Politicization of Science Journalism: How Russian Journalists Covered the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a stress test for science journalism worldwide. In this paper, we explore the under-researched topic of the perceived role enactment of science journalists in non-democratic settings in the example of COVID-19 coverage in Russia. Drawing on 23 semi-structured interviews with Russian science journalists from pro-state and independent media outlets, we examine their perceived role enactment and politicization of reporting about the pandemic in Russia. We identify three major types of limitations of a political nature reported by journalists: (1) editorial guidelines; (2) accessibility and self-censorship of sources; (3) self-censorship. Manifestation of these three types of limitations differ depending on the political orientation of media outlets as well as on the aspect of the topic. Based on the findings, we discuss the influence of universal trends and contextual factors on science journalism covering the pandemic.