PRESS RELEASES FROM BIOMEDICAL PUBLICATIONS AND THEIR IMPACT ON MASS MEDIA

Vladimir De Semir, Cristina Ribas, and Gemma Revuelta
Observatori de la Comunicació Científica, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, La Rambia 30-32, 08002, Barcelona, Spain

Objective: This study evaluates the influence press releases from biomedical journals have on the popularization of scientific papers reaching general publications.

Design: Four biomedical publications, namely British Medical Journal, Nature, Science and The Lancet and their corresponding press releases were reviewed during a 3-month period (December 1996 through February 1997). Covering the same time span, all scientific articles (except for political and legal articles) appearing in the following newspapers were collected: New York Times, Herald Tribune, Le Monde, Le Figaro, El Pais, La Vanguardia and La Republica. For the study the following variables were used: 1) publication, does the article make reference to biomedical publication?; 2) sample, is the biomedical publication included in the sample?; 3) press, does the article make reference to a certain abstract included in a press release?; 4) order, where is the abstract located within the press release (first, second, third, etc.); 5) cover, does the article appear on the cover of the newspaper?; 6) cover of section, does the article appear on the cover of a section?; 7) length, what is the length of the article compared to the entire newspaper?; and 8) type of journalism, to what type of journalism does the article belong?

Results: In total, 1,060 articles were collected. Of these, 263, quoted biomedical publications, of which a 164 were included in the sample. Of these 164 articles, 119 (73%) quoted papers obtained from press releases, and only 23 quoted papers not included in press releases (14%). In 22 articles (13%), the press release could not be identified. The quotation rate (% of articles referring to papers included in press releases) in relation to the order of a paper in the press release was as follows: first: 62, second: 17, third: 5, fourth: 9, others: 9. Article length and cover of section publication did not prove to be related to press releases.

Conclusions: The fact a scientific paper published in a biomedical publication is included in a press release has a positive influence on its later diffusion in the general press. The order in which a paper appears in a press release also affects its future diffusion; the papers first mentioned get more diffusion. Article length and location in the newspaper do not prove to be related with the inclusion of a paper in a press release.

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