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	In our recent e-mailings about evolution some touched on the 
issue of journalistic fairness and balance, so I thought I'd pass 
along the URL to a story in the Nov.-Dec. 2004 issue of Columbia 
Journalism Review on balance in science reporting -- "Blinded by 
science: how 'balanced' coverage lets the scientific fringe hijack 
reality," by Chris Mooney: 
http://www.cjr.org/issues/2004/6/mooney-science.asp.

	This was an issue in a recent Washington Post story about the 
push to include Creationism as a reasonable alternative to natural 
selection as a scientific explanation for evolution in school 
biology/science classes. Many complained (including the paper's 
science writers; he is a news reporter) to the reporter that the 
scientific perspective was lost or not presented in his story and 
therefore was not balanced. He answered, probably, correctly that is 
was not a science story but a news story about pressure placed on 
educators to change curriculum based upon faith based beliefs.

Martin
-- 
Martin Weiss, Ph.D
Vice President, Science
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111 th Street
Corona, New York 11368
718 699 0005 x 356

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