ – Really? (or who exploits whom?)

Astronomy Communication

– ‘Clock-work’ notion of nature– Non-intrusive, non-threatening– Non-controversial, no ethics issues

– NEOS? DI?

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV – CAP 2005, ESO Headquarters, Garching, June14-17, 2005

Trends in Public Communication | Contemporary Science Communication | Astronomy Communication | Institutional Communication |

Institutional Communication

– Large projects, large budgets, big risks– Big discoveries – high stakes, multiple pressures– The need to be heard– Politicized communication

New domainNew domainfor astronomy for astronomy

communication (?)communication (?)

New domainNew domainfor astronomy for astronomy

communication (?)communication (?)

– Can we learn from risk communication?

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV – CAP 2005, ESO Headquarters, Garching, June14-17, 2005

Trends in Public Communication | Contemporary Science Communication | Astronomy Communication | Institutional Communication |

Institutional Communication

– Competing claims– Controversies– Credibility– Understanding public ‘management’ of claims

Science Communication between Michael Faraday and MTV – CAP 2005, ESO Headquarters, Garching, June14-17, 2005

Trends in Public Communication | Contemporary Science Communication | Astronomy Communication | Institutional Communication |