science by press conference

English

Noun

science by press conference (uncountable)

1. (derogatory, sciences) The practice by which scientists put an unusual focus on publicizing results of research in the media, often when they are unlikely to win the approval of the professional scientific community.

   Synonym: science by press release

   • 1985 Spring, Jay A. Winsten, “Science and the Media: The Boundaries of Truth”, in Health Affairs‎^[1], volume 4, number 1, →DOI, page 15:

     With increasing frequency, some biological scientists in the most competitive fields, caught up in a high-stakes race to capture priority for major advances, are using the media to attach their names to important findings before their competitors do. […] The result has been a spiraling competition, sometimes characterized by exaggerated claims, in which “science by press conference” has begun to replace the traditional mode of scientific discourse.