In 1894, science-fiction writer, journalist, and eugenics proponent H. G. Wells, writing in Nature magazine, called on scientists to “popularize” science. Wells argued that when research costs rise and the state becomes science’s chief patron, scientists can no longer afford to ignore public perceptions: “maintenance of an intelligent exterior interest in current investigation becomes of almost vital importance.” If the public didn’t care about science, then there would not only be “the danger of supplies being cut off,” but also the danger of the public endorsing inquiries “of doubtful value” (ironic, given Wells’s enthusiasm for eugenics).

Major efforts to bring science to the American public were launched in the early twentieth century. The mission of the news agency Science Service, which was founded in 1921, was to get science coverage into mainstream media and “to create,” as historian Cynthia Bennet has put it, “a constituency who would value, demand, and protect science research.” These efforts were partly about funding, but were also framed as being about creating an informed, science-savvy citizenry who could meaningfully participate in American democracy. Wells’s call had indeed been taken up: science became part of the news cycle, where it remains today. But even from the start, the values touted by the free press were all but absent in science reporting.

Although faith in the ideal has crumbled, journalism in a democratic society is said to be about “speaking truth to power.” Journalist Glenn Greenwald points out that in politics, mainstream journalists often “identify with institutional authority” and become its servants. Such critical attention has been focused on media coverage of politics, but in a society molded by science — from surveillance to biotechnology — science coverage is essential to public interests. While it’s clear that outright suspicion of scientific research, such as climate change denial, can have catastrophic outcomes, this shouldn’t give the scientific enterprise (still largely subsidized by the state) a free pass from scrutiny.