Besieged from all sides: impediments to science journalism in a developing country and their global implications

Abstract

Despite high expectations of their normative roles in development processes, Vietnamese science journalists interviewed for this research essay find it extrememly hard to enact such roles, facing an uphill battle to establish science as a legitimate news beat. This results from a diverse set of internal impediments (particularly a science-unfriendly news culture and low ethical standards) and external obstacles, including political control and low cooperation of local scientists. Placing these findings in the wider context, we demonstrate that Vietnam illuminates many troublesome characteristics of science journalism in the Global South and make some recommendations for improving the status quo.

An Investigation into the Frequency and Patterns of Science Reporting in Three Leading Online Nigerian Newspapers from 2016-2022

“…The role of science journalism in advancing human societies is of utmost significance, though it is occasionally underappreciated and undervalued (Tran & Nguyen, 2023). The global expansion of science communication is evident, but within Africa, progress, although marked by some positive instances, is still trailing behind (Walker et al, 2020).…”