In this case, if they had not visibly defended the point of view of science they would have been forced to emigrate to work eslewhere, and that had an effect on their willingness to communicate with the public. But I think they are beginning to understand that this investment is necessary if they want increased funding. So the attitude of scientists has changed, and I also think that they are more sensitive to society's ethical arguments and environmental concerns etc. There is a tendency to be more a part of society and less 'litist. The younger scientists are more open in that respect than the former generation and that's a good thing.
Scientists are now more ready to discuss public aspects of science.
I think we have matured in that respect. In many of our programmes communication is now an integrated part of the research project. There is also a problem with the media in that few newspapers can afford professional scientific staff. More trust between scientists and journalists is also needed. I remember twenty years ago every scientist had had a bad experience with journalists turning their words upside down.