Mapping the languages of science: a comparative cross-media textual analysis of scientific expertise

This study examines how scientific authority circulated across television, newspapers, and social media during the Italian vaccination campaign. Using a corpus of 26,933 texts, it combines computational text analysis and semantic modeling to explore cross-media discursive configurations. Findings show that newspapers emphasize evidence- based information, television institutional crisis management, and social media controversy and risk negotiation, despite substantial thematic overlap across platforms. The study highlights how scientific authority is discursively constructed within mediatized public communication.