Pop-science journalism is still neat to observe! The thing's that, as far as I can tell, economic/political journalism seems to be at least as corrupted (intel

Pop-science journalism is still neat to observe! The thing's that, as far as I can tell, economic/political journalism seems to be at least as corrupted (intellectually; not talking about moral corruption), where explanations of complex phenomena are grossly oversimplified beyond recognition. Despite knowing that, it's hard to make a precise study of that sort of corruption because the actual underlying truth is unclear. By contrast, it seems reasonable to read pop-science journalism and then compare it to a corresponding scientific story. We can then try to understand the nature of media twisting, then apply that understanding to helping us interpret journalism covering economics/politics, where the underlying truth isn't as easily otherwise-determined. In short, it's neat to see pop-science journalism in action as it helps to put other sorts of journalism into perspective. --- Separately, I'd note the expression that "There's no such thing as bad publicity.". While science-journalism may not be particularly successful in informing the public about science, it might have a positive effect on public-relations with the scientific community, helping the community to feel more connected to the scientific establishment. I mean, it seems to work in, say, sports, where local communities will cheer on competitors from their community despite not having any real direct attachment to the competitors' efforts. It's my understanding that this sort of emotional connection helps to keep professional sports well-funded, driving public interest in their activities. Then ditto for stuff like the expensive Apollo missions to put someone on Luna, which I've heard that Americans took to be a national victory (and perhaps others found it to be a human victory). In short, science journalism might help drive public support for the sciences, even if it fails to convey actual science.