El periodismo científico en el ecosistema digital: nuevo perfil profesional, narrativas y estrategias de comunicación desde la realidad chilena

Resumen

Knowing what is happening in the world of science and technology has become an imperative need for the population, at all levels and in a much more intense way since the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge of knowing and facing health and environmental problems, as well as learning about the benefits that scientific advances can bring, has made this type of content a priority in the agenda setting of the media and institutions and has become part of the audience's preferences. Even more so in a digital ecosystem that, aside from the growing problem of misinformation, is helping dissemination with its immediacy, reach, interaction and possibilities of multimedia and transmedia communication. From the current context of the discipline itself and the opportunities that emerge for the profession, this doctoral thesis seeks to delve into the practice of science journalism taking as a point of analysis and exploration Chile and the Iberoamerican context, in order to define optimal strategies that can help to understand and improve the effectiveness of science communication and incorporate new applications that are developed in the digital environment. By means of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, applying strategies such as content analysis, exploratory systematic review, as well as semi-structured interviews to specialists together with the distribution of surveys to professionals, it is possible to establish an x-ray of the current situation of scientific journalism and how professionals, as well as media and institutions, are communicating the discipline through the Internet and its platforms. The main results obtained show that there is little use of the graphic tools offered by digital media and audiovisual social networks: the languages of these applications are barely used and the contents disseminated have a low engagement with audiences. In addition, problems associated with the current disinformation crisis, as well as the lack of spaces for specialization in science, emerge as important challenges after the analyses carried out. Such aspects, rather than a deficit in the consolidation of digital media, show the opportunity to apply media strategies that allow to capture the attention of audiences to a greater extent and, thus, contribute socially with deep, quality and didactic scientific content. To this end, it is crucial to have audiences that trust journalists as information professionals and in the media environment in order to explore and communicate through the formats and narratives that are emerging in these new scenarios. From science journalism, we are facing an opportunity to lead initiatives that revitalize the profession as a reliable source of information and resituate the media in the current turbulent world.