"Catchy Climate Science": A Comparative Analysis of Rhetorical and Discursive Strategies in Online Texts Written by Scientists versus Journalists

Sammanfattning: Climate science and the effective public communication of it havebecome increasingly vital in a world that is changing atan unprecedentedrate. For many scientists and journalists, the Internet hasgrown to be the preferred medium of climate science communication. As the issues thattextsabout climate changedeal with are ratherpressing, it is crucial that thescientific knowledge is recontextualized for non-expert audiencesin the mosteffectiveand engaging way. Science communicatorshave rhetorical strategiesof recontextualization and discursive strategies of newsworthinessat their disposal to achieve the desired science communicationand ultimately createan inclusive and engaging discourse with theirreaders. This qualitative study is a comparative analysis of two different typesof writers:scientists and journalists. The analysis of onlinetexts about climate change, written by these two types of writers, showsthat scientists and journalists employ many of the same strategies.Nonetheless, the findings reveal distinct differences in how extensively certain strategies are/ are not used.Generally, the scientists recontextualized the scientific knowledge in a more personalizedand inclusivemanner. The journalists, in turn, made use of more discursive strategies of newsworthiness. This qualitative comparative studyalsoprovides a novel analytical framework for further studies of the same kind.