Issues

High‐quality science broadcasts initiated with the help of government funds have attracted sizable and devoted audiences on public television—yet the goal of reaching commercial television's wider viewership remains elusive.

Covering physics in the daily press often pushes reporters to the limits of their intellectual abilities, and yet it remains one of the most exciting aspects of the job.

When scientists attempt to use the press to promote their work, and science reporters rely more on imagery than on substance, the public winds up with an idealized and alienating view of the scientific enterprise.

Science museums have evolved into unique educational institutions with particular attributes for science learning that are hard to duplicate in almost any other setting.

What would it mean for the public to be scientifically literate? We asked seven observers with a variety of backgrounds, affiliations and points of view.