Regional disparities in US media coverage of archaeology research.

Mass media represents a primary avenue for research to reach diverse publics, but relatively few peer-reviewed scientific papers become popular science news. Numerous gatekeepers determine which research manuscripts complete this dissemination pathway, and the resulting media landscape influences public understandings of scientific fields. Here, we compare scientific and popular publishing of archaeology about different geographic regions. Of 1155 archaeology papers in one specialist and six general science journals across 6 years, 32% were reported by at least one of 15 US news sources. Mixed-effects logistic regression models revealed variation across news sources, but overall papers about archaeology in United Kingdom, Israel/Palestine, and Australia were significantly more likely to receive coverage, compared to China/Taiwan. This disparity raises concerns as archaeology influences notions of identity and cultural achievement, and has been misappropriated by racist, nationalist ideologies. We recommend ways for actors in research dissemination to diversify archaeology coverage.