Magnetologists on the Beat: The Epistemology of Science Journalism Reconsidered

Abstract

Drawing together recent scholarship in journalism studies, the philosophy of science, and science studies, this article offers a new descriptive and normative model of the epistemology of science journalism that acknowledges how the reduction of technical complexity affords the expansion of public meaning. To explicate the model, this article looks at how journalists construct and justify truth claims in coverage of direct detection of dark matter experiments. Ultimately, this article argues that good journalism—science or otherwise—must shepherd the relationships and connections that allow truth to circulate across time, space, and reference, while simultaneously working to open content for public discussion, consideration, and meaning-making.

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