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Science Reporting - the dead-tree press perspective

By clock on December 6, 2008.

Deborah Howell, the WaPo Ombudsman (for a few more days), wrote her thoughts on science reporting in the Washington Post (and in general) - Making Sense of Science Reporting:

The job of science reporters is to take complicated subjects and translate them for readers who are not scientifically sophisticated. Critics say that the news media oversimplify and aren't skeptical enough of financing by special interests.

That led me to review papers that are to be published soon as part of a project sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on how the media cover science and technology, and to interview a half-dozen experts, from scientists to teachers of science writing. Here's my take:

Read the rest. Do you agree with her, or are you happy that her days as WaPo ombudsman are numbered? Why?

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