Nature Geoscience on complex communication
In its June Editorial, Nature Geoscience (2, 371; 2009) discusses the exploding variety of bidirectional online channels for communicating science. The traditional path of scientific discoveries from bench to breakfast table — through scientific journals and newspapers — is diversifying at a staggering rate. Blogs by scientists and non-scientists alike are jostling for public attention; research institutions provide websites, films and press releases; and scientific information is 'Flickring' and 'Twittering' away, accessible to anyone who is interested.
Given this variety of competition, researchers work hard to make their work stand out from the crowd. A session at the General Assembly of the European Geophysical Union in April — 'The Significance of Marine Technology in Science Communication – Challenges and Opportunities' — highlighted an increasingly important selling point for science in the public arena: the volume of publicity that can be generated by stunning images.
But the Editorial goes on to outline how science communication is more than pretty pictures. As science sections in quality newspapers shrink, the role of press and media offices becomes more significant as a portal between the science itself and what the public sees of it, particularly challenging in the face of complicated aspects of science without an immediate application. The Editorial concludes that as the print media is crumbling in the face of cheaper offers online, the need for full-time science reporters is stronger than ever. A society in which science and technology are central must provide the funding to bring the narrative of scientific progress to the public.
