Rs

1
Universities play a marginal role in international TV news, but they are covered much more
favorable than other protagonists, like, e.g., politicians. Universities profit especially from
awards and prizes.
Basis: 528,415 reports about protagonists (at least 5 seconds) on 20 international TV news programs
Universities with low visibility on TV screens
Coverage of universities in international TV news, May 2013-April 2014
Evaluation of universities with other types of protagonists
Universities
UN
Political protagonists
Business protagonists
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
negative no clear tone positive
Univer-
sities
0,6%
UN
0.9%
Politics
38.2%
Business
11.2%
other
49.0%

2
TV news has mostly lost sight of the MDGs. News selection focused on climate change, an
issue which has received much more coverage some years ago. But climate-related topics
dominated reporting in this field.
Basis: 2,188 reports about the UN and its affiliates (at least 5 seconds) on 20 international TV news programs
Climate change and AIDS most prominent
Coverage of the UN in international TV news, May 2013-April 2014
Relevant topics related to the MDGs
Climate change
Climate conferences
Research: Climate
Weather Catastrophes
AIDS
Climate protection
Food shortages
Education
Social situation of children
Nuclear energy
Social situation of women
Development aid
CO2 emissions
Environment in general
Discrimination against women
AIDS: Prevention
Rape/sexual Abuse
Research: Environment
Gender Equality
Housing
UN Millenium Development Goals
AIDS: Medicines
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Climate change
Climate conferences
Research: Climate
Weather Catastrophes
AIDS
Climate protection
Food shortages
Education
Social situation of children
Nuclear energy
Social situation of women
Development aid
CO2 emissions
Environment in general
Discrimination against women
AIDS: Prevention
Rape/sexual Abuse
Research: Environment
Gender Equality
Housing
UN Millenium Development Goals
AIDS: Medicines
0 20 40 60 80 100

3
As the media image of the UN is largely shaped by the great international conflicts and their
impact on the civil population, the expertise of UN scientists did not show up very
prominently in TV news.
Basis: 2,188 reports about universities (at least 5 seconds) on 20 international TV news programs
IPCC expert tops the list
Coverage of the UN in international TV news, May 2013-April 2014
Academics named in UN coverage
Pachauri, Rajendra
Stocker, Thomas
Sutton, Rowan
Stott, Peter
Plattmer, Gain-Kasper
Qin, Dahe
Opondo, Maggie
Loomis, Dana
Sellstrom, Ake
Diffenbaugh, Noah
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

4
While the media report in a positive way about research and science, universities face the
same risks as other institutions, that evolve out of scandals and organizational problems.
Some universities only got into the news because of a gun rampage.
Pure science makes for good news
Topic structure – ton of coverage for different topic groups
Science and technology
Research
PR/Image/Scandals
Domestic security/crime
Diseases/health
Social issues
Education policy
Health policy
Domestic policy
Sports
Accidents, catastrophies
Personality
HR
Party politics
Environment
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Science and technology
Research
PR/Image/Scandals
Domestic security/crime
Diseases/health
Social issues
Education policy
Health policy
Domestic policy
Sports
Accidents, catastrophies
Personality
HR
Party politics
Environment
0% 2% 4% 6% 8% 10%
Issues Organization

5
In order to be attractive for TV journalists, science should either have a direct relevance to
its public, like health issues, or provide interesting footage, which is the easiest for physics
and space explorers.
Health and physics dominated science reporting
Research topics and areas of research
Reserach: Health/diseases
Physics
Organ transplants
Biology
Diseases, other
Health reform
Gene technology
Cancer
Health in general
Climate change
Research: Social issues
Research: Climate/weather
Mental health
Interest rates
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Reserach: Health/diseases
Physics
Organ transplants
Biology
Diseases, other
Health reform
Gene technology
Cancer
Health in general
Climate change
Research: Social issues
Research: Climate/weather
Mental health
Interest rates
Floods
0% 1% 2% 3%
Science topics

6
There is no clear pattern that explains the news selection with regard to universities. Some
are present, because of the expertise of individual professors, while others profit from the
local connection to the broadcasters.
Swiss universities are best connected to their TV stations
Evaluation of protagonists
ETH Zurich
University of Zurich
Harvard
Yale
Imperial College, London
Oxford
Bern
IE Business School
University of South Africa
Walter Sisulu University
LSE
Münster
Cambridge
Duisburg-Essen
Basel
FU Berlin
0 20 40 60 80 100
ETH Zurich
Harvard
Yale
LSE
Oxford
Beijing
Chicago
Stanford
Berkeley
VU Brussels
Al-Ashar, Cairo
Kings College
University Zurich
Bern
Cambridge
0 10 20 30 40
Foreign news

7
Although Italian and South African TV took a more critical stance towards universities,
negativity was not excessive. The high share of neutral reports indicates that universities
and their scientists are mostly quoted as expert on other issues.
French and British news reported most neutrally
Evaluation of universities in different media markets
France
Germany
Italy
South Africa
Spain
Switzerland
UK
US
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

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