Reith Lectures open with praise for UK science journalism
Lord Martin Rees praises the UK's science journalists in the first of this year's BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures.
In his first lecture on the 'Scientific Citizen', to be broadcast on Tuesday 1 June, Rees highlights the role that journalists have in reporting the consensus of the scientific community in contentious issues, even if it didn't always turn out to be right.http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sj9lh
The Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society says that although they are not experts in themselves, journalists are in a key position to tap into those that are. Through their wide network of contacts, journalists can communicate the best available thinking on an issue, he says.
In his address, recorded at Broadcasting House in London on 11 May, Rees says that the UK is "very fortunate in it's cadre of science writers and journalists."
He highlights the key role that journalists have in communicating science and making it accessible, bemoaning the technical nature of scientific literature today and harking back to the time when Darwin's On the Origin of Species was a best seller.
Lord Rees points out the potential for confusion and ignorance ("a protein is not the same as a proton"). Sensationalist claims, he said, have the potential to distort health decisions. "Science is organised scepticism," he remarked.
He also highlighted the role that campaigners and bloggers now have in enriching the debate and ensuring that science remains an open endeavour.
The Reith Lectures 2010: Scientific Horizons begin broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 1 June.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00sk5nc
Lord Martin Rees praises the UK's science journalists in the first of this year's BBC Radio 4 Reith Lectures.
In his first lecture on the 'Scientific Citizen', to be broadcast on Tuesday 1 June, Rees highlights the role that journalists have in reporting the consensus of the scientific community in contentious issues, even if it didn't always turn out to be right.
The Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society says that although they are not experts in themselves, journalists are in a key position to tap into those that are. Through their wide network of contacts, journalists can communicate the best available thinking on an issue, he says.
In his address, recorded at Broadcasting House in London on 11 May, Rees says that the UK is "very fortunate in it's cadre of science writers and journalists."
He highlights the key role that journalists have in communicating science and making it accessible, bemoaning the technical nature of scientific literature today and harking back to the time when Darwin's On the Origin of Species was a bestseller.
Lord Rees points out the potential for confusion and ignorance ("a protein is not the same as a proton"). Sensationalist claims, he says, have the potential to distort health decisions. "Science is organised scepticism," he remarked.
He also highlights the role that campaigners and bloggers now have in enriching the debate and ensuring that science remains an open endeavour.
The Reith Lectures 2010: Scientific Horizons begin broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 1 June.
