Yet for all these misapprehensions and tendencies to fling blame in the wrong direction, there’s no doubt that most professional scientists have cause enough for genuine concern about their portrayal in the media. Alongside the often-unrecognized excellence of much popularization—particularly that done by science journalists working against the clock to condense arcane technical matter into accurate and enticing news stories—there is an uncomfortable load of sensationalism, error and hype.
European scientists have another grouse when they travel to the United States and find little or nothing in the media about their concerns and achievements. Despite the fabled internationality of science, Old World researchers are easily dismayed by New World treatment of their doings.
These scientists perceptions have recently found quantitative support from survey data published by Francoise Harrois Monin of the staff of L’Express in Paris. Her findings spell out the size of the problem vividly for the first time. ...
