Old Jonah Lehrer on science journalism: it’s the damn journals
November 24, 2009 by Chris Hallquist |
I apparently don’t read Jonah Lehrer enough, because I only just now discovered a explanation he floated years ago for the problems with science journalism: academic science journals try to control how science news is released, which pushes journalists towards rushed, superficial stories about science. The evidence from other branches of journalism makes me suspect that superificial attempts at up-to-the-minute reporting would be common even if journals didn’t have the power they do, that science popularization will always have a huge edge over science journalism in its ability to summarize what’s happened in the last several years of a field, as opposed to the last several days. But Lehrer manages to make some important points I’ve never heard anyone make before, so go read his post now unless, unlike me, you’ve been aware of it for years.
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