The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has become a stress test for science journalism worldwide. In this paper the under-researched topic of the perceived role enactment of science journalists in non-democratic settings in the example of COVID-19 coverage in Russia is explored. Drawing on self-confrontational interviews with science journalists from pro-state and independent media outlets, three major types of limitations of a political nature are identified: (1) editorial guidelines; (2) accessibility and self-censorship of sources; (3) self-censorship.

The paper from Anna Litvinenko, Alexandra Borissova und Anna Smoliarova is published in the current volume of Journals Journalismus Studies and accessible here.