I've noticed how the news media use the word, 'researchers' in their broadcast. Almost every night, Brian Williams will use that word attached to some story about something that's "going to get you".
"Researchers have found that....." plug in whatever they "have found". It might be anything from, "fast growing fingernails could be an early sign of heart disease" or
"baby powder causes lung cancer". By the way I didn't make those up. Those were actually reported on NBC Nightly News.
I always question just who these 'researchers' are, what are their qualifications and who is paying them to 'research'? If they do identify who the research was done by almost without exception they will say, "researchers from the university of...plug in whatever school... So, from that I get an image of a bunch of nerds in white lab coats and carrying clipboards, and all in their early twenties. Students, in other words; and they are responsible for so much of the junk science that we see 'reported on'.
I have a feeling that the media plays to that 8th grade mentality that pervades the American viewing audience who wil hear the word 'researcher' and assume that if they have a title like that then they must know what they're talking about. After all, if you hear it television, it must be the truth. Right?
Tom
