HCI in the press: online public reactions to mass media portrayals of HCI research

Authors:
John Vines;Anja Thieme;Rob Comber;Mark Blythe;Peter C. Wright;Patrick Olivier
Affiliations:
Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK;Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK;Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK;Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK;Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK;Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Venue:
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Year:
2013

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Abstract

HCI researchers working in publically funded institutions are increasingly encouraged to engage the public in their research. Mass media is often seen as an effective medium with which to communicate research to large parts of the population. We present an account of three HCI projects that have used engagements with mass media in order to communicate research to the public. We describe the motivations for working with mass media and the mechanics of writing press releases. A grounded theory analysis of online public responses to the projects in the mass media leads us to identify a number of concerns about how research is portrayed by news outlets and thus interpreted by the public. Tensions about technologies and wider societal issues were revealed that might normally be hidden when using traditional user-centred methods. We critically reflect on the efficacy of using the mass media in research and provide guidance for HCI researchers wishing to engage in dialogues with the public in the future.