The Future of Public Engagement
A Typology of Frames Specific to Science-Related Issues
Do the research. Communication is a science. Skill and personal experience should be informed by a systematic understanding of the media system and the ways in which nontraditional audiences make sense of various issues. In collaboration with communication researchers, scientists and their organizations should employ surveys, focus groups, experiments, and other social-science techniques in order to identify effective messages and media platforms. Moreover, because communication is a science, it is important that individuals rely for guidance on the leadership, coordination, and resources of their institutions and organizations. Likewise, institutions and organizations have a responsibility to provide such guidance.
Stay on message. People who seek to downplay global warming and evolutionary theory are successful, in part, because they maintain consistent messaging around a narrow set of ...
