It seems that every scientist has an anecdote about being misquoted, misrepresented or otherwise misled by that most seemingly dangerous of foes - the journalist. And yet, a new survey published in Science suggests that beyond the horror stories, conflict between the two professions is much less volatile than you might imagine. To scientists, it seems that journalists are more likely to be back-slapping comrades than back-stabbing adversaries.
The interaction between science and the media is an area close to my heart. I am steeped in it in both my full-time job and my freelance work and I've been fortunate enough to have played most of the roles in the journalist-scientist drama. I've interviewed scientists for freelance pieces, I've been grilled numerous times myself over the phone and the radio, and I've been providing media comments for four years.
In the second half of this piece, I'll provide a few ...
