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JayG's avatar

Today's crop of Tweets are a bit wanting, IMHO.

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Monica Metzler's avatar

I haven't done the Reader’ Best of Chicago poll in years but, due to your plug/request, I went through and voted for those people/establishments I'm familiar with and feel deserve it. With the huge number of categories, you'd think they'd covered anything. But, once again, another media outlet completely ignores Chicago's extraordinary science sector. Their poll puts The Field and MSI in the same category as art museums, so I guess is nice they're considered "cultural institutions." But if they are cultural institutions, then why doesn't the City's Dept of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) spend one dime on promoting science while it spends $35 million annually to promote Arts?

The Reader has been a go-to source covering Chicago's entertainment sector, but despite explosive growth of science outreach as a form of entertainment in the last decade, they still don't cover it. Not that the Tribune or Sun-Times are any better. Our area is home to 6 science museums (4 of which are involved with extensive research projects), 5 major medical centers, 2 internationally known zoos active in animal conservation efforts, 2 national science laboratories, and 4 botanic gardens/plant conservatories, and scores of additional organizations engaged in public science outreach. All of them struggle for attention, yet no local media has had a reporter on a science beat in years and when trying to get science included as entertainment they still can't get any traction.

Obviously, I have a bee in my bonnet about this issue, but this is yet another example for why we have low science literacy in this country. Even when it's right under their noses and easily accessible, the media ignores science.

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