I highly doubt it and don't think you'd be able to quantify this claim. Poor science literacy is one thing, but the idea that producers or consumers of popular

I highly doubt it and don't think you'd be able to quantify this claim. Poor science literacy is one thing, but the idea that producers or consumers of popular media were more scientifically literate in the past doesn't pass a basic sanity check. People were less formally educated, the resources to become informally educated were less accessible, the general push for statistical literacy and data-driven approaches to anything at all largely didn't begin until 10-15 years ago. Where would this greater scientific literacy of the past have come from?