Science, well sort of...the media experiment you can do at home

This will be really exciting. …Today we’re going to do a real life SCIENCE experiment! … OK, well sort of.  For those of you nice enough to have read my previous posts, you’ll recall I’ve often woven in the impact of the media on our perceptions of science related issues. Today we’re going to get really sciency and dig way deeper.

So for our experiment we need to set up our “lab”, which will physically reside inside of your mind.  In order to ensure there is no danger of external contamination, turn off the TV and set your digital devices to airplane mode or something (admit it, you never really turn them off when taking off anyway).  Find a quiet place to sit, and close your eyes.

Now I want you to think back to a time when you had the occasion to read or see a news story about a topic or event with which you had personal experience.  You may have been one of the subjects of the story, or your company or family member was, or maybe you were just a firsthand witness to the circumstances that were being reported.  Now, quickly, think about the reporting …were all the facts correct, and perhaps more importantly, were all the facts included?  Was the context and meaning for those facts accurately portrayed?  Again, was anything missing or misrepresented?

According to my precise calculations based on the replication of this experiment many times, I can reliably predict the following…the story that you read or saw got it all wrong.  The journalist left things out, misrepresented the facts, got the context wrong, and just plain blew it.  You questioned the professionalism of that journalist, and perhaps even their intent.  And most importantly, the more you knew about the actual facts, the worse the story was.

So let’s deconstruct this…there are many things going on here at once.  First on the media side (we’ll came back to you later) there are a number of factors at work.  I won’t get into an exhaustive list here, but for me the top three are “balance”, “controversy” and “replication”.

We all recognize the first one – balance.  It’s where in order to appear unbiased and balanced in the reporting, the media seeks disparate or contrary views.  This journalistic norm can indeed play an important role, but not always.  A favorite anecdote to illustrate this is the time an old friend of mine was watching a TV reporter doing an on the street interview about plans for a new park in town.  He saw one person after another say they wanted and supported the new park … unless you are the grumpy old neighbor, who wouldn’t?  So after seeing about a dozen folks say they wanted it, he got an idea.  He walked up to the reporter and said he opposed the park, and that more parking lots were needed.  Of course, that night on the news, they showed one person speaking in favor of the park and my naughty buddy “opposing” it.  So despite actual overwhelming support for the park, the norm of balance in reporting resulted in the nominal impression of a 50-50 split of opinion on the issue, or at minimum, some material opposition to the park.  And perhaps most importantly, those of us who knew the least about the actual details of the story were left with a skewed impression of the facts.

Sadly we see this ”balance” being played out in reporting on a whole host of science based issues.  Time after time we see reports about science or health issues in which doubt is cast on the evidence simply by the media giving voice to an opposing view, no matter how minor, baseless or ridiculous.  And while it may be factually correct to say some folks have a different opinion, when it comes to science, mere opinion does not count; only rigorous evidence does. By employing the journalistic norm of balance the media is inadvertently giving credence and support to everyone from climate deniers to vaccination opponents.  And while these folks may feel they have valid reasons for their beliefs, they are not based on science.

This leads us to our second norm, the need for “controversy”.  “News is something somebody else doesn’t want printed; all else is advertising” said William Randolph Hearst.  Put another way, if there is no tension, dispute or controversy, the media in general has less interest.  It is the very tension of varying opinions or a dispute of facts that can make an issue newsworthy.  Therefore, by instinct, practice, and the desire to maximize revenues, the media often seeks or highlights stories where a nominal conflict is being played out. But as with “balance”, too often these are false controversies, existing only as an artifact of the publishing of opposing views.   Climate denial is exhibit A.

Finally, there is what I call “replication”.  This is the phenomenon that once a story gets reported, it is almost impossible to un-report it, no matter how wrong or false.  In the era of online 24/7 journalism, once published, a story can live forever.  Equally, elements of the story are then replicated in future stories on the same topic, irrespective of whether or not they are correct.  This is the outcome of cut and paste journalism, driven by the ever present need to fill the news hole.  A quick Google search will provide material previously (and often erroneously) reported, which then gets included in the new piece …and so it goes.

However, before we storm the Bastille of journalism, we need to step back and take a look at our own culpability in all this … but that’s for next time.  So …what do you believe?