ABSTRACT
For most audiences, science journalism in traditional and online media is the most important source of information about issues related to science, health, and technology. Scientific issues are usually complex, uncertain, and in some cases even controversial. That is why science journalists have to translate scientific information and make articles accessible for broad audiences, who are mostly non-specialists, unfamiliar with scientific topics, and who might require help understanding and interpreting scientific findings. Hence, primarily through language, journalism bridges the gap between science and society. However, when reporting on science, science journalists apply their own (journalistic) language; a language that differs from the language of science. In this article, we review literature on science journalists’ use of language with respect to scientific (un)certainty. We focus on (1) the representation of (un)certainty in the media, (2) the media’s depiction of criteria relevant to the assessment of scientific evidence, and (3) the journalistic balance of competing scientific claims. The review shows to what extent journalistic language differs from scientific language, and it elaborates on how journalistic routines and practices are able to explain the differences found, specifically in representations of scientific (un)certainty in the media.
