Talking and Doing: Theory-Based Strategies as Reflected in the Reporting Practices of Journalists Who Cover Nutrition Science Topics in a Complicated Media Environment

Abstract

Journalists who cover nutrition science are central figures in a crowded media environment that competes to deliver health information to consumers with limited attention. With seemingly equal validity, both expert and nonexpert voices broadcast from multiple platforms, which can complicate the environment for consumers and can contribute to health misinformation. Scholars have recommended theory-based strategies applicable to the challenges associated with communicating nutrition science messages in this environment. However, no writings seem to indicate the extent to which journalists’ reporting experiences inform the proposed solutions. To address this apparent gap in perspective, I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight journalists who have covered nutrition science to obtain their descriptions of their reporting practices. When I then combined an interpretive phenomenological approach and a thematic mapping process using Toulmin’s theory of argumentation, four global themes emerged. The themes represented the journalists’ perceived roles in the nutrition science reporting process, how these journalists navigate the constraints of the environment, how media type and format affect their rhetorical choices, and how they manage the accelerated pace of an increasingly digitalized landscape. Overall, scholars’ suppositions about the challenges journalists face in the modern media environment and the recommended theory-based strategies were largely, but not fully, reflected in these journalists’ practices. Findings showed that the journalists acknowledged their pivotal role as key translators of nutrition science for the lay public, which confirms the importance of choosing appropriate message frames, assessing audience needs, including essential context, and maintaining standards of content quality when communicating science. Additionally, findings showed the ways in which the journalists coped with professional demands resembled management practices of successful classroom teachers.