When Science Hits the Headlines

Journalists from The Sun and Channel 4 News will be joined by scientists who have been at the receiving end of a story gone astray at this free one-off event at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre – the UK’s only dedicated venue for adults to discuss contemporary science - on Thursday 9th November.

Stop press! Science success, or scientific calamity – are stories in the papers on the button or off message? How do scientists ensure the right story reaches the public ? And what makes front page news?

Journalists from The Sun and Channel 4 News will be joined by scientists who have been at the receiving end of a story gone astray at this free one-off event at the Science Museum’s Dana Centre – the UK’s only dedicated venue for adults to discuss contemporary science - on Thursday 9th November.

The event promises to be a heated discussion into how scientific research becomes news. Questions raised will include: just how accurate is a science story? How did it get there? Why do some stories make the front page while others stay within academic circles? Should the media take a share of the blame for blunders such as the MMR jab?

The tensions between scientists, journalists and the public will be up for debate with a panel of top notch experts:

• Award-winning Sun journalist John Perry. Co-author of the recent Giant Leaps book – a collaboration between the Sun and the Science Museum to explain great moments in science in Sun style. He’ll give a journalist’s point of view.

• David Vaughn of the British Antarctic Survey has both good and bad experiences with the press. He’ll share both with the audience giving a scientist’s point of view.

• Tom Clarke, Science Correspondent, Channel 4 News has been both a scientist and a broadcast journalist, so he’s perfectly placed to see all the angles in this discussion.

• Nancy Mendoza, Press Officer, Science Media Centre – an organisation that aims to bring together scientists and journalists when science hits the headlines. She believes that the more journalists talk to well respected scientists, the more they’ll know about how science works and the better reported science will be. And vice-versa, the better scientists are at talking to journalists, the less sensationalism and bad reporting there will be.

• Felicity Mellor, from Imperial College’s Science Communication group, thinks journalists should have a more cynical and investigative attitude towards science. She says that all too often journalists accept what scientist’s press offices tell them without thinking more deeply. She disagrees with Nancy Mendoza’s view that more communication will change how science is reported and thinks that scientists shouldn’t always be happy with what’s written about them.

Plus Giant Leaps – The Sun and the Science Museum’s bold, entertaining and informative look at science’s greatest - will be on sale night (£12.99)

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