English: Since the advent of mass media in the 20th century, tree groups of actors – journalists, PR/press officers of research institutions, and communicating scientists – have been informing the general public about science; for science journalists and PR/press officers of research institutions, this is an essential part of their respective professional roles. These three classic groups of actors in science communication interact bilaterally, for example, when journalists interview scientists, when press officers and scientists jointly prepare press releases, or when press spokespersons provide journalists with information or answer their questions. Most importantly, all three groups also communicate directly with society (external science communication). Journalists have the special characteristic of not being part of the science system and thus have the function of reporting independently and also critically on science. In addition to the three classic groups, there are other actors in external science communication, such as writers, artists or politicians, and in the digital age also bloggers, youtubers, podcasters or influencers, some of whom achieve mass media reach.

Overall, the field of external science communication, which addresses society, as well as the field of internal science communication (scholarly communication), which serves the actual scientific work and the advancement of knowledge within the scientific community, is becoming increasingly complex due to the further development of the media, new technologies, newly emerging public arenas and changing expectations of society, for example with regard to participation, direct dialogue and transparency. All of this is the subject of research in the discipline science of science communication. This actor model of science communication was first published in:

Könneker, Carsten: Wissenschaftskommunikation in vernetzten Öffentlichkeiten. In: Bonfadelli, H., Fähnrich, B., Lühtje, C., Milde, J., Schäfer, M., Rhomberg, M. (Eds.): Forschungsfeld Wissenschaftskommunikation. Wiesbaden: Springer VS 2016: 453-476 (DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-12898-2_24).