Breakthrough or Ballyhoo?

Synopsis

Are newspaper headlines and their stories to be believed? Recent examples include ‘British breakthrough likely to end asthma suffering’, ‘Vitamin K linked to child cancer’, and ‘Astronomers find Holy Grail of cosmos in first sign of creation’. Dr Richard Smith, editor of the ‘British Medical Journal’, argues that press reports on scientific matters ensure that, at best, the public is confused, and at worst it is mislead, and that the end result is a society increasingly distrustful of science.

Series

Antenna, Series

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. Standard formats. col. 30 min.

Year of production

1992

Availability

Off-air recording licence

Subjects

Science

Keywords

history of science; science; science in the media

Credits

Producer

John Groom

Contributor

Caroline van den Brul

Cast

Richard Smith

Production Company

Name

BBC Television

Distributor

Name

BBC Active Video for Learning - now BBC Learning

Contact

Carolina Fernandez Jeremy Wilcox (CF - for educational enquiries JW - channel sales manager)

Email

BBCStudiosLearning@bbc.com

Web

https://www.bbcstudioslearning.com/ External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 20 8433 1009

Address

BBC Studios Limited
Television Centre
101 Wood Lane
London
W12 7FA
UK

Notes

The BBC Active company has now been absorbed within BBC Learning, a division of BBC Studios. It was originally a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Pearson Education. Formerly known as ‘BBC Worldwide Learning Studies’ and before that as ‘Videos for Education & Training’