science in the media is pretty depressing
considering the budgets that a lot of research is done on we do amazingly well in this country
(its an example where the public sector is leagues above the private sector in terms of achievment and innovation)
the trouble is every penny of funding has to be awarded, reviewed and assessed by some sort of panel so scientists and increasingly the PR departments of charities, universities etc are very focused on media these days
so some bullsh!t press release is pumped out that greatly exagerates the importance and weighting of the work
sadly journos seem too lazy/ ill-informed to be able to comment objectively on the subject
but cure for cancer! sells papers
and getting your research (and funding bodys name) in the news is a good way of ensuring your next grant proposal will be accepted
