This session discuss the role on media in manipulated scientific disputes. When reporting on the general health hazards and environmental risks the media relies on scientific experts. Sometimes experts express totally conflicting opinions. For journalists it can be sometimes very difficult to know, whether the conflicts are indeed genuine, or if they are manipulated by commercial or other vested interests. This session features two case studies – tobacco industry and global warming. A science journalist comments case studies with a background in environmental issues.
Moderator
Annika Mutanen, managing editor at Finnish science magazine Tiede
Speakers
Associate Professor Louis Kyriakoudes is the Director of the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Southern Mississippi. Louis Kyriakoudes is a specialist in the social and economic history of the 19th and 20th century United States. He has published articles in Social Science History and Tobacco Control as well as in various edited collections and encyclopedias. He is currently working on two projects: A history of cigarette use in the 20th century and a study of the demography of rural poverty in the American South in the 19th and 20th centuries. Dr. Kyriakoudes has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors.
Senior Researcher, PhD Jari Lyytimäki works at the Finnish Environment Institute. In November 2012 Lyytimäki defended his PhD thesis with the title the environment in the headlines – News coverage of the climate change and eutrophication in Finland at Helsinki University. Homepage: http://www.fidea.fi/index.php?page=researchers
Science journalist, MSc Pasi Toiviainen was one of the first journalists in Finland to report on the consequences of climate change. In addition to news coverage Toiviainen has produced documentary and published a book on climate change.
