How do journalists act as watchdogs of science? New qualitative research led by University of Amsterdam media scholar Alice Fleerackers sheds light on the labor-intensive nature of watchdog science journalism, a form of critical journalism that scrutinizes science. It shows that practical feasibility sometimes takes precedence over public interest when deciding whether to run a story, particularly in newsrooms with limited resources. The findings, recently published in Science Communication, underscore the precarity of a form of journalism that is essential for public trust in science yet operates under severe pressure.
Watchdog science journalism: Crucial yet precarious work, according to study
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Since the early 1970s, when the Nixon administration launched the “war on drugs,” Gallup has been asking Americans how they feel about problems surrounding illicit drugs. But the war has not gone well and Gallup’s [...]
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Americans are dissatisfied with the state of leadership in the United States across several sectors—business, education, government and health care—a Harris poll showed in 2025. The survey raised a foundational question about developing the next [...]
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One of the most intractable, contentious and niche issues in U.S. politics has come back into the spotlight. This week, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to make daylight saving time permanent in the United [...]
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Radicalization is a complex process, influenced by many variables that interact to varying degrees. AI scientist Mijke van den Hurk investigated whether artificial intelligence could help unravel this intricate interplay. She defended her Ph.D. thesis [...]
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Why do countries go to war? While economic, military and geopolitical factors are often part of the answer, researchers have also pointed to exclusionary nationalism—the belief that one’s own nation is superior to others. One [...]
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A study of China’s participation in United Nations human rights reviews argues that its public statements are more than diplomatic rhetoric. The paper published in the International Journal of Public Law and Policy also suggests [...]
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The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines play a pivotal role in some of the federal government’s most consequential drug policy decisions. Two recurring themes have been the balancing—or lack of balancing—between drug weight and the defendant’s role [...]
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Law enforcement agents misused crowd-control weapons during protests against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations in 412 verified incidents across 16 U.S. cities from when immigration enforcement protests escalated in Los Angeles in June 2025 [...]
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Deep inequalities in taxation played a key role in fueling the French Revolution, according to a new study published by the ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin (RFBerlin). For the first time, economists have substantiated this with figures. [...]
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In environmental, health and technology crises, Americans are more persuaded to take action by scientists and public consensus than by leaders in government and industry, according to a study in the Proceedings of the National [...]
