Dear CNN...
I felt inspired and I emailed this to cnn.com today. If you're so moved, you can email them too
Dear CNN.COM,
I am a regular visitor to cnn.com. I often find interesting articles, although to be honest I would like to see fewer ambulence-chasing and entertainment headlines. But I decided to write today to suggest that you re-examine the content of your 'Science and Space' portal.
Its heavy emphasis on dinosaurs, space shuttles, and oddities could lead the general public to think that all scientists do is idly study mummies, dinosaurs, stars and why bells ring. And the recent astronaut affair, while compelling gossip, seems like a stretch for a science portal.
Certainly there is interesting science in paleontology and astronomy, but I do not believe that the American public has the opportunity to see how much scientists are working for them. I believe if you were to poll researchers today you would see that a major motivation for all scientists is their desire and hope to discover new knowledge that may help to improve the human condition.
Venues that I enjoy reading which I think do a good job of communicating science include Science News, American Scientist, and New Scientist. I have the opinion that these are not just for scientists, and that the American public would respond well to a more diverse, relevant and deeper selection of scientific news items.
An encouraging trend in science reporting is the increased attention to climate research, but I encourage you to take the scope to the next level and to have faith in the broader public and their appetite for knowledge.