| Sources
of News and Information About S&T
Public Interest in S&T
The Public's Sense of Being Well Informed About S&T
Issues
People get news and information about S&T from a variety of
sources. However, in both the United States and Europe, most adults
find out about the latest S&T developments from watching television.
The print media rank a distant second. The Internet, although not
the main source of news for most people, has become the main place
to get information about specific S&T subjects.
Although most Americans claim to be at least moderately interested
in S&T, few science-related news stories attract much public
interest. In addition, few people feel well informed about new scientific
discoveries and the use of new inventions and technologies.
Sources of News and Information About S&T 
The number of people who watch the news on television or read a
newspaper has been declining for more than a decade.
That does not bode well for news about S&T, which must compete
with a host of other topics for the attention of the American public.
Although the percentage of Americans who regularly watch a nightly
network news program has declined steadily since the late 1980s,
television remains the leading source of news in most households.
In the 2001 NSF survey, 53 percent of respondents named television
as their leading source of news about current events in general,
followed by newspapers (29 percent). Television was also the leading
source of news about S&T (44 percent), followed by newspapers
and magazines (each 16 percent).
Despite the growing popularity of the Internet, and the steady stream
of technological advances that support the convergence of computer
and television capabilities (Markoff
2002), relatively few respondents named the Internet as their
leading source of general news (7 percent) or S&T news (9 percent).
However, when respondents were asked where they would go to get
additional information about a specific scientific topic, such as
biotechnology or global warming, nearly half named the Internet
(figure 7-1 
and appendix
tables 7-1  ,
7-2 ,
and 7-3 ).
Television is also the European public's main source of news about
S&T.
In the 2001 Eurobarometer survey, 60 percent of respondents ranked
television as either their first or second most important source
of information on scientific developments, followed by the written
press (37 percent), radio (27 percent), school or university (22
percent), scientific journals (20 percent), and the Internet (17
percent) (figure 7-2
).
In general, there was little variation in these preferences across
countries (table 7-1  ).
The following sections take a more detailed look at the various
sources of news and information about S&T in the United States.
Television
Information about science is communicated to the U.S. public through
several types of television programs. Educational and nonfiction
shows promote science and aim to be both informative and entertaining.
News programs, including national and local morning and nightly
newscasts and newsmagazines, devote segments to science-related
subjects and issues. In addition, entertainment programs occasionally
include information about science.
A broad range of science-content programs are available on U.S.
television, including Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series (such
as Nova)
and programs aimed at children (such as Bill Nye the Science
Guy). Most U.S. households now have cable or satellite television
and thus have access to the Discovery Channel and a growing array
of options made possible by advances in cable and satellite technology.
These include an increasing number of channels devoted to S&T
and health (e.g., Discovery Health, the National Geographic Channel,
and the History Channel)
and niche market channels [e.g., the Research Channel, the University
Channel, and NASA TV (Folkenflik
2003)].
Nova
and other science programs have become highly dependent on visual
images. Advances in photographic technology and computer graphics,
such as microscopic visuals and computer-generated imagery (CGI),
have made it possible to create shows on subjects like genomics,
cosmology, and string theory. In addition, CGI can create realistic
images of worlds that no longer exist (e.g., the shows "Walking
with Dinosaurs" and "Walking with Beasts").
Most programs and documentaries on PBS and cable and satellite
channels are highly regarded. According to the 2001 NSF survey,
8 percent of Americans watch Nova regularly or most of the
time; another 29 percent watch it occasionally.
However, other types of programming, such as evening and morning
newscasts and newsmagazines like 60 Minutes, 20/20,
and Dateline, reach far more people. Therefore, most television
viewers are exposed to information about S&T in news shows that
occasionally cover these subjects.
Although television newsmagazines can be a leading source of news
about science for the public, the regular audience for these shows
has been declining in the past few years (37, 31, and 24 percent
in 1998, 2000, and 2002, respectively, among all adults). Most of
this audience erosion occurred among women (Pew
Research Center for the People and the Press 2002a).
Local newscasts contain a relatively large number of segments about
health and medicine. In addition, more time is spent on the weather
than any other story in a local newscast. According to the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST
2002), "TV weathercasters are often the most visible representatives
of science in U.S. households." They have educated the public about
jet streams, fronts, barometric pressure, and environmental issues
such as global climate change and have even involved schools in
collecting the data displayed.
Television entertainment programs occasionally dispense information
about science to the public.
Because such shows attract relatively large audiences, many people
may be educated or become aware of science and science-related issues
by watching them. However, television can also distort or mischaracterize
science and thus contribute to scientific illiteracy (Nisbet
et al. 2002). People whose job it is to communicate science
information to the public are concerned that the drive for higher
ratings is leading television networks to devote more air time to
"monsters of the deep, alien abductions, angels, [and] ghosts, all
of which pass for science in...the television industry today" (Apsell
2002).
Such shows even appear on educational networks, including Discovery,
The Learning Channel, and the History Channel (Chism
2002).
The Internet
Although the Internet has not overtaken television and newspapers
as a primary source of news (including S&T news), the results
of NSF and other surveys indicate that Internet access is affecting
where Americans get news and is an even bigger factor in their acquisition
of information about specific scientific issues.
Trends in the Internet as a News Source. According to the
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, the Internet displaced
network television in some U.S. households during the late 1990s
(figure 7-3 ).
Part of the time Americans used to spend watching television network
newscasts is being used instead to browse news-oriented websites.
According to the Pew surveys, the percentage of Americans going
online for news at least 3 days per week grew from 2 to 23 percent
between 1996 and 2000. Even though the number of people connected
to the Internet continued to increase between 2000 and 2002, the
number relying on the Internet as a news source did not. This finding
holds true even among college graduates, who tend to be far more
Internet savvy than those with less education.
Characteristics of Internet News Users. The demographic
profile of Internet news users has remained virtually unchanged:
they tend to be younger, male, more affluent, and better educated.
For example, in 2002, Pew survey respondents going online for news
at least once a week included 43 percent of those younger than 50
(nearly double the percentage of those 50 and older), 41 percent
of men (compared with 29 percent of women), and 57 percent of college
graduates (compared with 26 percent of high school graduates).
Categories of News Sought Online. Categories of news sought
online have changed somewhat over the years (Pew
Research Center for the People and the Press 2002a). The most
popular category in 2002 was weather, followed by science and health
(table 7-2 ).
Technology, which topped the list in 1996, ranked fourth in 2002,
just below international news. (Interest in international news grew
10 percentage points between 2000 and 2002, possibly because of
the events of September 11, 2001.)
Internet users and nonusers have different news interests. In 2002,
Internet users were more likely than nonusers to be interested in
news about S&T, business and finance, international affairs,
culture and arts, and sports, and they were less likely than nonusers
to be interested in news about religion and crime. The S&T category
had the greatest difference: 21 percent of Internet users said they
followed news about S&T very closely, compared with 11 percent
of nonusers
(table 7-3 ).
Science Information on the Internet. Although the Internet
is not the leading source of news, it is now the preferred source
when people are seeking information about specific scientific issues.
In the 2001 NSF survey, when asked where they would go to learn
more about a scientific issue such as global warming or biotechnology,
44 percent of respondents chose the Internet as their preferred
source. About half as many (24 percent) chose books or other printed
material, an indication that encyclopedias and other reference books
are now taking a back seat to the Internet as research tools for
the general public. No other source scored above 10 percent. (See
figure 7-1 ,
appendix table
7-3 ,
and sidebar, "Science and the Internet.")
Newspapers and Newsmagazines
The decline in newspaper readership during the past decade has
been well documented. In addition, newspapers have reduced the number
of reporters specializing in science and the amount of space devoted
to stories about science (Girshman
2002).
Surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center show that the percentage
of Americans responding positively to the question "do you happen
to read any daily newspaper or newspapers regularly, or not" declined
from around 70 percent or more in the early and mid-1990s to 63
percent in the early 2000s. Responses to another question, "did
you get a chance to read a daily newspaper yesterday," showed a
similar pattern: those answering "yes" fell from approximately 50
percent in the mid-1990s to 41 percent in 2002. Data from NSF surveys
indicate that newspaper readership has declined at all education
levels.
The percentage of people who report regularly reading a weekly
newsmagazine such as Time, U.S. News and World Report,
or Newsweek fell from a high of 24 percent during the mid-1990s
to 13 percent in 2002; the amount of time spent reading these magazines
also declined (Pew Research Center for
the People and the Press 2002a).
The leading science magazines in the United States (according to
sales figures) are Popular Science, Discover, Scientific
American, Wired, Natural History, Science News, Astronomy, and
Science. A total of 4.4 million copies of these publications
are sold each month, with Popular Science accounting for
1.5 million, Discover about 1 million, and Scientific
American approximately 700,000. The vast majority of both subscribers
and readers of science magazines are men, and they tend to be well
educated and have high incomes. For example, 85 percent of the readers
of Scientific American have college degrees, and 60 percent
have graduate or professional degrees. Readers of Wired have
the highest average household income: $132,000. The average age
of science magazine readers is in the 40s: 49 for Scientific
American and Discover, 43 for Popular Science,
and 41 for Wired (Wertheim
2003).
Books
People still read. In a recent survey, most respondents (75 percent)
said that their use of the Internet has not affected the amount
of time they spend reading books, newspapers, and magazines. About
20 percent said they spend less time reading because of the Internet,
and 6 percent said they actually spend more time reading because
of the Internet. Books rival the Internet as a very or extremely
important source of information: almost identical numbers of respondents,
three of five, made this claim. In addition, books were second only
to television as a very or extremely important source of entertainment
(Cole 2002).
Despite the expanding array of alternative sources of information,
books continue to influence public debate and "are part of the media
mix that permeates our culture" (Lewenstein
2002). Probably the most famous example of a science book influencing
public debate was Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, which is
widely credited with having started the environmental movement.
In addition to textbooks, handbooks, manuals, and conference proceedings
that are written and produced for students and working scientists,
there are science-related books meant for the general public, and
some of these make bestseller lists and win prizes. By reaching
a wider audience, they stimulate public and intellectual debate
and contribute to popular culture. Other widely used books such
as birdwatching guides and nature books spark interest in science
among nonscientists. Self-improvement books about subjects such
as diet, physical and mental health, and sex draw on medical, psychological,
and other types of scientific research.
An indicator of increasing interest in scientific subjects among
the book-reading public is the growing frequency with which science-related
books make bestseller lists. Beginning in the late 1970s, such books
began to appear more often on those lists and also started to win
prizes on a regular basis. The release of Carl Sagan's Dragons
of Eden marked a major milestone in the publication of books
about science. It made the New York Times bestseller list
in 1977 and won the Pulitzer Prize in the "general nonfiction" category
in 1978. Thereafter, the number of science-related books added to
the Times bestseller list in a typical year increased from
fewer than 10 to more than 10, and books about science began receiving
Pulitzer Prizes every year or every other year (figure
7-4
and table 7-4 ).
A few years after Dragons of Eden was published, another
milestone was reached. Once again, Sagan was responsible. In 1980,
his Cosmos became the first science-related book on the Publishers
Weekly bestseller list to sell more than a half million copies.
It was followed in 1988 by Stephen Hawking's A Brief History
of Time, which has sold more than 9 million copies worldwide.
According to a science historian who has tracked the increasing
popularity of books about science, an author's style and personality
have a lot to do with whether a book reaches a wide, mainstream
audience and becomes a bestseller (Lewenstein
2002). Sagan is a case in point. The success of his Cosmos
was partially attributable to the popularity of the television
series he hosted. The $2 million advance he subsequently received
for his science fiction novel Contact was then the largest
advance ever paid for a work of fiction.
Museums
Surveys show that S&T museums are more popular in the United
States than in Europe. In 2001, 30 percent of NSF survey respondents
said they had visited such a museum in the last 12 months, compared
with only 11 percent of Europeans surveyed (European Commission
2001). When Europeans who had not visited an S&T museum were
asked their reasons, a third said they were not interested in going
and nearly as many said they did not have the time (only 3 percent
said the entrance fee was too high).
S&T museums are not the only public attractions that are less
popular in Europe than in the United States. Europeans are also
much less likely than Americans to visit zoos (26 versus 58 percent)
and libraries (31 versus 75 percent) and are even less likely to
visit art museums (21 versus 32 percent). Only 14 percent of surveyed
Americans said they had not visited any of the four types of attractions
during 2001, compared with nearly half (44 percent) of Europeans
(figure 7-5 ).
Public Interest in S&T
Surveys conducted by NSF and other organizations consistently show
that Americans are interested in issues related to S&T. Very
few people admit to not being interested in these subjects. In 2001,
about 45 percent of NSF survey respondents said they were very interested
in new scientific discoveries and the use of new inventions and
technologies. About the same number said they were moderately interested
in these subjects. Only about 10 percent were not interested at
all.
In Europe, 45 percent of survey respondents said they were "rather
interested" in S&T, which is similar to the percentage of Americans
who expressed an interest.
However, in sharp contrast to the 10 percent of American respondents
who admitted disinterest in S&T, more than half (52 percent)
of European respondents said they were not interested. U.S. and
European findings coincided in two areas: more men than women expressed
an interest in S&T, and respondents were more interested in
medicine and the environment than in S&T in general.
Despite the American public's professed interest in S&T issues,
there is reason to believe that their interest may not be as strong
as the data indicate. Surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center
for the People and the Press show that community affairs, crime,
health, and sports were the four types of news followed most closely
by the American public in 2002; S&T ranked ninth, down two slots
from its 2000 ranking. In addition, the level of interest in S&T
(as measured by the percentage of survey respondents following related
news very closely) declined between 1996 and 2002, along with an
even greater decline for health-related stories (although these
stories continued to rank high compared with other topics). In fact,
by the same measure, interest in most subjects declined during the
period; international affairs was an exception to this trend. (See
table 7-5
and sidebar, "Few Science-Related News Stories Attract
Public Interest.")
Still, interest in news about S&T is only part of the story.
Other indicators discussed earlier in this chapter, including the
popularity of S&T museums and the growing number of science-related
books on bestseller lists, suggest that many people are interested
in science even though they may not follow science news.
The Public's Sense of Being Well Informed
About S&T Issues
In general, most Americans do not think they are well informed
about S&T issues. In the 2001 NSF survey, fewer than 15 percent
of respondents described themselves as being very well informed
about new scientific discoveries and the use of new inventions and
technologies; approximately 30 percent considered themselves to
be poorly informed.
Americans felt better informed about local school issues, economic
issues and business conditions, new medical discoveries, and environmental
pollution. On some types of issues, people felt less informed in
2001 than they used to. This downward trend is particularly noticeable
for the five S&T-related issues included in the survey: new
medical discoveries, new scientific discoveries, the use of new
inventions and technology, space exploration, and environmental
pollution (appendix
table 7-4 ).
The European public also feels uninformed about S&T. In 2001,
most Europeans (61 percent) said they felt poorly informed; one-third
felt well informed. Europeans were more likely to feel well informed
about sports, culture, and politics than about S&T issues and
about as likely to feel uninformed about economics and finance as
about S&T (European Commission 2001).
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