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Can Science Journalism Be Entertaining and Responsible?
GRW writes "This past week, I attended a panel discussion sponsored by the Perimeter Institute of Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, entitled "Can science journalism be entertaining and responsible?". This was a discussion regarding the role the media could and should play in the dissemination of scientific issues to the general public. Panelists included newspaper, TV and radio journalists. I thought that this might be a good subject for a Slashdot discussion. What do you think about science journalism? How can it better communicate to the general public about science and the scientific method? Can science journalism do a better job of helping people distinguish science from pseudoscience?"
For my part, i enjoy fairly technial reading, but most people do not, and they are the ones who have so very much to benefit from making science reporting interesting. some of the most approachable science and environmental reporting i've found yet is from The Worldwatch Institute.
if it sold papers.
Such is the infinite Grace of Popeye.
Um
The world really needs a few more Carl Sagans. Ever since his passing, there's really no one willing to responsibly "popularize" science.
Of course it will always be nearly impossible to find a balanced and unbiased news source, but when it comes to science and tecnology it seems like the major news outlets only like to report on the latest gadgets and anything that will "make life easier". I tent to surf the internet to find my latest science news and reports. I find it easier to visit the sites of those actually doing the scietific studies/experiments. It is easier to get the full story that way.
[n8.r0n] http://petesweb.spymac.net/
CBC does entertaining science programing every weekend and week. The Nature of Things is a very good program hosted by David Suzuki who is always provocative. Bob McDonald of Quirks and Quarks on the radio give up-to-the-week science news that is very informative and interesting.
It just takes the right person, and the right subject. Not all science is for everyone. Space people might not care for the science of bugs for instance.
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Can science journalism do a better job of helping people distinguish science from pseudoscience?
Skeptical Inquirer and Skeptic Magazine do a good job.
Unfortunately there are magazines based on pseudoscience that make it to the bookshelves; not only the crystal-waving, aura-reading kind, but even a few that seem on the surface to be legitimate scientific publications, until you see the bizarre anti-environmentalism or cold fusion stuff.
Frankly, I don't trust most of the standard news stations or papers. Most have alterior motives, if they're not just plain ignorant. btw.. I also have a theory that the entire country is controlled by 2 companies that battle for the top position. See below...
AOL Time Warner vs. Microsoft
News:
AOL - CNN
MS - MSNBC
ISPs:
AOL - AOL
MS - MSN
Travel:
AOL - Travelocity
MSNBC - Expedia
The list goes on and on...
Oh.. I'm sorry.. did I say theory....
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"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act."
-- George Orwell
Think of all the Moon landing hoax sites claiming they are fact.
The blessing is smart people will keep looking for answers even after they've found an "answer" they were looking for.
http://www.badastronomy.com/
Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
Of course it can do a better job. Just look at the front section of Science magazine for an example of responsible, generally accurate, scientific jounalism. But it is not easy to find people who both have a broad understanding of science and who can write. It requires a real reporter, in other words, not somebody whose primary skills lie in rearranging the words in press releases.
What is really needed is more shows that feature critical thinking skills. Science is interesting to people, by its nature. But when they don't understand how to think for themselves, there is little achieved.
I give a big thumbs up to Pen & Teller's new show 'Bullshit' on Showtime. They apply their... well... style to any issue, from the realitites of bottled water to creationism. It is all underlined by critical thinking skills without beating you on the head with it. And, it is very, very, entertaining.
David Whatley
The world's media is useless at reporting science because people who enter journalism as their career are (sweeping generalisation alert) crap at science. The problem is exacerbated by scientists being (further generalisation alert) crap at giving interviews.
New Scientist is the closest I've found to interesting reading coupled with good science, but even that gets pretty fluffy at times. The BBC generally cover science stories with a 'look what the madcap boffins are up to now, what a waste of their time' angle, and most science journals are aimed at scientists so are dull to the non-scientist.
# init 5
Connection closed.
Oh...
Slashdot always posts the latest crackpot soon-to-be-disproved "discoveries" and leaping to conclusions. "Possible signs of life detected on Venus" my ass. That's called wishful thinking and leaping to conclusions with only a shred of inconclusive "evidence".
Repeal the DMCA!
The trouble is that real science journalism is so easily displaced by the free content provided by corporate PR departments. Real science journalism costs money to do, and doesn't bring in any more eyeballs than press releases about Olestra fighting obesity, etc.
I noticed this in several books I read about complexity some years back --- they all featured the same cast of characters, with the same spin on how they labored alone in obscurity to develop their ideas. After a while, I felt like I was reading the work of a Hollywood PR consultant who specializes in branding the "scientific persona". In contrast, economist W. Brian Arthur's own account of his research focused on how he got inspiration for his ideas from working with Russian mathematicians.
I do think it's possible to weave a compelling narrative out of scientific ideas, it's just harder.
My first inductee into the science journalism "Hall of Shame" would have to be The Double Helix by James Watson, which I enjoyed immensely the first time I read it (shortly after high school) and horrified me the second time I read it (shortly after grad school). Not only is The Double Helix an abominable exercise is self-aggrandizement, Watson proudly recounts their underhanded attempts to gain access to another researcher's work without her knowledge or consent, and of course, without giving her credit later, even though it involved an outright lie in a letter to Nature.
Here's a review of a biography Rosalind Franklin, THe Dark Lady of DNA by Brenda Maddox in Scientific American.
foldplay your photos won't know what hit them.
Between science and pseudo-science is that real science has a bad habit of telling people what they don't want to hear. Pseudo-science has no conscience. And since most people only want good news... well I don't think this is easily resolved.
What is music when you despise all sound?
Here in the United States we do not place enough emphasis on science and mathematics in our public schools. It is considered socially unacceptable to excel in these fields for many people and only some school systems are willing to support the programs to develop the skills of thes eindividuals at this level. With religious fundamentalists clammoring about how one scientific doctrine or another interferes with their right to bring up their own children, the schools are scared to teach anything that could be disputed (Evolution is the glaring example, there are several others). Scientific journalism for the masses isn't scientific most of the time, especially because it is designed for people with a 6th grade reading level. Technical scientific journals are often difficult to access because most are very expensive (props to the Proceeding of the National Academy of Science, one of the best on the planet, for being absolutely free) or hard to find. I hold a seasonal research job when not in medical school, and it has proven very difficult to get ahold of many journals that would help my (boss's) research. We need to either set up an easily accessible system of free journals for the masses, educate the general populace about science in a much more thorough manner, or both before asking the journalists to take some care in the issue. Remember, most of these media outlets (scientific or otherwise) will publish only what they find interesting and what they know will sell instead of what may be most valuable. The apathy of the general populace in the United States towards science, as well as their dismally low general education level, should thus be treated before making any moves towards a grass-roots movement like this. After all, breaking down nuclear physics (like string theory) or techniques of treating cancer (like inhibiting angiogenesis) loses something in the translation when forced to use 6th-grade terminology.
As long as there is a Second Amendment, there will always be a First Amendment.
Why should Journalism be entertaining? People like entertainment. I belive it when Fox News says they're number 1. Fox News is pretty entertaining. But are they good journalists? When I was O'Reilly spout off on hippies and California and anybody who opposes war in Iraq, I get a good chuckle. But I certainly don't learn much about what it really going on in the world.
Entertaining journalism may appeal to a wide audience, but obviously at the cost of some journalistic integrity. It's obvious that networks such as Fox News are far more concerned with ratings than with reporting what's truely significant. I don't mean to be cold hearted but one mexican girl gets a botched transplant and it makes headlines. What about the other million people that died that day? The editors decided those stories weren't as popular.
Real journalism is about reporting information in an efficient manner. We can evaluate journalism by the signal to noise ratio. In my hometown newspaper, which is roughly 75% ads, there is really only 25% left for real news. And most of that is filled up with crap.
I guess I really try to draw a line between work and play. Reading the paper, watching the news, that's work. That isn't supposed to be entertaining. I might enjoy it, but that doesn't make it play. I enjoy it BECAUSE I'm aquireing information. If the information is diluted to male it more "entertaining", my enjoyment is lessened. Play is playing CS or watching Cowboy Bebop. That's what entertainment should be.
Perhaps there is space for entertaining journalism. I do enjoy the political comics, sometimes, and Doonsbury. And like I said I do get a kick out of O'Reilly. But that stuff is the desert, not the healthy meal. Don't forget that.
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
These publications are great, but they're preaching to the converted.
I think the biggest problem is that education tends to emphasize rote memorization, which stunts students' critical thinking skills. If you make it all an exercise in regurgitation, then everything becomes an appeal to authority. Well, who's to say that your high school chemistry teacher is more of an authority that the person who writes the feng shui column in the LA Times? Hey, the feng shui columnist makes more money, so isn't he probably smarter than your chem teacher, who drives an '89 Celebrity?
Another problem is that science educators don't always know as much about this kind of stuff as they should. Physics teachers should know that Newton did alchemy, but they should also know that he did not, as the urban folktale would have you believe, practice astrology. They should know that acupuncture works, but they should also know that it works just as well if you ignore the complicated charts and just insert a needle in a random place. They should know the difference between "intelligent design" creationism and the "young-earth" version, so they can be prepared to refute creationist arguments.
Find free books.
Most people outside Australia wouldn't have heard Adam and Dr Karl doing their Sleek Geek show. Really entertaining, and accurate stuff. Adam Spencer is a DJ at JJJ, and also holds a PhD in mathematics. Dr Karl is a regular visitor on Thursday mornings since it seems time began. See some of his stuff here. Recently, they got together for a tour called "Sleek Geeks" .. and here's a report on it by New Scientist.
It can be done !
Bitter and proud of it.
However I feel that there is a genuine need for some simplification when it comes to science journalism. For example I once interviewed a researcher at the aforementioned university about his project on video codecs. You and I probably both know what motion compensation is. So I asked this man "Wat makes your new implementations so special?" And he went off for over 15 minutes and a whiteboard full of complicated formulae. All well and good, and I could probably reproduce the gist of it in my article, but that's not the point. The point I wanted to make was that this professor was in fact doing something revolutionary and explain to my readership the practical implications of his work. The man just couldn't explain those to me in plain language, so he gave me a paper version of the formulae on the whiteboard.
It's then the "stupid" journalist's job to turn those into a digestible article. Here's a quick knock-up of what I wrote in the university magazine:
At the end of the article I included a URL for the reader to find the techy details.
Joe Sixpack would have probably abandoned my article straight away. Instead:
The above paragraph is a translation, the original was in Dutch and written in 1998 so I'm not inserting the man's name. Don't want to accidentally misquote him.
I hope my example illustrates somewhat the dillemma faced by journalists every day. They always have to write for the weakest link to understand things, otherwise sales go down and the media company's bottom line is obviously connected to the individual reporter's bottom line: his job.
Learn from the mistakes of others. There isn't enough time to make them all yourself.
...and I can tell you that while it's astonishingly easy to think of fascinating ideas for science films, it's damned tough to think up a format that is fresh, emotionally engaging, and revelatory. Everytime I go the bookstore or the library and wander around for a few hours, I leave with my head swimming with ideas that make me feel passionate and excited, ideas that make me want to run up to strangers and say "Jeezus this world is mad cool." Yet, in the course of a year, if I can turn six of these ideas into show treatments, and three of those into shows, I am beating the game.
The reality is, it simply doesn't matter how "good" a show is if no one watches it. In fact, an otherwise high-quality show that fails to be interesting to millions of people can poison the well for other shows down the line. Discovery, PBS, National Geographic, take your pick; they're all in a perpetual scramble for eyeballs. No one at any of these places has yet figured out a fail-safe algorithm for finding and producing shows that people will watch without clicking through to the next channel. All they know is that the most-watched shows hook viewers emotionally. If they don't see the potential for that in your proposal, it ends up in the circular file.
I don't lament this. We live in an economically free, market-driven society. Ideas and stories, like other products, compete among each other for our money and (especially in television) our time. A lot of the comments I read above implied that if we as a society could only impose, from the top down, a grand realignment of the values we place on science and knowledge, our science journalism would become both smarter and more mainstream. Fine, as long as we're at it, let's also impose from the top down a hunger for good government, spiritual advancement, and healthy living. All admirable goals, but unfortunately, utopias are far easier to applaud than they are to implement. Kind of like software development schedule utopias. (*cough, cough*)
So back here on planet Earth, pragmatists chip away at problems from the bottom up. Successful science shows and journalism seek to tap the emotions of viewers, knowing that if you win their hearts, their minds follow. To that end, these are the goals of a good science journalist: to not only inform, but reveal; to not only show how things work, but to incite strong feelings that this knowledge is important and sometimes even miraculous; to make clear that this world of disconnected parts is actually connected beneath the surface by beautiful and unifying principles; to show that if you understand why a whip cracks you also understand why an F15 booms and a nuclear reactor glows in blue Cherenkov light under water. And just as importantly, to also make science seem as much a natural and exciting part of life as getting laid, carving on a snowboard, fighting with your brother, and watching Shawshank Redemption for the third time. Connection.
I did a show and a website on El Nino for NOVA a few years back. (Yes, it told a human story as well as a scientific story.) It was re-broadcast in Germany last year, and four million people watched it. I sit here at my desk sometimes and think about that kind of thing, and I have never gotten used to it. I read, I think, I drink coffee, and then I type while I play mp3s. In other words, I'm pretty much like the rest of the crowd here on Slashdot. Yet sometimes, the ideas embodied in those keystrokes end up being injected into four million skulls. Trust me, the responsibility you feel to use that privilege wisely and effectively is enormous. Maybe that's what evangelical Christians feel when they hear the "good news" and want to spread it.
It's knee-jerk easy to say we need less Joe Millionaire and Britney, and more NOVA and JYW. However, this ignores the reality that we are complex social primates driven far more by emotion than Western science has traditionally admitted. Even a solitary, consuming interest in science is ultimately an emotional urge. Are you hankering to prove Fermat's Last Theorem, uncover the faint traces of Pluto somewhere among fifty thousand starfield photographs, or invent a way of copying fragments of DNA? Andrew Wiles, Clyde Tombaugh, and Kary Mullis each threw themselves into science not because they were excited by university labs, jargon, and academic papers, but because they fell in love with their ideas, pined and trembled for them, stayed up late and got up early in hopes of seeing if they could use them to recast the way we see the world. The rest of it is just window dressing.
Unfortunately, many people were inoculated against science in school the way they were inoculated against Shakespeare. After something's been forced down your throat like cod liver oil, you lose your taste for it. (I still remember my old physics teacher's dandruff, droning voice, and drudgerous lab assignments.)
There is an antidote. I said it earlier, but it bears repeating. If you win their hearts, their minds will follow. The best science shows are the ones that make viewers feel caught up, and emotionally invested in, the underlying science story. If you're a good writer, you find a way to do this naturally, from the bottom up. It turns out that Aristotle's dramatic principles apply to science stories like any other flavor of story. The shitty shows I've seen (and they are legion) try to fake it. You can tell when the people who made them did it for money, not love. Ultimately, in this business, you either love what you're writing about...or you're a hack.
So the question was, "Can science journalism be entertaining and responsible?" In other words, can science journalism thrill your heart as well as your head? Kinda like asking if your girlfriend can be both entertaining and responsible, can give your, ummm, heart a shiver as well as your mind. If she can't...better change the channel.