Is Balanced Reporting in Nanotech Possible?

If a major newspaper like the New York Times had to cover a story about the physical nature of the planet Earth, the headline might read â''Earth Could be Round; Opinions Differâ'', or so surmised one of the Grey Ladyâ''s columnists, Paul Krugman.

Thus is the state of journalism today; any argument, no matter how outlandish, no matter how unsubstantiated by facts or science, is given the same weight in the careful, but often ludicrous, balancing act that goes into today's news coverage.

I couldnâ''t help but think of this when I saw this Public Television segment on nanotechnology. The video came to my attention because it contains an interview with former NIOSH Director Dr. John Howard, and for that reason it is worth a watch.

But what got me curious was that they decided to use Sheila Davis, executive director the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC), who I blogged on here as the counterpoint to the â''Nanotechnology is Goodâ'' argument.

She did not disappoint. In her first sentence, she described the field of nanotechnology as a â''gold rushâ''. I am sure that all the struggling nanotech-focused companies out there wish that description were true. And she added, â''No one is thinking about what happens at the end of the life of those products.â''

Erâ'¿I think a lot of people are thinking about that issue. In fact, she is immediately contradicted in the segment as Nano-Tex, even though they are not producing nanoparticles, devotes a lot of its resources to determining the safety of its products.

But that aside, itâ''s interesting how Davis seems to be arguing here that the issue is not about the toxicity of nanoparticles, but about the safety of the products that are enabled by nanoparticles. Then argues later that the companies in the Silicon Valley are not obligated to meet any regulatory standards for these products.

There are a number of regulations for introducing any product into the US market. You can argue that the regulations do not address the use of nanoparticles, but you canâ''t say they are not subject to regulations.

So, this just goes to show, if you scream and yell, and write lots of material arguing that the â''world is flatâ'', you too will get coverage in an article describing Earth.