• Question: Do you think the media is harsh on scientists and the work they do?

    Asked by elmo97 to Andrew, Emma, Marianne on 14 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Andrew Maynard

      Andrew Maynard answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hi elmo97,

      Great question. No, I don’t on balance. There is a lot of really good reporting on science and what it means for people out there. But there’s also a lot of misunderstanding, and even some potentially damaging misrepresentation of science and scientists. However, journalists have got a specific job to do, and often scientists don’t understand this.

      So to turn the question round, I do think that scientists need to be better attuned to how the media works, and to learn to work with journalists to help them represent science as accurately as possible.

    • Photo: Marianne Baker

      Marianne Baker answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      Hi elmo97,

      That’s a really good question actually.

      In some ways, yes.
      The media reports are often not written by people with scientific backgrounds so stories that come out tend to be distorted and/or exaggerated.

      This means the actual conclusions made by scientists aren’t reported truthfully and when the interpretations by the public have serious implications, the backlash goes back to the scientists – even if what came out in the papers isn’t at all what was published!!

      The media needs to make sensational stories to sell. Unfortunately, science is rarely like that! Though I’d encourage you to read things like New Scientist to keep up with developments, because a lot of fascinating stuff is happening.

      So what we tend to get is the media seeking out things that fit with public opinion and current trends.
      Unfortunately news isn’t self-correcting like science; if people find that someone’s results are wrong, that will be published, but the newspapers rarely print corrections when they write bad stories.

      So yes, the media is harsh on scientists’ work quite often, when really we should be more harsh on the media to get it right!

      However, I do think that’s happening more; we have more science-types in journalism and politics and that’s definitely a good thing.

    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 14 Jun 2010:

      I think science is often mis-represented in the media. How many cures for cancer have you heard about? I think folk like AndrewM and the organisers of this event are doing a lot to make this right.

      I think scientists are way more harsh on other scientists than the media could ever be and arguably behave in amuch more biased way. The media just wants a story and is often being manipulated. Scientists can be vicious to one another. Take Ignaz Semmelweis who discovered that good hand hygiene prevents spread of infection. He was rejected by his colleagues and died alone and mad.

      However we do need to be kept in check and all work should be thought about very carefully before being accepted. Look at the problems caused by the doctor who said the measles vaccine caused autism.

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