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| The NHU "are the best in the world" but there's room for improvement |
Last week, the BBC released the review addressing the impartiality and quality of its science coverage. Overall, the corporation fared very well. To satisfy one peculiar British duality, we subject the BBC (along with the NHS) to equal measures of scorn and adulation, and most reviews commissioned by the Trust offer juicy reading.
The review, conducted by UCL’s emeritus professor of genetics Steve Jones, offers up lapping praise for the corporation’s output but with the flattery, he highlights several weaknesses. It is a sprawling piece, so this post addresses one area which (to our knowledge) hasn’t been reported widely elsewhere in the mainstream press: namely, the failure of journalists to utilise sources of science beyond press reports.
Admittedly, the press release can be a useful tool to rely upon for finding scoops. But Jones doesn’t place as much emphasis as he should on the dangers of such a dependency. An analysis which the report cites suggests 75% of news stories cover only material listed in press releases. It is painfully apparent to the industry insiders when journalists haven’t searched any further into the story than the veneer represented by the press release, even if lay readers are unaware.
