The Sun, Bild, New York Post, Kronenzeitung, Expressen, etc. - almost every country has them: the tabloid press. We all know them, but nobody dares to admit they actually read them. Tabloid readers are usually imagined as low-income, uneducated, small-minded, working-class people. At the same time, tabloids usually are the best-selling newspapers. They cover mostly crime, celebrities, scandals and consumer issues, usually in a very overheated, simplified and sensationalist way.

"Just the right format for science reporting!" you say?
You gotta be kidding me!

That's exactly what I thought when a reporter from the German Bild-Zeitung contacted me for an interview. At first, I didn't realize that the Bild-Zeitung had just called. After that dawned on me, I talked to some colleagues and friends and they unanimously recommended to cancel the interview.
On the other hand, our experiments and we are paid by tax-dollars(euros). This is what we emphasize again and again when we campaign for OpenAccess in science publishing. So shouldn't I stick with this motto, even when it means risking severe misrepresentation of our work and hence my reputation by talking to the tabloid press? Isn't everybody a tax-payer who deserves knowing about the research they funded even if it means the tabloid reader who might never understand why you'd want to study fruit fly behavior?