I just had to post a link to the current discussion on the treatment of science in current documentaries.
SVPOW’s Matt Wedel was on the recent Discovery Channel docu-travesty: Clash of the Dinosaurs. While scientists who work with the media, have gotten used to having their data distorted a bit and hyperbolized for the alleged sake of “entertainment,” Matt actually had his words chopped up and edited in such a way as to make it sound like he was advocating a now well outdated view of dinosaur anatomy.
This blatant case of slander has raised the question of what one should do in this situation. It has also brought up the broader question of how scientists should handle the media. Should we just sit back, hoping that the interviewers will present the facts as best they can, and then deal with any possible blowback if/when that fails? Should scientists demand tighter editorial control over what is shown in videos like these? We are their scientific consultants after all. Theoretically they need us for legitimacy; which gives us a bargaining chip.
I don’t know what the right answer is. The least I can do is help Matt pass this info along so future researchers who are asked for an interview, can ask the production crew for assurances that they won’t be slandered in the final product.
Post your thoughts over on SVPOW, and pass the story on.
~Jura