We're in the in the news again! Yes, the heady heights of Al-Jazeera. Really.
(OK, it is nothing more than a cut-n-paste of the Guardian article. But I found it funny that this was the first [um, only] foreign news outlet to mention the story.)
(OK, it is nothing more than a cut-n-paste of the Guardian article. But I found it funny that this was the first [um, only] foreign news outlet to mention the story.)
4 comments:
I think your paper is important. Unfortunately it creates a problem for the media.
The media is in the business of grabbing eyeballs (so it can sell advertising). Therefore they love headlines of the 'global warming worse than thought' ilk. ie make the reader think it is an important new development.
'Climate science solidifies its knowledge' really doesn't cut it in these terms.
The real important news that should be given out is 'News media exagerates climate stories making it seem as if the science isn't terribly clear yet when the science is actually becoming much more certain.'
(Hmm. I wouldn't make a headline writer.)
The problem with selling that story is that is is criticising the media. If you want the media's help publicising your success, going about criticising them may not be the most productive thing to do.
This leaves you with a problem. Just how do you go about saying your work is important? Blog comments maybe?
crandles
There is the possibility of an alarmist v anti-alarmist battle...that seems to be the current UK angle.
It is interesting to note the different attitude of the Japanese and UK press to the same story. The Japanese seem to have basically written up the press release as told to them (I'll blog when I get decent translations...might be some time!). But the UK is all looking for a conflict to cover (there should be some more to come along similar lines to the Grauniad article). While I'm happy for there to be a debate, I suspect that media soundbites aren't really the best way to go about it.
Anyway, although it is fun for a while, the press really isn't the point. What ultimately matters is what other scientists write over the next year or thereabouts. That'll happen in its own good time and we won't need to push things, although the AR4 might be a different matter!
Given the AGW effects we're already seeing, you'd think the media would be happy enough focusing on what we may get with just the 3C.
James, that's an interesting take and a lot of the time if people saw things through more "worldly" lenses, they just might come up with their own takes, too :)
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