Science and the media

Abstract

Introduction. My report on science and the media draws on my experience as a writer and editor on New Scientist magazine for the past three years. New Scientist is a weekly news and features magazine. We are proud of our coverage of environmental and development issues, for example, we were among the first to report on the baby-milk scandal, and on drug dumping in the Third World. At the moment, we are running a campaign to change the way that cigarette companies measure tar content, to reflect more accurately the tar that people actually inhale from cigarettes. But any magazine is only as good as its sources. New Scientist, with its comparatively small staff (fewer than 20 journalists, editors and artists) depends to a great extent on contacts with non-governmental organisations and pressure groups.