Airplane crashes. The AIDS epidemic. Presidential election polls and voting results. Global warming. The latest cancer scare. All these news stories require scientific savvy first, to report, and then—for news consumers—to understand. It Ain't Necessarily So cuts through the miasma surrounding media reporting of scientific studies, surveys, and statistics. Whether the problem is bad science, media politics, or a simple lack of information or knowledge, this book gives news consumers the tools to penetrate the hype and dig out the facts. Don't stop flying, run to the doctor, or change your diet before reading It Ain't Necessarily So.

"Excellent and devastating new book. . . . Provides a real education on media fraud, which is infinitely more important than media bias." - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"This title offers tools to assist in understanding what and how media reports." - Ann Arbor News

"Readers from all walks of life will acquire a more critical eye from this thought-provoking examination of how science gets served up for our early-morning reading and postprandial evening news." - Publishers Weekly

"Recommended reading for all members of the news media audience." - Skeptical Inquirer

"The authors are respected critics of science reporting. The authors commendably ground their ideas in previous scholarship and provide helpful annotations within chapters. Highly recommended for academic journalism collections serving upper-division undergraduates through faculty and for professional and public libraries." - CHOICE

"The authors do a fine, well-researched job in shining a light on the problems of the reader should beware." - The Philadelphia Inquirer

"An impressive piece of media criticism, more serious-minded and rigorous than sloppy and alarmist reporting on science deserves, and surprisingly readable." - The Weekly Standard

"The book offers a solid critique of the way data-based reports and studies are presented in the media." - Idaho Statesman

"It Ain't Necessarily So details how many of the 'facts' that drive sensational claims derive from how numbers are defined." - Wall Street Journal Asia

"The authors' analysis of what kinds of misreports were made is solid, and their understanding of the pressures on reporters is profound." - The Maui News

"I recommend that everyone take time to read this book." - Inform

"Riveting!" - Philanthropy

"The commentaries on stories are measured and convincing." - Times Literary Supplement

"Well-written and carefully researched . . . a valuable addition to earlier studies of media and science." - Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly