In a crisis, it’s not enough to disseminate accurate information about what is already known and should be universally understood. (Example: during the COVID-19 epidemic, wash your hands.)
It’s also crucial to disseminate the best evidence-based knowledge about what might come next, along with the level of uncertainty about that knowledge.…
For decades, research has been a supplicant to the media — dependent on media for wider exposure. And research has complained incessantly about the distortions media make to its work and messages — all while contorting itself to be ever more attractive to the media and its currency of headlines for communication.…
John Timmer of Ars Technica recently announced that Ars had established a formal policy on how it reported retracted papers. The announcement has weight: Timmer (Ars’ senior science editor) is highly respected as one of the most rigorous, hype-resistant science reporters on the planet.…