[shermantanktop]

“The reason I’m totally misleading you with a speculative example is because of scholarship.”

No way. When they engage the public, they are not longer exclusively scholars. They responsible for conveying the best truth they can to non-experts.

A journal paper can be misunderstood when the reader lacks the context to interpret it. Out in the public square, that is not the reader’s fault anymore.

[vkou]

Give the scholars full editorial control of the newspaper the public is getting their news from, and you might get better public understanding of their scholarship.

You generally can't hold someone responsible for what someone else says about them.