In an attempt to qualify changes to science news reporting due to the impact of the Internet, we studied all science news articles published in Danish national newspapers in a November week in 1999 and 2012, respectively. We find the same amount of science coverage, about 4% of the total news production, in both years, although the tabloids produce more science news in 2012. Online science news also received high priority. Journalists in 2012 more often than in 1999 make reference to scientific journals and cite a wider range of journals. Science news in 2012 is more international and politically oriented than in 1999. Based on these findings, we suggest that science news, due partly to the emergence of online resources, is becoming more diverse and available to a wider audience. Science news is no longer for the elite but has spread to virtually everywhere in the national news system.

A significant number of mass media news stories on climate change quote scientific publications. However, the journalistic process of popularizing scientific research regarding climate change has been profoundly criticized for being manipulative and inaccurate. This preliminary study used content analysis to examine the accuracy of Danish high quality newspapers in quoting scientific publications from 1997 to 2009. Out of 88 articles, 46 contained inaccuracies though the majority was found to be insignificant and random. The study concludes that Danish broadsheet newspapers are ‘moderately inaccurate’ in quoting science publications but are not deliberately hyping scientific claims. However, the study also shows that 11% contained confusion of source, meaning that statements originating from press material or other news outlets were incorrectly credited to scientific peer-reviewed publications.

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