Television Science

Television is the major source of information for popular audiences about scientific research in the [Page 880]Western world. Scientific knowledge is not only mediated, but also constructed on television. Many scientists and science educators recognize this and use television to improve the image of their disciplines, as well as to communicate scientific ideas to larger publics.

Science content on television is mediated by various genres. The “usual suspects” are documentaries, magazines, and educational TV, but science can also pop up in dramas, news, reality and game shows, experiment shows, and (naturally) in science fiction.

Documentaries such as NOVA (PBS, on air since 1974) and Horizons (BBC, on air since 1964) are excellent examples of science-dedicated shows that are mainly aimed at the audience especially interested in science. NOVA is able to make the most of the 1-hour single-topic format, which leaves the viewer with the feeling that he or she has mastered a new subject and really understands something about it. Horizons stated mission is to provide scientists and philosophers a platform from which to disseminate their observations and their views.

Many science magazines have taken a similar approach, but instead of picking one subject and covering it in depth, magazines usually cover several topics at a faster pace. Science magazines, such as the German “sciencetainment” magazine Galileo, are often characterized by their purposeful heterogeneity and eclecticismdealing with subjects ranging from cool gadgets to new medical treatment for Alzheimers in a series of short items.

Educational television, such as Bill Nye the Science Guy and the earlier pioneer Watch Mr. Wizard, may convey science using many formats but always has a strong pedagogical commitment and a younger audience in mind. A different approach that tries to package science with entertainment or game show formats is presented in the successful German TV show Clever, a rare example of a prime-time science show and one that has been aired around the globe, for example in Thailand, Italy, and Norway.

Analyses of science content on television today may pose a challenge, as the number of channels leaped since the 1970s “golden age,” when most of the science magazines and documentaries appeared. Until the 1980s, television was dominated by the terrestrial channels that aimed at serving a wide variety of tastes. During the 1980s, however, the idea of one-channel-fits-all was replaced by a variety of niche cable channels, each targeted toward a specific audience segment.

Today, a richer-than-ever assortment of science-related content is easily accessible on the science and nature channels, such as Discovery, National Geographic, NASA TV, and general public service broadcasters. However, these usually serve primarily the already science-attentive public. It is the shows that use science for their own purposes and not those that are designed as vehicles for achieving public understanding of science that are actually more likely to make the difference with regard to the nonattentive public.

Both national and local news shows present science-related items. These could be the “science news” type of itemfrom the first experiment on the Large Hadron Collider to a newly identified gene that is linked to autism. However, they may also be the “science in the news” type of item meaning coverage of something important that happened and that also happens to have scientific or medical aspects. A scientist may be rushed to the studio to serve as a commentator if, for example, a prime minister suffers a stroke or babies are affected by the absence of a vital vitamin in baby formula. Weathercasters may also affect the way information about global warming is disseminated to the audience.

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