The Question of Newsworthiness

Although science journalists’ selection criteria have been investigated, there have not been systematic attempts yet to study how this varies across countries. Using gatekeeping theory, we analyzed and compared how three groups of journalists in Argentina, France, and Germany selected their news, and explored some motivations behind their decisions. Personal interests as well as a set of common news factors and sources are important for all journalists, while the journalists differ regarding professional role conceptions, the influence of their organizations, and perceived importance of audience perceptions. More research is needed to unravel science news selection criteria across different journalistic cultures.