Donald Kennedy

Geneva Overholser

How science and technology are covered by the media is a central factor in scientific illiteracy. Journalists value timeliness, speed, simplicity, and clarity. Yet stories about science and technology may be long-building, complex, and without dramatic, time-pegged events. The need to grab and hold attention, to write tight stories or produce short segments, can come at the cost of context and nuance. One observer, noting journalism's preference for attention-grabbing, conflict-driven events, has joked that reporters two thousand years ago would have covered the heck out of the crucifixion - and missed Christianity. As the world grows more complex, there is an increasing need for citizens to understand the scientific and technological dimensions of daily news events. Journalists play a critical role in helping readers, listeners, and viewers appreciate the science underlying major policy choices. And scientists, in turn, must effectively communicate to the public, especially through the media. We hope that the essays gathered in this volume will generate a broader understanding of the intertwined roles of the media and the scientific and technical community in helping to ensure a well-informed public.

Science and the Media

Reforming the Press

Kathleen Hall Jamieson

Examines the role of the press in a democracy, investigating alternative models used throughout world history to understand how the American press has evolved. This work also examines the history, identity, roles, and future of the American press, with an emphasis on topics of concern to both practitioners and consumers of American media.

Geneva Overholser

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