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.

Originally published in 1986, this is a nonscientific book about science. It is concerned with the relationships among social science, journalism, public information, and public policy. Reporting Science: The Case of Aggression explores some of the obstacles – and suggestions for overcoming them – to the mutual exchange of information when that information concerns research and theory on a sensitive issue, in this instance, violence. Among the issues explored are: What is the social scientist’s responsibility, if any, for the public dissemination of his or her work? How accurate are mass media reports of scientific research on such socially sensitive issues as violence and the effects of mass media portrayals of sex and aggression? How do science journalists select particular pieces of research for study? How can interested scientists more effectively present their work to the public? What are the ethical issues involved in greater scientist-journalist cooperation?