Bibcode
Mahoney, T. J.
Bibliographical reference
In IAU Commission 55: Communicating Astronomy with the Public 2005 conference proceedings, Munich, 2005, I. Robson & L. L. Christensen (eds), p. 180-191
Advertised on:
12
2005
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Over recent decades there has been a proliferation of special-interest
magazines dedicated to astronomy. In spite of the undoubted market for
specialist feature articles on astronomy such articles appeal to a
restricted sector of the general public and rarely appear in the daily
or weekly press. I argue here that, apart from television documentary
programmes and series, the general public's main exposure to astronomy-
related stories is in the form of news reports, which carry too much
information in too condensed a form for the general reader or viewer to
absorb. I propose that, apart from education, trade books and
documentaries, the only way to engage the serious interest of the public
in astronomy is through feature articles published in wide-circulation
newspapers and magazines. I further propose a generalized model for
science communication and distinguish between outreach (to the general
public), midreach (to astrobuffs) and inreach (the raising of awareness
of the importance of outreach among the research community). Much of
what is currently called outreach falls under midreach.