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15 Jan 2010 13:28:52
Research stressing the need to protect the link between science and the media has been backed by a leading University of Bedfordshire professor.
The new report on Science and the Media published this week says the scientific community and Government should act now to safeguard improvements made in recent years to the way science is reported in the mass media
It draws on new research from Cardiff University which finds that in some respects specialist science news reporting in the UK is in relatively good health.
Professor James Crabbe, Dean of the faculty of Creative Arts, Technologies and Science (CATS) at the University, believes the new report is of vital importance.
He said: “The new report on new initiatives to promote understanding and professionalism between scientists and people working in the media is a key document for the engagement of the public with science and with scientists.
“This is a vital area for public understanding of important issues which affect all our futures.”
Commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) as part of the UK Science and Society strategy, the report called ‘Science and the Media - Securing the Future’ warns about the serious threat to the quality and independence of science reporting posed by the wider crisis in journalism.
The economic and institutional constraints under which journalists now operate have in many cases caused increasing workloads, less time to seek out stories and check facts, increasing reliance on a limited pool of news sources, and a growing similarity in science coverage.
Professor Crabbe said: “The recommendations suggest a wide variety of ways forward, from setting up new training schemes for science press officers to establishing a National Commission on the future of journalism.
“As a former Media Fellow working at the BBC, I was delighted to see that the expert group members suggested setting up a new Media Fellowship scheme to increase the number of scientists working in general news and programme making.”
Fiona Fox, chair of the working group and Director of the Science Media Centre, said: “Taken together, we believe that the recommendations we have made can make a real difference to the quality of science reporting today and start a much needed debate about ways to secure the kind of science reporting we all want to see in the future.”
For further details, contact Fiona Fox at
the Science Media Centre on 0207 6702981 or email ffox@ri.ac.uk
Latest news» 2010» January» New science report - keep up the good work says professor
