ABSTRACT
Most citizens who have completed their formal education continue to learn about science chiefly from mediated channels, those ubiquitous packagers of information for large numbers of readers, listeners and viewers. In most cases, these citizens encounter science information almost inadvertently, as they watch TV news, read their morning newspaper, or page through a magazine from the corner newsstand. A subset of the public goes out of its way to seek this material, creating opportunities for niche publications. One channel, the World Wide Web, is increasingly the channel of choice for both science information grazers and seekers. This chapter offers a brief look at the science content of these important infor-
mation channels, as well as at the specialised communicators who provide that content. It first tracks the historical evolution of science journalism, with particular reference to the USA, then moves to characteristics of today’s science journalists, science journalism and the media outlets in which they are present, as described and analysed in published studies. The chapter ends by describing a few trends that are already changing the science journalism landscape.
