Media Coverage

Magazine covers, front-page newspaper articles, and social media are often the first places the public encounters emerging human biotechnologies. For this reason, it’s important to address how media coverage shapes public perceptions of the latest scientific innovations. Articles rarely give the whole story. While they celebrate new techniques as “breakthroughs” or “medical miracles,” they may not address whether the results are preliminary or have been subjected to peer review, what risks they entail, or what their social or policy consequences might be. Journalists have a responsibility to be both skeptical and accurate, so the public can take part in a well-informed debate.


Biopolitical Times

It’s not for nothing that Time, Inc. developed its formula for telling stories—catchy lede, billboard that tells 'em what you’re going to tell ‘em, last graf that catapults them into the future. No wobbling; narrative charging right along. In the rush, the reader is propelled, questions cast aside, riding the tale you want them to believe.  

Not surprisingly, Walter Isaacson, bestselling author and former Time editor, has the style down pat. A sometimes breathless, technocratic enthusiasm; an ability to reduce...

Biopolitical Times
There have been a remarkable spate of media stories lately involving problems with or concerns about DNA-based technology.

Aggregated News

Last month, Caltech announced that the names of six men with historical ties to the university would be removed from...

Aggregated News

In the sticky conversations around rationing life-saving treatments and vaccines during the Covid pandemic, corporate media have elevated some experts...