I think the nature of science reporting exacerbates it. The "Science Section" of your local paper covers an absolutely massive range of topics: astronomy one w

I think the nature of science reporting exacerbates it. The "Science Section" of your local paper covers an absolutely massive range of topics: astronomy one week, zoology the next, and everything in between. Nobody--literally nobody--has the breadth of expertise to do all of those fields justice. The rest of the paper has a more consistent focus. If you covered last year's debate over gun control, that background carries over to this week's debate. The players change slowly too--some of the folks in Congress have been there for decades.