Surfing the COVID-19 news waves: a Belgian case study of science communication and public relations with university press releases

Press releases remain an important link between academia and the media. While science communication is a goal of universities, public relations is also becoming increasingly salient. The press release, as a significant tool for both science communication and institutional public relations, means that the fields are entwined, prompting us to propose viewing science communication and public relations on a continuum. Based on a quantitative content analysis of all press releases sent out by a Belgian university during the COVID-19 pandemic we show what this university communicates about and identify how science communication can be used for public relation purposes and vice versa.