A Soldier in the Sensoid Wars: Observations from 25 Years on Both Sides of the Battlefield
When the space community wants to develop a new program, or the international high energy physics field seeks grants to build a new accelerator, or the AIDS medical world wants funding for a new research vector, those scientists, I can assure you, consciously factor in the media as part of their strategy to obtain the money they need. Consider this remarkably candid comment, by climatologist Dr. Stephen Schneider, an advisor to Vice President Gore, about how it is done by those concerned with global warming: “To get some broader based support, to capture the public’s imagination…that, of course, entails getting loads of media coverage. So we have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified dramatic statements, and make little mention of doubts we may have…” Please be clear. I am not saying this is good science; I am saying this is the realpolitik of science for the foreseeable future. Anyone who doubts this has not been watching television or reading the papers.
However, using the media, as opposed to being used by the media takes a strategic vision, strong team cohesiveness, and a clear sense of appropriate tactics. Few individuals, unsophisticated in these battles, have been able to muster these tools to their advantage.
