US media mention Asian-named scientists less often

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist he figured that news articles covering his research, in top media outlets including The New York Times, would demonstrate his “extraordinary ability” in the sciences, as called for by the EB-1A visa requirements.

But when the immigration officers rejected his petition, they noted that his name did not appear anywhere in the news articles. News coverage of a paper he co-authored did not directly demonstrate his major contribution to the work.

As this biologist’s close friend, I felt bad for him because I knew how much he had dedicated to the project. He even started the idea, as one of his PhD dissertation chapters. But as a scientist who studies topics related to scientific innovation, I understand the immigration officers’ perspective: Research is increasingly done through teamwork, so it’s hard to know individual contributions if a news article reports only the study findings.

This anecdote made me and my colleagues Misha Teplitskiy and David Jurgens curious about what affects journalists’ decisions regarding which researchers to feature in their news stories.

There’s a lot at stake for a scientist whose name is or isn’t mentioned in journalistic coverage of their work. News media play a key role in disseminating new scientific findings to the public. The coverage of a particular study brings prestige to its research team and the members’ institutions. The depth and quality of coverage then shapes public perception of who is doing good science. In some cases, as my friend’s story suggests, individual careers can be affected.

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