During a debate
today, the Minister for Science and Innovation, Lord Drayson, will
dismiss claims that science reporting only results in
sensationalist and misleading headlines about miracle cures and
apocalyptic events.
Instead he’ll applaud the first rate, independent reporting of UK
science journalists which helps people to make well-informed
choices about their lives, as well as motivating the public to
change their behaviour to address many of the major challenges we
face, such as climate change.
At the debate at the World Conference of Science Journalists
in London, the Minister will explain how science correspondents
provide a crucial bridge between scientists and the public – often
one of the rare times many readers and viewers are exposed to
science.
The Minister said:
“People rely on dependable science journalism to make important
choices: for themselves and their families, for their country.
These are choices which affect their health, their jobs, their
overall quality of life and their future.
“Where science correspondents are centre stage and when they have
access to scientists, then science coverage in Britain is of a
very high standard.”
Debating opposite Lord Drayson will be Professor John Martin, one
of the world’s leading heart disease experts, who has compared the
UK’s science journalists “to the greedy bankers who sparked the
economic meltdown”.
But science correspondents, editors and the Government have
learned crucial lessons from the coverage of controversial science
issues such as the GM debate and the MMR vaccine, the Minister
said.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the current coverage of swine
flu. From the start, science correspondents were linked up with
leading scientists and public health experts so that the coverage
provided a fuller, balanced picture of the risks and how the UK
would tackle the threat.
But this is not an isolated case, the Minister said, while
high-quality, independent science has played its part in changing
the way people perceive science and scientists in recent years.
The Minister said:
“A survey last year revealed that 82 per cent of people agreed
that they were “amazed” by the achievements of science. And a
separate survey in 2008 showed that 72 per cent of people said
they trust scientists to tell the truth, up seven percentage
points from 1997.
“Our ability to debate difficult ethical issues related to
scientific research and exploitation in a mature fashion has
attracted world-class scientists to come and work in this country.
It has helped to persuade international companies to locate their
R&D here. It also means that British people generally
welcome new technologies and are willing to try them out.”
And following recent news that science journalists and news desks
outside the UK are facing job cuts and closure, the Minister is
even more determined to make a strong case on Wednesday for the
country’s high quality science coverage and journalists.
Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, and Professor
John Martin will be taking part in “The Big Debate: Is the British
media the best or worst in the world at covering science?” today
(Wednesday 1 July) between 11.30am and 1pm at the World Conference
of Science Journalists, Central Hall, Westminster, London. The
debate has been produced by Fiona Fox, director of the Science
Media Centre and will be chaired by Richard Highfield, editor of
New Scientist. Around 900 delegates are expected to attend the 6th
World Conference of Science Journalists which will bring together
established and aspiring reporters, writers and science
communicators from around the world.
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