[Editors] Guardian article on scientific news coverage

[Ezra Haber Glenn]

I thought you might all enjoy this article from the Guardian:

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/24/1>

==========
This is a news website article about a scientific paper

In the standfirst I will make a fairly obvious pun about the subject 
matter before posing an inane question I have no intention of really 
answering: is this an important scientific finding?

In this paragraph I will state the main claim that the research makes, 
making appropriate use of "scare quotes" to ensure that it's clear that I 
have no opinion about this research whatsoever.

In this paragraph I will briefly (because no paragraph should be more than 
one line) state which existing scientific ideas this new research 
"challenges". If the research is about a potential cure, or a solution to 
a problem, this paragraph will describe how it will raise hopes for a 
group of sufferers or victims.

This paragraph elaborates on the claim, adding weasel-words like "the 
scientists say" to shift responsibility for establishing the likely truth 
or accuracy of the research findings on to absolutely anybody else but me, 
the journalist.

(More at 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/the-lay-scientist/2010/sep/24/1)

--

Ezra Haber Glenn, AICP
Lecturer/Special Assistant to the Department Head
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Ave., Room 7-337
Cambridge, MA 02139
eglenn at mit.edu
617.253.2024 (w)
617.721.7131 (c)