Why we Need Science Communications
As the twentieth century American psychologist and writer, Anne Roe, once said, "Nothing in science has any value to society if it is not communicated.” Though not explicitly looked at as a job title until recently, science communications has been a vital part of our society, giving the general public access to highly technical information. This field is focused in two major areas: science journalism and science video content.
Though the ultimate goal of science journalism is to transmit scientific advancements to the general public, it often falls short. In Science Communication to the General Public: Why We Need to Teach Undergraduate and Graduate Students this Skill as Part of Their Formal Scientific Training, this disconnect between scientists and journalists is discussed through the line, “pieces of science journalism can also oversimplify and generalize their subject material to the point that the basic information conveyed is obscured or at worst, blatantly wrong” (Brownell et al). Some examples of this miscommunication can be seen with topics such as climate change and space exploration. When these topics are sensationalized and used as “clickbait” for a general audience, they can cause fear or distrust of scientists.
As also discussed in the article, “the issue of climate change also illustrates how the public acceptance and understanding of science (or lack thereof) can influence governmental decision making with regard to regulation, science policy and funding” (Brownell et al). The most blatant example of this governmental decision making when related to climate change is the pulling out of the Paris Climate Accords in 2017 by the Trump Administration. Through his statement, former president Trump says, “not only does this deal subject our citizens to harsh economic restrictions, it fails to live up to our environmental ideals. As someone who cares deeply about the environment, which I do, I cannot in good conscience support a deal that punishes the United States — which is what it does -– the world’s leader in environmental protection, while imposing no meaningful obligations on the world’s leading polluters” (Trump). This statement however looks at the Paris accords through an economic lens and does not make the case for any scientific benefits or detriments beyond pointing fingers at the other major world polluters.
Another example of science journalism affecting science policy and funding comes in the form of funding for the United States space program in the late 20th century and early 21st century. During the Apollo era in the 1960’s, the general public was inspired by the rousing words of John F. Kennedy’s Address at Rice University on the Nation’ s Space effort in which he stated, “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too” (Kennedy). Throughout this period, the rhetoric of the space program through print and broadcast media was highly positive and patriotic. However when the perceived goal of the space program was achieved with the United States moon landing in 1969, the public started to lose interest and journalist attention on the space program fell off. It is important to note that this was also due to many other important historical events during this time period receiving coverage such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement. Subsequently with the loss of coverage and public attention, less funding went to the space program. There were however up-turns later on with the space shuttle program ushering in the first american woman astronaut in the 1980’s, only for the program to eventually be discontinued in 2011. Currently, there have been articles in The New York Times such as Artemis II, Artemis III and beyond which was released in December 2022 and outlines the current efforts of NASA and the Canadian Space Agency to bring astronauts back to the lunar surface in the near future. In the article, journalist Kenneth Chang compares the Apollo program with the new Artemis program and states, “during the Apollo moon landings in the 1960s and 1970s, the lunar lander was packed into the Saturn V rocket. The lander for Artemis III will be a version of a Starship rocket built by SpaceX. The lunar Starship will be launched separately. Additional Starships would then launch to refill the propellant tanks of the lunar Starship before it left Earth orbit” (Chang). By drawing comparisons to somethings the general public may be already aware of, the reporting on the upcoming Artemis missions can be better understood by the general public. This is but one example of effective science journalism in recent years that has done its job on reporting on the facts while still remaining concise and interesting to the layperson.
Another interesting facet of science communication is the video content side. This can take many forms such as educational children’s content and social media. In educational children’s content, television shows such as Bill Nye the Science Guy have communicated complex scientific ideas in simpler ways for children in the home and the classroom. This show, which first aired in 1993 and ended in 1999 served as the blueprint for further educational content on television. Its catchy theme song and quirky segments created an engaging narrative for children to learn about concepts such as: “phases of matter”, “the water cycle”, and “volcanoes”. Even 20 years later these episodes are still shown in classrooms to help teach these basic building blocks of our universe to the next generations. A follow up series, Bill Nye Saves the World, was created by Netflix in 2017 and was intended for an adult audience (presumably the adults that grew up watching the original show).
A correspondent from the show, Emily Calandrelli, has also worked as a science communicator in her own right, but instead of just in television and streaming has expanded to the realm of social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok. Her profiles, amassing 221k and 1.2 million followers respectively under the handle @thespacegal have engaging content focused on covering breaking space news and scientific concepts. This type of short form content (typically ranging from 1-3 minutes) has brought science communications into the modern day and has also popularized the term itself, with Calandrelli referring to herself as a “science communicator”.
Overall, science communications are needed in so many different facets of our everyday society. Whether it be the education of children K-12 to develop critical thinking skills to engineers and scientists communicating scientific breakthroughs to the rest of the world, this liaison between science and media is needed. My hope is that the discipline continues to expand and be more widely recognized as the way for humanity to understand the secrets of life and the universe.
Works Cited
Brownell, S. E., Price, J. V ., & Steinman, L. (2013). Science Communication to the General Public: Why We Need to Teach Undergraduate and Graduate Students this Skill as Part of Their Formal Scientific Training. Journal of undergraduate neuroscience education : JUNE : a publication of FUN, Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience, 12(1), E6–E10.
Chang, K. (2022). Artemis II, Artemis III and beyond. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/11/science/artemis-ii-astronauts-moon.html
Kennedy, J. (1962). ADDRESS AT RICE UNIVERSITY ON THE NATION'S SP ACE EFFORT [Transcript]. Retrieved from https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/historic-speeches/address-at-rice-university-on-the-nations-space-effort
Trump, D. (2017). Statement by President Trump on the Paris Climate Accord [Transcript]. Retrieved from https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-trump-paris-climate-accord/
Originally written in March 2023
