May 22, 2003

In November 2002, The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology and the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University hosted "When Media, Science and Public Policy Collide: The Case of Food and Biotechnology", a one-day conference that examined how media coverage of the contentious relationships and complex scientific issues surrounding food biotechnology both reflects and shapes public opinion and how it influences public policy.

We are pleased to announce the release of the proceedings from the conference. A full copy of the
proceedings can now be obtained at http://pewagbiotech.org/events/1121/proceedings.pdf 

Participants included reporters who cover biotechnology for national media outlets and scientific
journals, scientists who conduct research in this area, representatives from the food and biotechnology
industries, public interest group representatives, and experts from agencies, universities and think tanks whose work has focused on various aspects of genetically modified or "GM" foods.

The conference explored issues such as:

• In an age of instant communication how do you fully and completely report on breaking, complicated science news?
• Do the media inform and educate-as opposed to confuse and frighten-consumers about emerging technology?
• How can scientists clearly communicate technical and scientific materials to the media and public?
• How does the mainstream media judge the scientific merit of a story or a report?
• How do the media avoid being a part of the story when both sides of an issue are constantly pitching ideas and bringing "exclusives" to the media?

An overview of the conference agenda, including bios on the speakers, can be viewed at
http://pewagbiotech.org/events/1121/