Europe as third world: U.S. perceptions of Continental science

Abstract

After considering the relative amounts of money and num bers of people involved in R&D in both Europe and the United States, the paper analyses the contents of those major European scientific publications intended for the general pub lic and the contents of comparable American magazines and newspapers. Both the type of stories covered and the source of information are examined. The comparison shows a dis crepancy in the reporting; while there is much emphasis in the European press on U.S.-based stories, many major European projects are ignored by the United States media. The paper attempts to determine the reasons for this disparate coverage.