Microbiome research in general and business newspapers: How many microbiome articles are published and which study designs make the news the most?
Open Access
- 9 April 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 16 (4), e0249835
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249835
Abstract
The microbiome is a matter of interest for science, consumers and business. Our objective is to quantify that interest in academic journals and newspapers, both quantitatively and by study design. We calculated the number of articles on the microbiome from the total number of biomedicine articles featured in both PubMed and Spanish science news agency SINC, from 2008 to 2018. We used the Factiva database to identify news stories on microbiome papers in three general newspapers (The New York Times, The Times and El País) and three business newspapers (The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and Expansión), from 2007 to 2019. Then, we compared news stories with microbiome papers in PubMed, while also analyzing the frequencies of five study design types, both in the newspapers and in the papers themselves. Microbiome papers represented 0.8% of biomedicine papers in PubMed from 2008 to 2018 (increasing from 0.4% to 1.4%), while microbiome news published by SINC represented 1.6% of total biomedical news stories during the same period (increasing from 0.2% to 2.2%). The number of news stories on microbiome papers correlated with the number of microbiome papers (0.91, p < 0.001) featured in general newspapers, but not in business ones. News stories on microbiome papers represented 78.9% and 42.7% of all microbiome articles in general and business newspapers, respectively. Both media outlet types tended to over-report observational studies in humans while under-reporting environmental studies, while the representation of systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials, randomized controlled trials and animal/laboratory studies was similar when comparing newspapers and PubMed. The microbiome is receiving increasing attention in academic journals and newspapers. News stories on the microbiome in general and business newspapers are mostly based on research findings and are more interested in observational studies in humans and less in environmental studies compared to PubMed.This publication has 45 references indexed in Scilit:
- Gut Microbiota from Twins Discordant for Obesity Modulate Metabolism in MiceScience, 2013
- New media landscapes and the science information consumerProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2013
- Why Most Biomedical Findings Echoed by Newspapers Turn Out to be False: The Case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity DisorderPLOS ONE, 2012
- Promotion of research articles to the lay press: a summary of a three‐year projectLearned Publishing, 2012
- Characteristics of Medical Research News Reported on Front Pages of NewspapersPLOS ONE, 2009
- Beyond the human genome: microbes, metaphors and what it means to be human in an interconnected post-genomic worldNew Genetics and Society, 2009
- News and newsworthiness: A commentarycomm, 2006
- Diffusion of News about ResearchScience Communication, 2003
- Mass media interventions: effects on health services utilisationEmergencias, 2002
- Importance of the Lay Press in the Transmission of Medical Knowledge to the Scientific CommunityThe New England Journal of Medicine, 1991