Four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets.
--Napoleon Bonaparte

The popular media are clearly very important in shaping popular perceptions and knowledge of science, technology, and the societal issues that relate to them. For most individuals, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television represent almost their only source of information on science after they have completed their formal schooling. Like the voice of some ancient oracle or interpreter of the divine, journalists alter the way in which people view their world, and the ways in which they expect it to change. Given the rapid pace of scientific and technological change, and the rapidity with which new knowledge comes to light, media reports on scientific subjects assume special importance.

In examining the influence of "the media," the first item on the agenda is to note that this is not a monolithic conspiracy � la Oliver Stone. Newspapers, magazines, radio, and television each serve distinct, though frequently overlapping, audiences. Within these categories, publications and stations compete with one another for the public's attentions. Unlike in formal education, adults have almost total freedom to choose which media sources they will read, listen to, or watch. Editors of most media sources thus have a strong interest in sensationalizing stories. To be sure, this is counterbalanced by their need to demonstrate professionalism, which for some publications and programs is a paramount concern, depending upon the target audience.

Many news media sources have a separate segment devoted to science and technology, just as they have sections on sports, real estate, and the like. This is useful in many respects, not least of which is that science and technology aficionados can read or tune into that specific segment of the news with greater focus. The danger of this approach, however, is that science risks being portrayed as an issue which is almost entirely distinct from other concerns. It is also important for media sources to attempt to integrate scientific and technological issues into the larger set of societal concerns, as this book has attempted to do. Health scares aside, it is often difficult to glean the relevance of a scientific issue to the general public from a story in the popular media.

Perhaps one of the principal reasons for this is that many journalists, whose ranks are drawn from the general public, are themselves unaware of the connections between scientific and non-scientific concerns. Better scientific education on the part of both journalists and the public with which they communicate is the most important aspect of improving this deficiency.

Moreover, better education will also help to determine the kind of media information which the public will decide to experience. A more knowledgeable, questioning audience will tend to seek out news media which demonstrate higher levels of professionalism, and will thus promote its own ongoing education. With the advent of cable television, the World Wide Web, and the growing international availability of many news magazines, the curious have the opportunity to select among an almost infinite variety of news sources. Their educational backgrounds�both in terms of their basic knowledge and their desire to know more�will strongly influence the sources they to which they will choose to pay attention.

To conclude, the media are an important, albeit secondary, mechanism by which society views science. The most important aspect of improving public knowledge and perceptions of science is changing formal education, as was discussed in the essay on that topic; this, in turn, will likely contribute to improvements in the quality of science reporting and its reception by the general public.