Abstract

This study examines the content of press releases from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Science and Technology Centers (STCs) to determine how public information officers (PIOs) presented the outcomes of centers to journalists and the public. A total of 68 press releases were analyzed for type of news covered, visibility of centers and their funding agency, extent of inter-institutional cooperation in the issuance of releases, and players covered. Three-quarters of STC releases mentioned the center, but less than half mentioned the NSF STC program and one-quarter didn't mention the center name at all. PIOs covering the STCs mainly issued research-oriented press releases accredited to their own institution. There was a low level of inter-institutional cooperation, with 13% of press releases jointly issued. Compared to research results and institutional news, which together accounted for 82% of the news events, broader activities such as knowledge transfer, diversity enhancement, and education were much less visible.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2010-04-01
DOI
10.2190/tw.40.2.c
Open Access
Closed
Topics

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (2)

  1. Written Communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 29 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1177/1075547001023002005
  2. 10.2307/1313292
  3. 10.1108/13632540610681130
  4. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2006.11.019
  5. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2006.02.008
  6. 10.1207/s1532754xjprr1103_02
  7. 10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0289:ANMPOE]2.0.CO;2
  8. 10.1177/1075547004265127
  9. 10.1001/jama.287.21.2856
  10. 10.1126/science.276.5317.1327
  11. 10.1109/TPC.2006.885868
  12. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2007.08.005
  13. 10.1016/0363-8111(94)90095-7
  14. Morton L. P., Gatekeepers as Target Publics,” Public Relations Quarterly, pp. 21–24, Summer 1995.
  15. 10.1016/0047-2352(95)00023-J
  16. 10.1001/jama.280.3.294
  17. 10.1177/1075547006288010
  18. 10.1109/MTAS.2006.1607718
  19. 10.1016/j.pubrev.2006.05.003
  20. 10.1016/j.jengtecman.2003.12.006
  21. 10.1177/1075547003262038
  22. 10.1016/0166-4972(95)00030-5
  23. 10.1016/S0166-4972(01)00019-0
  24. 10.1016/j.respol.2006.08.001
  25. 10.1109/TPC.2005.853932
  26. 10.1126/science.308.5724.943
  27. 10.1177/1075547008319434
  28. 10.1109/TPC.2002.1029955
  29. 10.1177/1075547001023001002
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network →